A History of Philosophy (Copleston)
A History of Philosophy is a history of Western philosophy written by the English Jesuit priest Frederick Charles Copleston originally published in nine volumes between 1946 and 1975. As is noted by The Encyclopedia Britannica, the work became a "standard introductory philosophy text for thousands of university students, particularly in its U.S. paperback edition." Since 2003 it has been marketed as an eleven volume work with two previously published other works by Copleston being added to the series. Overview The work provides extensive coverage of Western philosophy from the Pre-Socratics through to John Dewey, Bertrand Russell, George Edward Moore, Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Originally conceived as a three volume work covering ancient, medieval and modern philosophy, and written to serve as a textbook for use in Catholic ecclesiastical seminaries, the work grew into nine volumes published between 1946 and 1975 and to become a standard work of reference for philosophers and philosophy students that was noted for its objectivity. A tenth and eleventh volume were added to the series in 2003 (after Copleston's death in 1994) by Continuum (which later became an imprint of Bloomsbury). The tenth volume Russian Philosophy had previously appeared as Philosophy in Russia in 1986. The eleventh volume Logical Positivism and Existentialism had previously appeared as the revised 1972 edition of Contemporary Philosophy (an essay collection first published in 1956). The series has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish, Serbian, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese, Romanian, Polish and Persian. Volume summaries The following is a summary of details (not a full table of contents) for the eleven volumes: Volume 1: Greece and Rome Originally published in 1946, this volume covers: Pre-Socratic philosophy The Socratic period Plato Aristotle Post-Aristotelian philosophy As with others in the series, this volume would be made available by Image Books (Doubleday) in two parts, the first ending with Plato, the second beginning with Aristotle. Gerard J. Hughes reports that in later years Copleston thought the first volume "deplorable" and wished that he had had the time to rewrite it. Volume 2: Augustine to Scotus Originally published in 1950, this volume, which has also borne the subtitle Medieval Philosophy, covers: Pre-mediaeval Influences (including St. Augustine) The Carolingian Renaissance The Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Centuries Islamic and Jewish Philosophy The Thirteenth Century (including St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus) Copleston also produced a work on Medieval Philosophy (1952) which, revised and expanded, became A History of Medieval Philosophy (1972). This work covered some of the same subjects as the second and third volumes of his History. Copleston would also write Aquinas (1955) expanding on his treatment of the thinker in volume 2. Volume 3: Ockham to Suarez Originally published in 1953, this volume which has also borne the subtitle Late Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, covers: The Fourteenth Century (including William of Ockham) Philosophy of the Renaissance (including Francis Bacon) Scholasticism of the Renaissance (including Francisco Suárez) Copleston also produced a work on Medieval Philosophy (1952) which, revised and expanded, became A History of