Twelve Great Philosophers: An Historical Introduction to Human Nature

This a remarkably ambitious and unique book for its type. It's an introductory textbook of philosophy--but it does not merely 'summarize' or give a 'narrative.' It systematically organizes the systems of thought of each philosopher into categories that cut across all of them, allowing one to compare these philosophers on individual topics. It also covers the broad range of philosophical areas--metaphysics, ethics, etc. The descriptions are largely accurate, if necessarily broad, and a lot of space is given to interesting later philosophers like Sartre. There is some critique provided of each philosopher, and it is not heavy-handed. The only reason I cannot give the work 5 stars is because its own virtues can work against it--for example, trying to apply a single rubric to assess and evaluate some very heterogeneous thinkers. No student should come away with the impression that 'philosophy' is one monolithic thing that has come down to us in an unbroken way since Plato. Nonetheless, I find that this book is enjoyable to peruse and imagine it would help anyone who wants to glance at the 'great' philosophers in a comparative way, before reading their actual works.