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“Survey the entire history of (western) philosophy through short intellectual biographies of 40 philosophers from Socrates to Peter Singer, in as broadly approachable a style as E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World. A tall order; that Warburton (of the excellent podcast Philosophy Bites) has succeeded so well is a triumph.”―Steven Poole, The Guardian

“Forty short chapters offer an informative, clear guide to forty major Western philosophers. Warburton’s casual, conversational style belies the erudition that has gone into his book.”―Katie Owen, Sunday Telegraph

“This brisk primer is, for the neophyte, a good place to start immersing oneself in the history of Western thought.”―Publishers Weekly

“A charming read.”―Christian Century

“The book has a certain quality that comes from accepting a challenge under severe conditions, then taking it on without making a big deal of the whole thing. And the word for that quality is grace.”―Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed

“With this sweeping and enjoyable work the author affirms that deliberating on reality and questioning how our lives are best lived is still worth the trouble.”―PopMatters

“If you are looking for a book about philosophy, Nigel Warburton’s A Little History of Philosophy is the place to begin. . . . Accessible, funny and informative.”―Sacramento News and Review

“A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so lucid, so important, so worth doing and so easy to enter into. It’s refreshing to see the subject presented in terms of the history of ideas rather than of timeless concepts. A wonderful introduction for anyone who’s ever felt curious about almost anything.”―Sarah Bakewell, author of How To Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

“A lively and eye-catching book, written in an easy style which should have splendid appeal for a young audience.”―Peter Cave, author of Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles



“Survey the entire history of (western) philosophy through short intellectual biographies of 40 philosophers from Socrates to Peter Singer, in as broadly approachable a style as E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World. A tall order; that Warburton (of the excellent podcast Philosophy Bites) has succeeded so well is a triumph.”―Steven Poole, The Guardian -- Steven Poole ― The Guardian Published On: 2011-11-12

“Forty short chapters offer an informative, clear guide to forty major Western philosophers. Warburton’s casual, conversational style belies the erudition that has gone into his book.”―Katie Owen, Sunday Telegraph -- Katie Owen ― Sunday Telegraph Published On: 2012-12-02

“This brisk primer is, for the neophyte, a good place to start immersing oneself in the history of Western thought.”―Publishers Weekly ― Publishers Weekly

“A charming read.”―Christian Century ― Christian Century

“The book has a certain quality that comes from accepting a challenge under severe conditions, then taking it on without making a big deal of the whole thing. And the word for that quality is grace.”―Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed -- Scott McLemee ― Inside Higher Ed

“With this sweeping and enjoyable work the author affirms that deliberating on reality and questioning how our lives are best lived is still worth the trouble.”―PopMatters ― PopMatters

“If you are looking for a book about philosophy, Nigel Warburton’s A Little History of Philosophy is the place to begin. . . . Accessible, funny and informative.”―Sacramento News and Review ― Sacramento News and Review

“This book is a little classic.”―Merryn Williams, Oxford Times -- Merryn Williams ― Oxford Times

“A tour of the major ideas and thinkers in the history of philosophy, nicely presented in 40 brief chapters.”―The Bookseller ― The Bookseller Published On: 2011-06-10

“Warburton packs a heck of a lot in to what is something of a Goldilocks volume: neither too much nor too little, the exegesis neither too thin or too thick and lumpy, his Little History can be consumed as a nourishing treat in its own right or provide the perfect fuel to kick-start anyone’s journey into philosophy.”―Julian Baggini, The Observer -- Julian Baggini ― The Observer Published On: 2011-09-04

“The magic of Nigel Warburton’s book is its disarming accessibility. It closely follows the template of A Little History of the World―Ernst Gombrich’s 1935 introductory text for children, recently translated by Yale―and Warburton is the ideal shout for a writer to match Gombrich’s terse charm and easy authority. Anyone who’s enjoyed Warburton’s brilliant podcast series Philosophy Bites, where he and fellow demystifier David Edmonds half-nelson academics into spelling out their theories, will know he has a special gift for defusing complexity.”―Chris Brown, Time Out -- Chris Brown ― Time Out Published On: 2011-11-17

“Nigel Warburton takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western philosophy, in a highly accessible way. . . . Illuminating, informative and most of all enjoyable.”―Mary Lussiana, Country & Town House (Books of the Year) -- Mary Lussiana ― Country & Town House (Books of the Year) Published On: 2012-01-01

“This fascinating book makes a seemingly impenetrable subject accessible. . . . From the execution of Socrates to today’s animal rights movement, he examines some of the most compelling ideas put forward by some of the brilliant minds of humanity has known.”―Gavin Engelbrecht, Northern Echo (Christmas Books) -- Gavin Engelbrecht ― Northern Echo (Christmas Books) Published On: 2011-11-28

“This is a thought-provoking and engaging introduction to philosophy, sweeping through over 2000 years of Western philosophical ideas. . . . The core ideas are clearly described with engaging anecdotal elaborations, both visual and written, which reveal to the reader the real people behind the concepts.”―Good Book Guide ― Good Book Guide Published On: 2012-11-01

“This book is a little classic, invaluable for the man or woman in the street who would like to know more about philosophy. . . . [It] suggests that philosophy is ‘not harsh and crabbed, as dull fools suppose,’ but a thoroughly enjoyable way to stretch your mind.”―Merryn Williams, Oxford Times -- Merryn Williams ― Oxford Times Published On: 2011-10-06

“A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so lucid, so important, so worth doing and so easy to enter into. It’s refreshing to see the subject presented in terms of the history of ideas rather than of timeless concepts. A wonderful introduction for anyone who’s ever felt curious about almost anything.”―Sarah Bakewell, author of How To Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer -- Sarah Bakewell

“A lively and eye-catching book, written in an easy style which should have splendid appeal for a young audience.”―Peter Cave, author of Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles -- Peter Cave

hapter Page
1. The Man Who Asked Questions
by Plato 1
2. True Happiness
by Aristotle 9
3. We Know Nothing
by Pyrrho 15
4. The Garden Path
by Epicurus 22
5. Learning Not to Care
by Seneca 28
6. Who Is Pulling Our Strings?
by Augustine 34
7. The Consolation of Philosophy
by Boethius 40
8. The Perfect Island
by Aquinas 46
9. The Fox and the Lion
by Niccolò Machiavelli 51
10. Nasty, Brutish, and Short
by Thomas Hobbes 57
11. Could You Be Dreaming?
by René Descartes 62
12. Place Your Bets
by Blaise Pascal 69
13. The Lens Grinder
by Baruch Spinoza 76
14. The Prince and the Cobbler
by Thomas Reid 81
15. The Elephant in the Room
by John Locke 87
16. The Best of All Possible Worlds?
by Gottfried Leibniz 93
17. The Imaginary Watchmaker
by David Hume 99
18. Born Free
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 105
19. Rose-Tinted Reality
by Immanuel Kant (1) 110
20. What if Everyone Did That?
by Immanuel Kant (2) 115
21. Practical Bliss
by Jeremy Bentham 121
22. The Owl of Minerva
by Georg W.F. Hegel 126
23. Glimpses of Reality
by Arthur Schopenhauer 132
24. Space to Grow
by John Stuart Mill 138
25. Unintelligent Design
by Charles Darwin 145
26. Life's Sacrifices
by Søren Kierkegaard 152
27. Workers of the World Unite
by Karl Marx 158
28. So What?
by William James 164
29. The Death of God
by Friedrich Nietzsche 171
30. Thoughts in Disguise
by Sigmund Freud 176
31. Is the Present King of France Bald?
by Bertrand Russell 183
32. Boo!/Hooray!
by A.J. Ayer 190
33. The Anguish of Freedom
by Albert Camus 196
34. Bewitched by Language
by Ludwig Wittgenstein 202
35. The Man Who Didn't Ask Questions
by Hannah Arendt 208
36. Learning from Mistakes
by Thomas Kuhn 214
37. The Runaway Train and the Unwanted Violinist
by Judith Jarvis Thomson 222
38. Fairness Through Ignorance
by John Rawls 228
39. Can Computers Think?
by John Searle 234
40. A Modem Gadfly
by Peter Singer 239
Index 246

For readers of E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World, an equally irresistible volume that brings history’s greatest philosophers to life

“A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so lucid, so important, so worth doing and so easy to enter into. . . . A wonderful introduction for anyone who’s ever felt curious about almost anything.”―Sarah Bakewell, author of How To Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

Philosophy begins with questions about the nature of reality and how we should live. These were the concerns of Socrates, who spent his days in the ancient Athenian marketplace asking awkward questions, disconcerting the people he met by showing them how little they genuinely understood. This engaging book introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy and explores their most compelling ideas about the world and how best to live in it.

In forty brief chapters, Nigel Warburton guides us on a chronological tour of the major ideas in the history of philosophy. He provides interesting and often quirky stories of the lives and deaths of thought-provoking philosophers from Socrates, who chose to die by hemlock poisoning rather than live on without the freedom to think for himself, to Peter Singer, who asks the disquieting philosophical and ethical questions that haunt our own times.

Warburton not only makes philosophy accessible, he offers inspiration to think, argue, reason, and ask in the tradition of Socrates. A Little History of Philosophy presents the grand sweep of humanity’s search for philosophical understanding and invites all to join in the discussion.