History of Western Philosophy I Kenny vs Russell
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- In this video, I briefly go through the two books & give a simplistic overview of the differences between them.
Here's the time stamps in case you're interested in a specific section:
Quick video overview 0:00
Publication Dates 2:33
Table of Contents 3:10
Praising All the Stuff at the Back 6:50
Bertrand's Index 8:02
Praising Newer Non-Fictions 9:02
Kenny's Chronology 9:45
Kenny's Abbreviations & Conventions 10:38
Kenny's Bibliography 11:36
Kenny's Index 13:05
Language Comparison, using Ibn Sina (Avicenna) passages 14:27
Also, Kenny's Detailed Table of Context for his Parts 15:00
Annotations Explanation & Passage Comparison Begins 15:34
Conclusion 20:26
If you're a philosophy student or read both of these books, I'm interested in your opinions on them. Do you agree with my points, what did I leave out? I didn't cover the more well known Western philosophers, so your input is most welcome if you've studied these texts.
Thank you ^^
Greetings from Bosnia
..and if you are interested in Islamic philosophers, besides Ibn Sina, you should check out these ones as well:
1. Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111 AD) he refuted ibn sina many times (in the realm of theology and philosophy itself) .. really deep guy
2. Ibn Rushd (1126-1198 AD) ....this guy influenced "the west" *a lot* ..I can't emphasis that enough (they call him "the father of secularism" though his islamic theology is not the most mainstream one ).. he then refutes al ghazalis refutation of Ibn Sina (it's a lot of back and forth hhaha but high level back and forth so brace yourself xD)
3. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 AD)
4. Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī 854 CE - 925 CE
Thank you for this valuable info! I'll add them all to my reading list. :D
Read Al-Marri instead of bothering with those fanatics.
i don't understand how you feel you can review a book without reading its contents. i understand russell's book is very lengthy and incredibly dense, and yet if you only completely read one of the books it doesn't seem wise to attest to both.
Russell's "history" long and dense? Compared to what? Russell's book is to short to even be considered a serious introduction to philosophy; most histories and handbooks of philosophy have, maybe half a dozen volumes or more (Think of Coplestone's). As to Russell's style, I cannot imagine why anyone would consider it dense or boring. His book is a nearly flawless amalgam of philosophical exposition, history of culture and ideas, and witticisms and relevant anecdotes. It is precisely due to the aforementioned qualities that Russell's "History" has been regarded by some professional philosophers as unserious, gratuitous at times, and even as irresponsible from a scholarly standpoint. Real histories of Philosophy are much more lengthy, dry, tecnichal and dense.
Russell’s book is actually a wonderful read.
Thank you for taking the time to compare both of these. It helped me a lot! - greetings from México :)
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Soy Pris hdz lmaooo
Thanks from India. I was perplexed about where to start. You deserve more subscribers
Although I think I'd finally go with the Russell one as it is much cheaper than Kenny
Thanks a lot for making this video
I love it, great video!
Thank you! I didn't go into as much depth as I would've liked. 😃
THANK YOU!!!!
Please, can you produce an audiobook complete of Anthony Kenny's book for people who have reading difficulties so we can listen to it?
Have read both. Read the Russell book simply for his prose, he is the finest prose of the century. Read Russell to hear the mind of a universal genius. Russell was an analytic philosopher, his criticisms in the book spring from his scientic mind. If you want a FULL introduction to philosophy, and are a wee bit clever, read Copleston’s nine or ten volume series. It’s worth yer time. 😀🏴🇨🇦
Thank you for your feedback. I'll revisit his book to explore his language more. The more I learn about Russell, the more interesting he becomes. I really appreciate that he was such a strong advocate for nuclear disarmament. 10 volumes, now that sounds like a solid overview of philosophy's history! Thank you for suggesting it! :D
@@BiblioAtlas Russell wrote a 3-volume autobiography you might like, it's classic
add to them emile brehier 7 vols i guess:)
@@BiblioAtlas read " intellectuals" by Paul Johnson. the 8th chapter. u'll know Russell well! :))
This was very interesting, thank you! I’m with you - I love the reference material in the back! Especially the bibliography! I don’t have either of the books you’ve discussed, but I do haveThe Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance by Andrew Gottlieb. Are you familiar with it? If so, how does it compare to the Kenny and the Russell?
I'm glad you liked it! Yeah... the bibliography is organized swimmingly! I haven't shopped through it yet, but I'll certainly underline the books to scour for when I'm at bookstores. :P I haven't read that one ... * googles about it * It was first published by Norton in 2000, Anthony Gottlieb seems like quite the smart fellow! My best guess would be for you to jump in and compare your book with whatever I showed on the screen. Kenny's is quite a bit longer but it covers a couple hundred years more. I like Norton for their extensive notes & they're super approachable for us newbies. I'm guessing the material would be similar, bu Kenny might go into a bit more detail? I'm totally guessing based on page counts though. 🙈 I totally want to see your book collection though! Put me down for a bookshelf tour vote! 🤓
Gottlieb published a second book that covers the history of philosophy from the Renaissance on up to more modern times, so I guess one could consider the page counts of both books together to get a better representation for comparing them to Kenny or Russell. I should have thought of that before I posted my comment 🙈. I’d love to do a bookshelf tour, but I need to figure out how to upload videos from my phone or IPad. Right now I can only successfully upload from my laptop 😩. I’m happy to send pictures, though!
@@sharongoforth1 You're right... I guess there's about 4 volumes in total for his complete history? It would still be interesting to compare the two philosophy histories to see how they treat the material, especially since they're both fairly new. Your bookshelf pics are fabulous! Booktube's in for a treat when they get to see your shelves. ☺️ I hope you're able to fix up the filming/upload troubles. Technology can be a challenge. 😕
Biblio Atlas Not sure how many, but I know it’s more than one. 😊. It would definitely be interesting to compare!! By the way, my library has the 20th anniversary edition of the Kenny, and I should be able to pick it up this afternoon! They also have the Russian culture book you just finished, so I’ll be picking it up too! I would love to show you my bookshelves-will see what I can do to make it happen 😊📚.
@@sharongoforth1 That's awesome to hear there's an anniversary edition! It sounds like Kenny is quite the bookish rock star. :P I'm sure you'll enjoy the Russian book. Totally eager to hear about all your books! 😎
Hi, as for Kenny's books, would you recommend buying the four volumes in paperback (hardback ones are too expensive) or just the single one in hardback?
I found the paperback in the video to be fairly durable. I was worried it wouldn't hold up to a cover to cover read, but it certainly did. Whew!
Four separate volumes could make it easier to read and perhaps could match better with the other philosophy books on your shelf? I think I saw them after I purchased this one. They look really nice. That's a tough choice! I like the compactness of this single volume because it's narrow and takes less shelf space for width. The material is a little too dense to read while commuting, so it's fine to read only at home regardless of size. Granted, I have a bookstand to hold the book while I read it. Otherwise laying it flat would have been too tedious. (I use a bookstand for basically any dense book because it's easier to concentrate.)
So I guess it comes down to ease of reading -> 4 separate volumes. Compactness, takes less shelf space but a little more difficult to read -> The hardcover.
I hope this helps! If you do read it, drop by to let me know how it goes. Have a great rest of your weekend! 😃
@@BiblioAtlas Thank you for the complex answer! After a lot of thinking, I have finally decided to buy the four separate volumes. The single one is too big and heavy for comfortable reading and I have realized that I usually tend to avoid books of that size as a result. I just love the concept of four separated historical periods and the covers are amazing too. I hope the spines will last at least for some time.
btw: Have you read the new 'The History of Philosophy' by Grayling? I just couldn't resist so I've bought it too.
Russell’s book starts off great but gets a bit unreadable after the first few chapters if you are a layman. I recently stumbled onto Kenny and it’s more coherent and flows well in my opinion. Glad I found Kenny. Will probably go back to Russell in the future after I finish Kenny.
Have you read will durant's story of philosophy? do you know for beginners, which books should I start with? - as a beginner I always look for ease of language and a more easy read, as hard-reads usually sets me off because it builds two barriers for me.. my lack of knowldege on philosophy and reading barrier due to difficult language. - Have you got any suggestions for an easy to read philosophy books other than those?
hey there have you made any progress in your philosophy ?
If you want a good collection of texts Pojman's "Classics of Philosophy" is really a good bang for your buck.
When you're familiar with philosophy Deleuze's "what is grounding" is a really insightful history of philosophy though the writing is sometimes quite confusing lecture notes.
I suggest Peter Adamson's podcasts, The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, which you can Google very easily. He is currently in the Renaissance, but he also discusses non Western philosophy in collaboration with other experts. Adamson is particularly expert on Islamic philosophy. it's an immense project, mostly very well done.
There are book versions available as he goes along.
Hello Crystal! I could never read Russell with any comfort either, I just don't care for his style, and to be truthful, his philosophy. I have at various times dipped into the Kenny, but never with any deep study. I find that the older I get, the more I search philosophy for answers, and I find the ancients are often a great comfort, and give me lots of food for thought. This was a very interesting talk Crystal, thank you old friend.
Hi Lillian, it's always wonderful when you stop by. I'm not super familiar with his philosophy beyond flipping through the book I talk about here. I'm happy to discover we share an opinion on Russell. For the ancients, I just discovered Plutarch''s Moralia which feels like a poetic, philosophical goldmine to explore for the next little while. What are some of your favourite ancient works? (There's tonnes to choose from! :P) Thanks, I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Lots of hugs right back to you! I hope your week is going well. 🥰
I always find wisdom In Socrates, and of course the Buddah. I also love the Stoics, they are full of wisdom on how to live one's daily life.
@@lilliannieswender266 Socrates would be cool to meet, he seems like he was quite the innovator. Buddha is amazing, I adore his thoughts though they're often a challenge to put into practice. I haven't explored the Stoics yet, outside of listening to Eston's fabulous chats about them.
This seems to to be a very good book comparison (I think).
Just returned to re-watch this. I think if I were to pick one of these, I’d go with the Kenny book. I like that he spends some more time on the Islamic philosophers and more modern philosophers, and he sounds more enjoyable to read.
Kenny's an amazing writer, I'm sure you'll get lots from this book. Islamic philosophy is still on my wishlist to learn more about. Their contributions to Western Civilization is still understated. We share so much with them! 🥰 Modern philosophers are cool, too.
@@BiblioAtlas Have a view on Indian philosophy.
How is Russell language non-modern.
I really appreciate the effort put into this video. Could you do a review on “The Story of Philosophy” by Will Durant next?
Thank you! I want to read that one. It'll be the next philosophy book I purchase. It just seems like a cozy philosophy book. If I can regard philosophy as something cozy? Surely that's a faux pas somewhere!
All the philosophy lovers must read Iqbal's philosophy of "self". Iqbal was a 20th century philosopher and poet, famously known as "poet of the east". People are not yet able to decode his concept of "self". Maybe it will take few more years for philosophy students to finally uncover the hidden secrets in his concept of "self".
I have read Iqbal and found him mediocre and not worth my time. My favorite poet is Lucretius by the way.
Hello, i want to buy this book by Anthony Kenny. Can you help me with it...i mean what would be the best way to buy it
Read the masters, not their students. Russell was undoubtedly one of the greatest philosophers in history. Kenny is less influential.
Russell was a failure in technical philosophy. He left technical philosophy to write "popular" philosophy books. There is another Russell (with the same name) who is more successful in technical philosophy.
One must break modern philosophy down into at least 3 phases:
1. The Enlightenment. From about 1640 to the French Revolution
2. Modern. Up to about 1960s, but also includes aspects of Rousseau and Kant before, and everyone who isn't pomo after (which may be most philosophers!).
3. Postmodern. Pomo & everything infludenced by it: Intersectionality, Postcolonialism.
The break from The Enlightenment to the 'Modern' period is characterized by increasing speculation in the modern period with less effort put into keeping philosophy within empiricist bounds. The Enlightenment, of course, brought empiricism back into philosophy. The moderns removed empiricism bit by bit. I suppose this may explain why many phychologists are closer to Enlightenment thinkers than they are to those who post-date it!
The time periods aren't precise. Philosophers still wrote within The Enlightenment tradition after it had ended. Likewise most modern philosophy is not postmodernist.
Bertrand Russell was biased against religion doesn't matter Jewish, Christianity or Islam. No surprise that he introduced his own personal remarks for ibn sina to the readers before even introducing the philosophy or works of ibn sina. I have read Bertrand and found out that he often try to cancel religious ideas in very covert ways.
History of philanthropy doesn't need index
Thomas Reid is ignored by both. Shocking. Reid was one of the greatest and challenges the theory governing western philosophy.
You'll love Al Ghazali too
Nice video you should read the Quran
Thank you. That's a great idea! I only read passages of it but one day, I'd certainly like to read it all. Have a good rest of your weekend.
Sister, you should try "The divine reality" by hamza tzortis, it's an amazing read on proving Allah swt existence. Since you understand philosophy it might be good for you and hope you get convinced about Islam 😊