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Voltaire: The Great Philosophers [Paperback]

J. Gray (Author)
1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: July 16 1999 | ISBN-10: 0415923948 | ISBN-13: 978-0415923941 | Edition: 1
Philosophy is one of the most intimidating and difficult of disciplines, as any of its students can attest. This book is an important entry in a distinctive new series from Routledge: The Great Philosophers. Breaking down obstacles to understanding the ideas of history's greatest thinkers, these brief, accessible, and affordable volumes offer essential introductions to the great philosophers of the Western tradition from Plato to Wittgenstein.
In just 64 pages, each author, a specialist on his subject, places the philosopher and his ideas into historical perspective. Each volume explains, in simple terms, the basic concepts, enriching the narrative through the effective use of biographical detail. And instead of attempting to explain the philosopher's entire intellectual history, which can be daunting, this series takes one central theme in each philosopher's work, using it to unfold the philosopher's thoughts.

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Product Description

From Library Journal

Once in a while, a publication comes along that on first sight seems oddly out of place but on second viewing is admirably suited to its purpose. This little series of biographical summaries of the thoughts of 24 Western philosophers from Democritus to Derrida is admirable not only for its reasonable price but even more for the intelligence and clarity of the writing. Each volume has been prepared by an expert in the subject, and the result is a series of well-drawn and exceptionally useful pocket-size (4.5 x 7 inches) sketches of major figures in the history of Western thought. The level is such that no special background in philosophy is required to understand the concepts discussed. Each volume also contains a short bibliography, some of which refer to electronic journals or web sites. Most of the individuals chosen for the series come as no surprise, e.g., Descartes, Hegel, Kant, Nietzsche, Locke, Hume, Plato, and Socrates. But there are a few unexpected choices, like Alan Turing and Karl PopperAalthough on further consideration, they make more sense. Turing's influence on mathematics and on the development of computers has long been recognized, but his 1936 paper "On Compatible Numbers," which appeared in the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society in 1936-37, influenced studies in the philosophy of mind. Popper's development of the concept of "historicism" in such works as The Open Society and Its Enemies and The Poverty of Historicism significantly influenced 20th-century political thought. Ultimately, this set should be in every academic and public library as well as many school libraries.ATerry C. Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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If, despite its history, we think of philosophy as the disinterested pursuit of truth, then Voltaire was no philosopher. Read the first page
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1.0 out of 5 stars Not very useful to anyone Jun 8 2002
By Fredric Jameson
I bought this slim 53 page volume hoping to get a little background on Voltaire's life, work, and philosophy. But for a book so obviously intended as an introduction to Voltaire, Gray's book instead is a scathing criticism, using basic introductory level information on Voltaire and the Enlightenment era as examples to make his argument. His conclusion- that "Voltaire's 'philosophy' has little to teach us," and that his work was heavily flawed and derivative in its time, and too "difficult" and "irrelevant for the modern reader." If this is true, then why was the book commisionned, and why am I reading it? The book is neither a suitable introduction to Voltaire, or a scholarly work of any noticeable merit, since the author never goes even remotely in depth enough to explain his positions. I can't believe this was written by a college professor. What was he on? For a better introduction to Voltaire, read his novella Candide, an excellent and hilarious little novel that raises questions that perhaps Gray would prefer to avoid.
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1.0 out of 5 stars Chaos of unclear ideas May 19 2002
By petalblossom
I read this book this morning and I found it very poor. He tells what Voltaire was thinking and ideas and concepts that he says Voltaire would not be able to understand or ever express, yet gives no clear examples to back up any of it. No one is expecting a chapter of examples, but at least give me ONE!

I hated this book. Gray lists all of Voltaire's faults and concentrates on the negative. His over-reliance on Nietzsche and his inclusion of de Sade(!) swayed me to the view that Gray does not understand the Enlightenment or the Philosophes in a thorough way. Potshots like "Nearly everything Voltaire wrote is unreadable today" made me angry. It's just nasty and not particularly valuable as a criticism since there are very few authors from that period that are still readable. Plus, someone once noted that Voltaire is not essential reading today because he WON. All the things he fought for are taken for granted today, essentially because he triumphed. Voltaire was the first soldier in the war for reason and he should be treated better than this. Gray just better be glad he's dead, because he would take him apart for this shabby piece of journalism.

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1.0 out of 5 stars If not for Voltaire, THIS book gets burned. April 19 2001
By Ray Borowicz
Alas, there are not few enough stars to rate this book fairly. It is a vacuous, bad joke. Who picked this small-minded and petty professor to write about a 'great one' in the history of human world changers? Gray sounds like one of those 'shallow, artificial and superficial 'professors' of knowledge who, 'like the gnats who ride in the race, only barely hanging on to the neck of the thoroughbred - and then criticize the way the the race was won'. Everyone involved in this sham-of-a-book should be ashamed - the author is clue-less as to the greatness and genius of Voltaire, and takes cheap and uninformed pot-shots at Voltaire. He pecks away from his little, isolated Ivory Tower - at one of the great thinkers/liberators in Western Civilization, at Voltaire, no less, who writes from the Bastille, and uses his wits to enlighten Europe and escape the Inquisition and the corrupt aristocarcracies who hounded him throughout his 70+ years of heoric satire. As they say..."When a pickpocket sees a saint - all he sees are the pockets" Don't waste your time or money, and please, do not support this publication. It's a disgrace and a diservice to a great soul who made it possible for trash like this to be published.
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