C. Stephen Evans Unpacks Western Philosophy's Greatest Minds and Movements

Plato. Aristotle. Augustine. Hume. Kant. Hegel.

These names and the philosophies associated with them ring through the minds of every student and scholar of philosophy. And in their search for knowledge, every student of philosophy needs to know the history of the philosophical discourse these philosophical giants have passed down to us.

In A History of Western Philosophy, noted philosopher C. Stephen Evans brings his expertise to this daunting task as he surveys the history of Western philosophy in this textbook. From the Pre-Socratics to postmodernism—and every major figure and movement in between—Evans provides an insightful and comprehensive survey.

In A History of Western Philosophy, you'll find



- an exploration of the major figures and themes of Western philosophy,

- philosophical traditions starting from the time of the Pre-Socratics and ending with Nietzsche and postmodernism, and

- reflections upon important philosophical developments from a Christian perspective.

Evans argues that a true and complete history of Western philosophy shouldalso account for the relationship between philosophical thought and Christian belief because virtually all of the great philosophical thinkers throughout the ancient, medieval, and modern West were deeply interested in questions about God and spiritual realities. This thoughtful approach ensures readers gain not only a historical understanding of philosophy but also a deeper appreciation of how faith and reason have shaped the intellectual heritage of the West.



C. Stephen Evans (PhD, Yale) is University Professor of Philosophy and the Humanities at Baylor University. He previously taught in the philosophy departments at Calvin College, St. Olaf College, and Wheaton College. He has published several books, including Kierkegaard: An Introduction, Natural Signs and Knowledge of God: A New Look at Theistic Arguments, God and Moral Obligation, Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense, and Philosophy of Religion.



Acknowledgments

1. Introduction to the Project

2. The Beginnings of Western Philosophy: The Pre-Socratics

3. Socrates and the Sophists

4. Plato

5. Aristotle

6. Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skepticism, and Neoplatonism

7. Early Christian Thought Through Augustine

8. Early Medieval Philosophy

9. The High Middle Ages (I): Thomas Aquinas

10. The High Middle Ages (II): Bonaventure, Scotus, Ockham

11.Philosophy Between the Medieval and Modern Periods

12. Descartes and the Beginning of Modern Philosophy

13. Continental Rationalism: Spinoza and Leibniz

14. British Empiricism: Locke and Berkeley

15. The Scottish Enlightenment (I): David Hume

16. The Scottish Enlightenment (II): Thomas Reid

17. Enlightenment Deism, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Mary Wollstonecraft

18. Immanuel Kant

19. German Idealism and Hegel

20. Karl Marx

21. Søren Kierkegaard

22. John Stuart Mill and Nineteenth-Century Positivism

23. Friedrich Nietzsche

24. Conclusions: Some Lessons from the History of Western Philosophy

General Index

Scripture Index