Dr. Scruton writes with an unusual clarity and fluency, and is always a pleasure to read . . . this is certainly a book which you could give to anyone who was curious about philosophy and expect them to learn a lot from it. Alan Ryan, author of Bertrand Russell: A Political Life In this classic introductory work, Scruton takes us on a fascinating tour of the subject, from founding father Descartes to the most important and famous philosopher of the twentieth century, Ludwig Wittgenstein. Preface to the First Edition vii Preface to the Second Edition x Introduction History of Philosophy and History of Ideas 3(10) The Rise of Modern Philosophy 13(16) PART I Rationalism Descartes 29(11) The Cartesian Revolution 40(9) Spinoza 49(18) Leibniz 67(16) PART II Empiricism Locke and Berkeley 83(24) The Idea of a Moral Science 107(14) Hume 121(18) PART III Kant and Idealism Kant I: The Critique of Pure Reason 139(12) Kant II: Ethics and Aesthetics 151(18) Hegel 169(16) Reactions: Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche 185(18) Part IV The Political Transformation Political Philosophy from Hobbes to Hegel 203(16) Marx 219(15) Utilitarianism and After 234(15) Part V Recent Philosophy Frege 249(14) Phenomenology and Existentialism 263(18) Wittgenstein 281(14) Bibliography 295(16) Index 311