Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition cover art

The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

Written by: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $80.58

Buy Now for $80.58

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions - without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.

Professor Robinson guides you through more than 2,000 years of philosophical thinking and gives you a coherent, comprehensive, and beautifully articulated introduction to the great conversation of philosophy. Every lecture contains substance that can change your view of the world and its history.

You'll journey from the early philosophical ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; chart the origins of Christian philosophy and investigate the Islamic scholars who preserved and extended Greek thought during the Middle Ages; and venture through Enlightenment contributions to philosophy, from Francis Bacon to Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Adam Smith.

Then shift your attention to the modern era, where you see groundbreaking ideas like psychoanalysis, pragmatism, and nihilism, as well as the collision between the inherently social understanding of meaning created by Wittgenstein, the vastly different estimation of human thought developed by the code-breaking genius Alan Turing, and the subtle response to him made by the American philosopher John Searle.

While the lectures cover an enormous range of key thinkers and ideas, they always focus on the most important ideas. The result is a course that gives you everything you need to finally grasp humanity's exciting philosophical history - without years of intense academic study and piles of dense reading.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses

What listeners say about The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    63
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    54
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just sweet

only issue when regarding Islaam. he talks about the truthfulness of the Holy Quran. I think that has nothing to do with the great Ideas of philosophy. I mean he doesn't know anything of Muslim philosophers. ex Avaros and others. just a little disappointed when he talks about Islaam and looks for possible faults in the religion and not at the actual philosophy. other than then Just AMAZING. I leaned so much. heavily recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Do you love philosophy? ... You will.

This may be one of the longest Great Course series but it only scratches the surface of an ancient tradition. After all 30 mins per great mind is really nothing but its the best primer you will find anywhere.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

This was extremely well done, the information was interesting and relevant to not only thought at large, but ideas of today, while also being very engaging with good use of humour. Well done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful.

Robinson lectures beautifully. He makes difficult concepts accessible. He has personality and good cheer. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Course For all

This was time well spent I enjoyed the whole book. I highly recommend this as very good listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent delivery and well worth the effort.

I learned a tremendous amount from this course about life and myself, the people and the world around me. it was an intriguing dive into content from one of the best universities, and one of the best professors on this subject matter. bar none this is a great course worthy of the title, your purchase and time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent recollection of Philosophy

The book is long but it is because it covers philosophy ideas from the ancient greeks to the present. It is a great way to get acquainted with majoe philosophical development in himan history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent introduction to philosophy

I'm trying to bring myself up to speed with the history of philosophy... and I find this lecture series to be an excellent first step

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Tom
  • 2019-10-04

good survey

well done but I would have liked maybe a bit more on some topics. Hard in a survey course with about 30 minutes at a time though

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I have listened to this five times and counting

This was the first lecture series I had listened to on Audible. The series is well thought out and well rehearsed. And though it is a survey course it is sophisticated and quickly paced enough for a need to get used to the cadence and style of the lecturer. It is well worth the effort- The lecturer is intelligent, well spoken and earnest. I would also recommend his 'Great Ideas of Psychology'

Listen number five has been my favorite so far!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!