World Philosophies: A Historical Introduction

Since it was first published in 1996, World Philosophies has been widely acclaimed as the most authoritative and wide-ranging single volume history of Eastern and Western philosophy, from ancient times to the present day. This popular book has now been revised to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the growing number of people interested in all the main philosophical traditions of the world. Vedanta, Taoism, Platonism, Islamic and Jewish mysticism, Zen Buddhism, Cartesianism, Kantian Idealism, Marxism, Pragmatism, Phenomenology and Existentialism, Analytical Philosophy and Postmodernism are among the movements discussed. New to the second edition are additional sections on aspects of Indian and Persian thought and on feminist and environmental philosophy. All these philosophical systems are viewed as attempts to provide integrated accounts of the place of human beings within the wider order of things, and to determine in the light of these philosophies the proper conduct of human life.