Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Peikoff's lecture on the history of philosophy.

Rate this topic


Nicko0301

Recommended Posts

I've become extremely interested in the history of Western Philosophy and have therefore determined to study it. So, my question is simply this: Have you listened to the lecture, and, if so, would you recommend it? Is his lecture biased in anyway? I mean, I know that, since he is an Objectivist, he probably disdains most of the philosophies and philosophers of history; but does he distort or mislead in any way?

Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've become extremely interested in the history of Western Philosophy and have therefore determined to study it. So, my question is simply this: Have you listened to the lecture, and, if so, would you recommend it? Is his lecture biased in anyway? I mean, I know that, since he is an Objectivist, he probably disdains most of the philosophies and philosophers of history; but does he distort or mislead in any way?

I've listened to both of Peikoff's history of philosophy lecture sets (ancient and modern), I've taken some philosophy courses in college that cover some of the same ground, and I've read some history of philosophy by non-Objectivists that also covers the same ground. I found Peikoff's presentation reasonable and objective given the level at which it was pitched. Where Peikoff's course stands out is in the way he ties various philosophers together into trends, showing how the same basic issues get grappled with in similar ways by different thinkers. He makes the history of philosophy flow as a narrative.

He does present criticisms of various thinkers from an Objectivist viewpoint, but he's quite clear about when he's trying to present the case for a given philosopher and when he's speaking for himself, and he does his best to make the various philosophers as plausible as possible within their contexts. (The main exception to this is Hegel because, as Peikoff himself notes, there isn't any way to make a philosopher seem plausible when he starts out by rejecting the need for consistency and the laws of logic.)

Be aware that these lectures are very expensive -- something like $800 for both sets. There are much cheaper ways to get a general overview of western philosophy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...