Philosophy 101: Selections from the Works of the Western World's Greatest Thinkers

Rosen opens the book with a long introduction surveying the history of Philosophy. He begins by citing Aristole's famous 'All men desire to know' and relates the philosophical quest to a comprehensive effort on the part of human beings to understand both for understanding's sake alone, and in order to bring blessedness and happiness to life. He concludes the survey by somewhat surprisingly indicating that the philosophical enterprise has come to an end in our own day. He speaks about Heidegger as having presented a vast metaphysical system only to have retreated from its conclusions, and end his life writing mystical poetic meditations. He speaks too of Wittgenstein as representing a philosophical coda, and not inspiration to new and great understanding.. Rosen connects this all with the rise of Science and he in fact devotes one whole section of the book to essays on the History of Science including the famous Thomas Kuhn essay on Scientific Paradigms. The selections from the great philosophers do provide an overall sense of what the philosophical enterprise has been about through the centuries. But Rosen's belief that we have reached a point where no one can even begin to offer a comprehensive political or moral philosophy seems to me to underestimate the human capacity for surprise in creation which as I understand it is God's great gift to us. i.e. The Philosophy which in understanding the world recreates it, in understanding human nature also recreates this will bring forth new names, perhaps even new systems for comprehending our worlds and worlds beyond our world in ways we cannot understand now.