Of the two reprint volumes (Greek and German Philosophers) that Oxford has published of its Past Masters series, I think all of the individual essays (except the one on Plato) are reprinted currently in its 'Very Short Introduction to...' series. So these volumes are a good deal because i think the 'Very Short Introduction' series are 10 bucks each. As well as being very clear and concise introductions by world renowned scholars.

I was already familiar with Nietzsche but I enjoyed the skilled manner in which these authors condensed the profound ideas of these philosophers into explanations feasibly understandable to beginnners in philosophy. There were certain concepts I could not agree with in the works of these great men; however, I admire the systems and ideas they developed in their works.

These are highly admirable overviews by some of the best of the current set of the philsophers examining past greats.

This must have been a difficult book to put together. The editors would have to have found not one, but four great authors from which to put together introductions for the hardest authors in all philosophy.

He succeeded. This book makes immediately explaicable two of the hardest authors in all history- Kant and Hegel. I was amazed at the level of commentary in this short a work. It is almost impossible to pull this easy an introduction off. My hat is off to both Scruton and Singer.

The other commentaries and introcductions were as good as they come. Because of the ease of Schoepenhaur and Nietzsche, the authors had more room to give reasonably complete explanations and ruminations on their lives. Janner and Tannaway both make superb additions to these traditions, both commentaries worthy of being works in themselves.

This is four times a good book. My respect to all the authors, and my full throated call for people to read these books.

Scruton is able to pull off a brief but highly enlightening introduction of Kant. For those who find the perusal of the unabridged "Critique" a folly lacking in pure reason, this pocket sized gem seems the perfect answer. The size is rather deceptive when it comes to the density of matter it contains... It will definitely take focussed reading and a good deal of time to do justice to this book. Personally, I feel I myself haven't done enough of justice to this compact, loaded book.

I don't know who foisted off the job of introducing Kant to the intellectual masses, but the could not have chosen better. My teeth hurt when I think about introducing Kant to neophytes. I still don't know how he did it, because I can't explain Kant to anyone without having them instantly MEGO (my eyes glaze over) and run crying to thre corner of the room.

There is a lot that could be called contentious in this book (too much to go into) but that isn't a bad point about any book on Kant- there are no uncontentious books on Kant except biographies. All told, what I disagree with Scruton on is overshadowed by the mass of things he got right or even better than I have (no mean feat).

It is assured Scruton's interpretations of Kant will become mainstream simply because he is the only man alive to make immediately intelligable sense of the man. Remember, Kant was the man HL Mencken attributed the incredibly funny comment

"Kant was the worst writer on earth before Marx. He had many ideas, and some of them quite simple, but he always managed to make them seem unintelligable. I hope he is in hell"

Scruton's book on Kant is, in my view, the best book available on Kant if the goal is to get a quick overview of the philosopher's "Critical System." This is a short and concise book and it does the impossible: summarize Kant's three critiques (of Pure Reason, of Practical Reason and of Judgment) in a pocket-sized book. And it is very readable. I generally really enjoy Scruton's writings; he is one of the few commentators who can write about philosophical matters in an understandable fashion for the common reader. This is doubly amazing since Scruton himself is a first rate philosopher...

Roger Scruton is on of the truely inspired philosophers of our time. His breadth of learning is indeed staggering, and his ability to comment on a wide range of "human artifacts", (music, philosophy, politics) with humility and insight is as breathtaking as it is illuminating. This work on Aethetics spans the full range of what we (should?) consider humanity's attmpt to objectify its inner life in outward forms that give those less talanted, ideas and contexts to accomodate their highest aspirations. His work is among the best that rebuts the modern view that all such things are irredemiably "subjective" - a characterizaation that robs great works of art of their universal appeal and applicability, as well as their ability to lift us, however momentarily, above what Hegel called this life ("the highway of dispair") so that we can glimpse the finer aspects of our nature. Roger Scruton is to be congratulated for giving us hope that the Aesthetic spirit in humanity can triumph over the the mundane.

this book is a collection of essays, but it's a terrific, accessible introduction to classical architecture. it's also an exciting polemic. by the time scruton's done, you're likely to have far less patience for the cant of modern (and post- and neo- and deconstructionist) architecture than you probably had before. part of what scruton argues is that classicism is the language of western architecture; that anything, more or less, can be said in this language; that like all languages it's forever evolving; and that the attempt to forsake it is akin (my image) to forsaking english in order to speak esperanto. it doesn't and won't work. first-rate, fun to read, stimulating. if only more architects, architecture profs, and journalists would read it!

In yet another year of 30 second sound bites that we are asked to believe represent well thought out positions on substantive issues, I would recommend this book as an unbiased source for finding out what such words as "liberalism" and "conservatism" really mean.

This reference book goes much deeper than mere definitions in its discussions of everything from the philosophies of Kierkegaard and Heidegger, as they relate to political thinking, to such diverse concepts as "infrastructure," "political economy," and "due process." There are over 1500 entries in all, and each one sheds some light on terms that are bandied about, and frequently misunderstood, by politicians seeking support. There are also many other terms, some common and some obscure, that are discussed.

I think that any reader could benefit by reading the discussions under the aforementioned topics of "Liberalism" and "Conservatism." There might be some surprises awaiting that reader. There is a lot more, and sometimes a lot less, substance than is commonly understood about these political philosophies. Neither discussion fits the negative images presented by the opponents of each of these political philosophies. There seem to be negatives and positives to both.

There is also an excellent discussions on the subject of existentialism and its meaning in the context of late 20th century and early 21st century politics.

Just a few other ideas of what awaits the user of A DICTIONARY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT:

An excellent discussion on the subject of "education" as the process whereby a rational being is instructed and the political implications of this instruction.

A discussion of the concepts of a political party and what distinguishes a party from a faction.

There's much more to this dictionary which might be better defined as an encyclopedia. I think that, during any campaign year, this book, with its many definitions and concept clarifications should be at one's side whenever he or she is listening to any campaign rhetoric.

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In 1924, Czech novelist-playwright Karel Capek (R.U.R., The War of the Newts) visited England and sent his impressions back to his homeland. Much of what he writes is about the culture shock he experiences, but he describes it so humorously (I think Mark Twain is a reasonable comparison) that it's easy to miss his concerns about the results of modernization.

Wit abounds: he desribes block after block of houses that hue to the same fashions as if they were all under a curse, followed by another set of blocks seemingly under a different curse, following another fashion. He expresses amazement at how the bus drivers know where to turn (if you've ever visited London, you'll remember that street signs can be difficult to find), and how streets are not where anything happens, because they are only to -use- in order to rush home.

But at the same time, there is a bit of horror about England and its modernization. To us, 75 years later, the horror is not so obviously apparent, but it would have been to a Czech reader in 1925. And to us, even if we -do- look at it with Czech eyes circa 1925, we might drop into complacency, because so much of what Capek has written about still holds true and we might say "gee at least it hasn't gotten worse." But if Capek were to visit today, he might merely write a -longer- book, adding to what's already here.

But it -is- an enjoyable book now, and was even then, as it went through several printings. Just, when you read it, try not to get swept up by his wit. This is not The Beverly Hillbillies, but an acerbic commentary on 20th century British life.

This is Scruton at his best in non academic writing. If you ever wondered what fox hunting had to do with Aristotle, Plato, Kant (and possibly even Heiddiger, the man not the tunelling boring machine) this is the place to look. It is also a good present for parents of philosophy students who wonder if their offspring are doing a safe or sensible subject. They'll have no worries after reading this. I recommend it very highly, except for sad socialists.

Roger Scruton is an English philosopher with broad and deep interests. This book is a collection of essays in three sections - philosphy and culture, art criticism, and politics, and Professor Scruton's depth and breadth of learning show, though lightly, throughout. The title of the book is after Matthew Arnold's (b. 1822) poem, and is entirely appropriate to the contents. Professor Scruton can be a severe critic of modern behaviour for modernity's sake alone, but never an unjustified one. One criticism which he is not recorded as having yet made of modernity is that one has less time to read than previous generations. Scruton has shown a fine appreciation for modern times because this is the ideal book for modern reading. Each essay is the righ length for reading before bed, yet packed with informative and valuable but amusing detail. He will lead into a commentary on Spengler's _Decline of the West_ as follows. "Like many Englishmen of my generation, I entered grammar school with the sense that I was taking my first step toward a scientific career. Neither I nor my parents had a clear notion of what this involved, but it had been established ... that the future lay with science." Four paragraphs later he tells how an instruction not to read Spengler was all he needed to become determined to read him, and on the third page we have moved into a thorough investigation of the tension between art and science. All these pieces start with an equally light introduction to a weighty subject. Scruton analyses a long series of propositions assumed by the trendy modern establishment, propositions which must have seemed very odd when first proposed but which have become accepted as self evident by many people from little more than frequent repetition. In this way he makes the reader think again, for instance, about whether it is really safe for the state to assume control of the civil society. This is one of Professor Scruton's most accessible books, and will also lead anyone interested in politics or the modern world in general to a rich source of other thinkers.

Roger Scruton has developed a clear and solidly-argued theory of sexual morality -- not in the sense of what kinds of things are morally acceptable with whom when, but of the relation between the experience of sex/desire and the moral makeup of rational, autonomous, physical beings. The argument proceeds from an analysis of the person as (1) a specifically embodied instance of (2) a historically-situated "first-person perspective" (fpp) that (3) endures through time and is consequently responsible for her expressions, choices and actions. These three features combine to demand respect for each person as unique and irreplaceable. What underlies sexual desire of the personalist (vs. animalistic) sort is a push toward union of fpp -- seeing through each others' eyes, adopting each others' interests, sharing in each others' emotional experiences, etc. -- what Scruton calls "projecting oneself onto the other's mental landscape." But because our only access to the other's fpp is through his embodiment, and because his embodiment is what individuates him among others in whom we are not so interested, the striving toward union expresses itself through desire for union of bodies. "Sexual desire is not impeded by morality, but created by it," and in fact, "safeguards the integrity of our embodiment," that is, one of the central things that makes us human. Anything less than a personalist ethics of sex is contrary to the human dignity of its participants. The book contains ample supporting argument, including provocative consideration of side issues like friendship, gender, marriage, perversion and love-as-virtue. It offers imaginative yet realistic discussion of the argument's ramifications. Examples, yes, but pertinent and straightfowardly treated. Readers in search of erotica will be disappointed, but those in search of sound and perenially relevant moral philosophy will not.

In this fascinating book, British Philosopher (and former university professor) Roger Scruton looks at the West and the Islamic world, and examines what has brought on the present crisis. It is his contention that the both the Western and the Islamic worlds are in a state of crisis. In the Islamic world, the increase in population and the concomitant urbanization has produced alienation, while the march of globalization has brought it face to face with a Western world that it both envies and hates. In the West, the whole of Western culture is under assault from an elitist, post-Modernist "Culture of Repudiation" that wishes to tear down the culture, but has nothing to erect in its place.

Along the way, Mr. Scruton treats the reader to a profound and highly enlightening look at the foundations of modern Western and Islamic political ideology; where they came from, where they are going, and what has produced such hostility. The conclusion of the book is small, with some suggestions to "constrain" the process of globalization, thus minimizing the threat perceived by the Muslim world, but nothing more far-reaching than that.

I found this book to be both enlightening and somewhat frightening. Mr. Scruton's analysis suggests that the roots of the present hostility emanating from the Middle East are very deep indeed, and not likely to be ameliorated by any simple or easy solution. If there was one book that I would urge everyone to read, so as to understand the present world, this would be it! Please read this book.

Roger Scruton, who has written more than twenty books, including: LAND HELD HOSTAGE: LEBANON AND THE WEST (1987), has summarized the philosophical background of political thought supporting western forms of government and enterprises, on the one hand, and the most menacing forms of opposition threatening their existence, on the other. The index is quite useful for locating significant figures, where they appear in the text most pertinently. Nietzsche only appears once, on the way to explaining "the appeal of those recent thinkers--Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Richard Rorty--who owe their intellectual eminence not to their arguments but to their role in giving authority to the rejection of authority, and to their absolute commitment to the impossibility of absolute commitments." (p. 75). Former opponents of the Western world as we know it in this book include Karl Marx, "Shortly after the family had been iconized by Hegel, it was satirized by Marx and Engels in THE HOLY FAMILY. But the real intellectual war against the family is a product of the late twentieth century, and part of a great cultural shift from the affirmation to the repudiation of inherited values." (p. 70). "Like Marxism, feminism purports to show us the world without ideological masks or camouflage." (p. 72). Marx is later criticized more philosophically for starting this ball rolling. "All distinctions are `cultural,' therefore `constructed,' therefore `ideological,' in the sense defined by Marx--manufactured by the ruling classes in order to serve their interests and bolster their power. Western civilization is simply the record of that oppressive process, and the principal purpose of studying it is to deconstruct its claim to our membership. This is the core belief that a great many students in the humanities are required to ingest, " (p. 79) at least until men stop signing up for liberal arts classes because they find them so offensive.

On the other hand, revolt in Western societies seems to play right into the hands of what the poet, Robert Bly, calls a sibling society. Instead of a society dominated by adults able "to induct young people into the national culture, when loyalties no longer stretch across generations or define themselves in territorial terms, then inevitably the society of strangers, held together by citizenship, is under threat." (p. 82). The vast media domination, assuming the primary influence of entertainment values in areas that used to be under the sway of intellectual thought, produces a society which is easily seen by the rest of the world as dominated by "a dissipation that is both cause and effect of the sex-and-drugs lifestyle of the modern teenager." (p. 82).

The fundamental point in Chapter 3, "Holy Law," is perhaps stated most forcefully later, in Chapter 4, "Globalization," considering how the common financial situation determining the future of the demographic explosion has not escaped ancient attitudes. "There is no such entity as Iraq, only a legal fiction erected by the United Nations for the purpose of dealing with whichever individual, clique, or faction is for the moment holding the people of that country hostage." (p. 135). Any authority which previously existed in that area takes "no responsibility, and can be neither praised nor blamed, but exist merely as shields and weapons in the hands of those whose advantages they secure. This was made explicit under the Leninist system of Communist government, which was . . . shadowed by an office of the `vanguard party,' which exercised all the power but was wholly unaccountable for doing so.
"This too casts some light on September 11. The attacks were designed to wound the United States in its decision-making part." (pp. 135-136). September 11, 2001, was a near miss for the political parties who send people to the U.S. Congress. Only those who lack political clout in the ruling party would want to point out that the financial structures and Pentagon civilians harmed in that attack were among those least likely to throw lives away in the kind of fights which previously seemed unlikely for a government which normally, "When it fights on their behalf it does not drag them into conflicts that are none of their business but involves them in conflicts of their own." (p. 138). So when I look at the news, I'm still checking to see if the oil wells are safe, and who wouldn't? This book explains things that were in the news much longer than most people have worried about them, and some of the truth in this book hurts.

Roger Scruton is not only the leading conservative intellectual of the Western world, he is also published in philosophy, political philosophy, aesthetics, fiction and opera.

His work _The West and the Rest_ is a must-read.