Including the work of ancient thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, as well as modern geniuses such as Descartes, Kant, and Marx, this book chronicles the entire span of philosophy in the Western world. It also includes intimate chapters regarding the philosophers with whom Lord Russell himself is most closely associated--Cantor, Frege, and Whitehead, coauthor with Russell of the monumental Principia Mathematica.

A free man's worship -- Mysticism and logic -- The state -- Education -- Science and art under socialism -- The world as it could be made -- The aims of education -- Questions -- Chinese and Western civilization contrasted -- The Chinese character -- Causes of the present chaos -- Moral standards and social well-being -- Deciding forces in politics -- Touch and sight: the earth and the heavens -- Current tendencies -- Words and meaning -- Definition...

"In the second half of his life, Bertrand Russell transformed himself from a major philosopher, whose work was intelligible to a small elite, into a political activist and popular writer, know to millions throughout the world. Yet his life is the tragic story of a man who believed in a modern, rational approach to life and who, though his ideas guided popular opinion throughout the twentieth century, lost everything.". "Drawing on thousands of documents...

Presents an introduction to philosophy, covering the origins of the discipline, some of the major figures of the past, and philosophical issues which still continue to be debated in the present day.