History of philosophy?

Question

History of philosophy that Frederick Copleston wrote is too long to read. Are there good alternatives?

Answer 1

I have the Copleston compilation. The version I have has all nine volumes in three books, which I've never read. I use it for reference on particular philosophers.

First of all, you need to recognize what area of philosophy you are trying to learn about. Generally, the three main areas are
1. western philosophy
2. eastern philosophy
3. theological philosophy.

Once you know where you want to focus, you can find some good alternatives. Copleston is actually probably the premier source for theological philosophy. His entire third book (volumes 4-6) is dedicated to it. Many western philosophy books completely ignore this era. But, if you're looking into eastern philosophy, Copleston doesn't even go there, so you will definitely be wasting time by reading his books.

One of my favorite authors is Wil Durant.

http://www.willdurant.com/home.html

He wrote a book called "The Story of Philosophy." It is very easy to read, and you will learn a great deal about the greatest western european minds who have shaped the way we think today.

It's also good to know what the perspective is of the author. Wil Durant was fond of The French Enlightenment, so he gives a lot of space to Voltaire, who generally isn't even mentioned in smaller historical compilations.

He has also written about eastern philosophy, if that's an area you want to focus on. Many of his works are available in audio at the web site.

Beside Durant's, there are many history of western philosophy books which have been written through the ages. My favorites are the ones which "boil down" the historical figures to the absolute minimum. Then, they give a succinct description of the basic ideas of the thinker. Here is a list of some the greatest & most influential minds in history:
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Plotinus
Machiavelli
Francis Bacon
Hobbes
Descartes
Locke
Spinoza
Hume
Rousseau
Immanuel Kant
Hegel
Nietzsche
Heidegger
Sartre
These are the guys whose names keep popping up because they made the greatest case for looking at the world in a particular way. Most others, are secondary, or derivitives, or rely upon these guys in some way.
I would recommend starting with the guys on this list. The table of contents in a western philosophy book will list the names of the thinkers. Go to the book store and look for a book which has these guys as the basic list in its table of contents.
Once you are familar with what these guys have to offer, then venture forth to expand your knowledge of other philosophers / eras / genres you are interested in.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Start with an introduction DVD "Eastern and Western Philosophy," or "Western Philosophy" at Amazon.com. Then focus on the philosophers that are the most interesting historically and go to the best books on them. Compilations are good as references but the best books are by experts who have spent a lifetime with one philosopher they understand through and through.