| Synopsis: |
In this book, 14 accomplished contemporary philosophers argue for the greatness of 13 of their predecessors, from antiquity to the 20th century. The book's purpose is not to generate a list of the very best philosophers; instead, the aim is to better identify what might constitute philosophical greatness. Through separate case studies devoted to Plato, Zhuangzi, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, du Chatelet, Hume, Kant (who receives two chapters), Nietzsche, Peirce, Frege, and Wittgenstein, What Makes a Philosopher Great? grapples with some possible aspects of philosophical greatness, drawing upon a vast sweep of philosophical history.?In so doing, the book also provides increased clarity as to what philosophy is and could be. |