From Empedocles to Wittgenstein

From Empedocles to Wittgenstein is a collection of fifteen historical essays in philosophy, written by Sir Anthony Kenny in the early years of the 21st century. In the main they are concerned with four of the great philosophers whom he most esteems, namely Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Wittgenstein.

The author is not only one of the most respected historians of philosophy, and possibly the widest-ranging, but also one of the most successful at writing on the subject for a broad readership. In this volume he presents scholarly explorations of some themes which caught his interest as he worked on his acclaimed four-volume New History of Western Philosophy.

Review: [These essays] document the most recent phase in the evolution of the thought of one of the most significant philosophers working today... Those new to Kenny's thought will find these papers offer an ideal first path into his comprehensive, careful, and clearheaded work. Those already familiar with his writings will be entertained and enlightened by these occasional pieces from the most recent phase of Kenny's distinguished career. * Owen Goldin, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * For someone familiar with Kenny's prior work, reading this book, with its easy, conversational style, has the feel of sitting down with him for an engaging philosophical conversation. * Jeffrey Hause Mind 119 * Every one of these fifteen texts is thought-provoking and immensly learned. and it is a pleasure to follow Kenny's thought from one theme to another ...

Kenny has again managed to do what he set out to do in his work on the history of Philosophy, 'to be more accurate than Russell and more entertaining than Copleston'. * Hallvard J. Fossheim, Philosophical Quarterly *