Tumults in Thinking: A Basic History of Western Philosophy from Pre-Socratics to Postmodernists

The aim of these few pages is to present the history of philosophy in a concise manner and without the lengthy amplifications available in longer texts. The book presents a broad overview of philosophy, while providing significant details to indicate the complexity and rigor of the discipline through times of historical tumult, both in the emerging and eclipsing of ideas. As the book is not intended as an intensive or exhaustive history of the subject, major transitions in thinking and notable debates are highlighted. The book is largely but not exclusively intended for relative newcomers to philosophy; the text explicates philosophical positions for understanding philosophy through consideration of its broader history. While the beginner needs an overview of the historical landscape of philosophy, most do not need an encyclopedic volume providing infinite detail on the history of the subject. Thus, the brevity of this book on such a large subject is without apology.

Included are references to historical world events of seismic importance, such as the fall of the Roman Empire and the world wars of the twentieth century—these and other events with some influence upon and therefore of importance to the history of philosophy. Demarcations of the history of philosophy are present in the chapter headings and subheadings. Initial introduction to the history of the subject comes in a first chapter positioning philosophy by considering something of the past culture in which Western philosophy first arose. The last chapter concludes by asking whether the present postmodern culture of the West leaves any space for philosophy. The chapters in between chronicle the history of Western philosophy with focus on times of transition that changed philosophy.

Virtually no touted ‘short’ books on the history of philosophy are indeed short.1 The present book by contrast presents a summary view of the history of philosophy with due acknowledgment that there are larger texts of hundreds of pages that convey more information. For many classrooms, however, a much briefer text is required to prevent the reader from likely abandoning a tome fretfully weightier than the reader’s dinner. Thus, the idea of this book is to present a short text on the long history of philosophy in the West. Such a text proved difficult to write, requiring the restraint to forego longer explications to which university teachers, myself included, are by nature habitually prone. Nevertheless, in short compass the book attempts to broadly organize the depths and tumults of philosophy into manageable form. By presenting a brief history of philosophy the student becomes acquainted with some of the contours of a subject often presented with too much or virtually no historical background.