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Books

A Short History of Western Thought by Stephen Trombley

David McKay fastens his seatbelt for A Short History of Western Thought.

In writing a history of Western thought one route would be to select some of the main figures and movements which have shaped the development of philosophy and examine them in detail. Another route would be to seek to give comprehensive coverage of the field, aiming to briefly include most of the significant thinkers in the tradition. In his concise survey of Western philosophy, Stephen Trombley, writer and filmmaker, opts for the second approach.

After a brief consideration of the question ‘What is Philosophy?’ – ending with Aristotle’s statement that philosophy begins with wonder – Trombley divides his study into four parts: ‘The Wisdom of the Ancients’ (Sixth Century BC to First Century AD); ‘Christianity Triumphant’ (First Century to Sixteenth Century AD); ‘The Scientific Revolution’ (Sixteenth Century to Eighteenth Century); and ‘The Landscape of Modernity’ (late Eighteenth Century to early Twenty-First Century). In Part 1, ‘The Wisdom of the Ancients’, all the most significant figures make an appearance, including Thales, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Greeks of the Hellenistic period.

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