- Medieval philosophy was constituted by Scholasticism (the proving of God and soul), Neo-Platonism (integration of Plato in Christianity), the "Golden Age" of China and Japan (new poetry and art with old philosophies), and the continuance of Greek philosophy in Islam.
- Christian Platonism: (St. Augustine of Hippo) evil exists because humans are rational and therefore must have freedom of choice. Evil, as described by Plato, is the deficiency of good, and so our evil choices are that which leaves us deficient [this doesn't explain natural disasters, or how evils such as illness are not as much a deficiency but more a very real threat].

A compendium of sketches, 1 to 6 pages each, of the work of 108 of the world's philosophers from 700 BCE to the present, plus a "directory" of one-paragraph descriptions of 59 additional philosophers. One striking thing, to my mind, is how "dark" the period from 250 CE to 1500 CE really was, with most Western philosophy being religion-drenched junk -- the Renaissance and Age of Reason arrived not a moment too soon. As far as relatively recent philosophy of science is concerned, there are no parts delving into interpretations of quantum physics or the concept of structural realism. Another shortcoming, I'd say, is the relentless referencing of centuries "ordinalistically" (e.g. "the 18th century" instead of "the 1700s") -- just because a practice is standard and commonplace doesn't mean it isn't also annoying and perverse.

Like all DK books, this one covers a lot of territory, a lot of philosophers, and is a good quick reference for many ideas. ( )

Goethe sagte einmal, er habe keine Zeit gehabt und deshalb einen langen Brief geschrieben. In der Tat: die Reduktion auf derart Übersichtliches, Klares und Verständliches in diesem Buch muss Zeit gekostet haben. Karl Popper, der jedem Studierten die wesentliche Verpflichtung mitgab, einfach zu schreiben und verständlich, hätte an diesem Buch seine Freude.

Alleine schon die Überschriften sind kleine Meisterwerke: z.B. bei Kierkegaard: "Angst ist der Schwindel der Freiheit." Oder Rousseau: "Der Mensch wird frei geboren, und überall liegt er in Ketten."

Ganz besonders dies: "Liebe ist eine Brücke von ärmerer zu reicherer Erkenntnis. (Max Scheler)

Ich bin überzeugt, dass man es jedem schenken kann, dass ausnahmslos alle mit diesen Verdichtungen Lust bekommt auf die entscheidenden Fragen der Menschheit.

Ich habe es von Anfang an in mein Hauptprogramm der Verschenkbücher aufgenommen.

See my review of World War II published by DK Publishing for comments about DK books. ( )