In the realm of philosophical literature, few works have had as profound an impact as Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy." This comprehensive and engaging narrative has been a cornerstone of philosophical education for generations, offering readers a sweeping overview of the development of human thought from the ancient Greeks to modern times. In this article, we'll embark on an exclusive journey through the pages of Durant's masterpiece, exploring the key themes, ideas, and thinkers that have shaped the story of philosophy.
He starts with Plato and Aristotle , framing their work as the foundation of Western civilization.
Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, an enterprising publisher from Girard, Kansas, attended one of Durant’s lectures. Haldeman-Julius was famous for his "Little Blue Books"—pocket-sized, five-cent pamphlets designed to bring cheap education to the masses. Recognizing Durant's genius, he persuaded the reluctant educator to write a series of pamphlets on the great philosophers, paying him a modest advance of $150 per essay.
: The final chapters cover early 20th-century European and American thinkers like Bertrand Russell , William James , and John Dewey . Key Themes and Impact Will Durant and the Story of Philosophy - Tigerpapers
For several years, Durant shipped these essays from New York to Kansas. In 1926, the legendary New York publishing house Simon & Schuster took a massive gamble. They gathered Durant's individual pamphlets, bound them together, and published them as The Story of Philosophy .
The "Story of Philosophy by Will Durant Exclusive" is identified as a digital document, described in one source as a formatted file, likely in a specific 3.99.163.78 exclusive format. Will Durant's seminal work is a classic, accessible introduction to Western philosophy, covering major figures from Plato to Nietzsche. Read the details at 3.99.163.78 .
set out to humanize this knowledge, creating a bridge between the ivory tower and the common reader.
Where Plato soars, Aristotle lands. Durant’s chapter on Aristotle is a masterclass in organizing chaos. He breaks down the Nicomachean Ethics not as a dusty text, but as a guide for the American businessman or the struggling artist. Durant’s famous line—"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"—is actually a paraphrase of Aristotle, and it became a self-help mantra decades before the self-help genre existed.
Will Durant’s (1926) is the groundbreaking work that took philosophy out of academic "ivory towers" and made it accessible to the general public. It profiles the lives and ideas of major Western thinkers, showing how their theories were shaped by their personal experiences and historical environments. The Journey of the Great Minds
Will Durant died in 1981 at the age of 96. His epitaph could very well be the last line of his introduction to The Story of Philosophy : "We are what we repeatedly do. To live is to act, and to act is to change." Secure your copy today, and join the century-long conversation.
Durant organizes the book chronologically, but his methodology is distinctively biographical. He adheres to the belief that to understand a philosophy, one must first understand the philosopher.
