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The Path of Philosophy
Truth, Wonder, and Distress
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The Path of Philosophy
Truth, Wonder, and Distress
- Textbook
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Description
Tracing the history of philosophy from ancient Greece to the Postmodern world, this introductory textbook introduces students to Western thought while also highlighting the contributions of marginalized people, groups, and non-Western traditions.
The Path of Philosophy characterizes the discipline of philosophy as a never-ending quest, driven both by wondrous curiosity and by a distressing realization that ultimate truth always evades our grasp. Threads running through the text demonstrate how philosophy is distinct from, and yet interrelated with, religion, science, and art. The second edition includes a new chapter on Postmodern philosophy to introduce students to key debates in twenty-first century thought.
Written in a lively, accessible style, and featuring original, eye-catching artwork, this book offers a clear introduction to the essential concepts, themes, and debates in philosophy, while also emphasizing its relationship to other disciplines, practices, and to our everyday lives.
Table of Contents
1. Myth, Science, Philosophy, and the Presocratics
2. Socrates
3. Plato
4. Aristotle
5. The Hellenistic Philosophers
6. Medieval Philosophy
7. René Descartes and the Transition from Medieval to Modern Thinking
8. David Hume
9. Kant's Transcendental Idealism
10. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and the Manifestations of Geist
11. Happiness, Suffering, and Pessimism in Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Mill
12. Anglo-American Philosophy
13. Existentialism and the Return to Being
14. Philosophy in the Postmodern Age
Concluding Remarks on the Nature of Philosophy
Bibliography
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Product details

Published | 05 Mar 2026 |
---|---|
Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
Edition | 2nd |
Extent | 464 |
ISBN | 9798881806699 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
Illustrations | 73 b/w illustrations |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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With clarity and eloquence, John Marmysz humanizes the writings of a vast range of philosophers, placing different schools of thought in illuminating historical context. The Path of Philosophy offers cogent critical perspectives that invite reflection for any reader seeking a synoptic view of the history of philosophy in its many forms.
Carolyn Korsmeyer, Professor of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, USA
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This superb book has long served as the foundation for my introductory philosophy course. Students adore its existential sensibility; they resonate with its open-ended questions. The second edition is expanded with magnificent sections on recent, postmodern philosophies, making the textbook an enduring guide for a new generation.
Katie Terezakis, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Philosophy, USA
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The Path to Philosophy breaks ground in the topics it introduces, the thinkers it discusses, and the way it does justice to philosophy's power to attend both to profound thoughts and intense emotions. This accurate, enjoyable, and beautifully illustrated introduction to philosophy will reward any reader: its vision is vast, deep, and pertinent; it honors the past, welcomes the present, and heralds the future of our discipline by emphasizing its relevance to contemporary plights and perennial concerns.
Lydia Amir, Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University, USA
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This textbook does something essential in the study of philosophy: provide clarity to an abstract, difficult subject. Marmysz tells the story of philosophy with an ease of language penetrable by any student. With charming wit and illustrations that give a panache to the storytelling, The Path of Philosophy is a little gem.
Chris Keegan, SUNY Oneonta, USA