The Story of Philosophy

Durant, in The Story of Philosophy, is almost reverent in his defense of philosophy. Instead of juxtaposing it to science, as he claims many scholars do, he states that philosophy is the foundation of science. Philosophy encompasses all that is studied that is not yet substantiated or proven with fact. Philosophy has always been considered the realm of contemplation and “wisdom,” but can we truly believe that science is born of philosophy?

According to Durant, science is a narrow-minded world; that people are now learning “’more and more about less and less’” (Durant, 5). He compared it to a person who is absorbed with the leg of an insect and not the being itself. Philosophy is supposed to encompass the insect, its life, its habits, its niche. Though, if this is true to his lips, I would beg to differ. Perhaps science and philosophy are two roads that run parallel and yet are on different planes. But, for Durant, philosophy is the origin of thought and humanity. He speaks often of bringing humanity to knowledge. Philosophy through scholastic discourse is the solution to the stuffy and uptight teachings of science, history and other such subjects that have been trapped in the specialist jargon. There is no denial that lessons that do not read like VCR instructions entertain and engage the reader. However, Durant at least warns about falling into folly of being so light on your words as to skip the essentials of the lesson, such as The Story of Religion. He even has the grace to criticize his first edition of The Story of Philosophy for taking the breadth of philosophy lightly. However, Durant finds the gem of knowledge in “outlines” that may give the reader the general knowledge to survive while still being able to view the larger picture, keeping in tune with the belief of philosophy rather than the drills of science.

Durant, Will. The Story of Philosophy. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1961.