The Sense of the Past by Bernard Williams
Before his death in 2003, Bernard Williams planned to publish a collection of historical essays, focusing primarily on the ancient world. This posthumous volume brings together a much wider selection, written over some forty years. His legacy lives on in this masterful work, the first collection ever published of Williams's essays on the history of philosophy. The subjects range from the sixth century B.C. to the twentieth A.D., from Homer to Wittgenstein by way of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Sidgwick, Collingwood, and Nietzsche. Often one would be hard put to say which part is history, which philosophy. Both are involved throughout, because this is the history of philosophy written philosophically.Historical exposition goes hand in hand with philosophical scrutiny. Insights into the past counteract blind acceptance of present assumptions. In his touching and illuminating introduction, Myles Burnyeat writes of these essays: "They show a depth of commitment to the history of philosophy seldom to be found nowadays in a thinker so prominent on the contemporary philosophical scene." The result celebrates the interest and importance to philosophy today of its near and distant past. "The Sense of the Past" is one of three collections of essays by Bernard Williams published by Princeton University Press since his death. "In the Beginning Was the Deed: Realism and Moralism in Political Argument", selected, edited, and with an introduction by Geoffrey Hawthorn, and "Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline", selected, edited, and with an introduction by A. W. Moore, make up the trio.
These discussions combine incisive authority and even a touch of technicality with Bernard Williams's characteristically urbane witA great intellectual wealth in which philosophy is made to show us how it thinks about philosophy. -- George Steiner Times Literary Supplement Bernard Williams' contribution to philosophy is timeless. He has a voice that is both distinctively of our time and a reminder that the past can still be brought alive philosophically. Williams' belief in the importance of history to philosophy is readily apparent in this collection. If for no other reason, readers of philosophy should value this book highly. -- Peter Johnson European Legacy
Bernard Williams was Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy, Cambridge University (1967-1979), Monroe Deutsch Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley (1988-2003), and White's Professor of Moral Philosophy, Oxford University (1990-1996), and was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford until his death in 2003. Myles Burnyeat is Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy, All Souls College, Oxford. His books include "The 'Theaetetus' of Plato" (Hackett, 1990) and "A Map of Metaphysics Zeta" (Mathesis Publications, 2001).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691124773 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691124779 |
| Title | The Sense of the Past |
| Author | Bernard Williams |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2006-02-12 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |