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  • Published: 3 October 2016
  • ISBN: 9780141983844
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 512
  • RRP: $24.99

The Dream of Reason

A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance




A fully revised and updated edition of the most approachable introduction to the beginnings of philosophy

Already a classic, this landmark account of early Western thought now appears in a new edition with expanded coverage of the Middle Ages. The Dream of Reason takes a fresh look at the writings of the great thinkers of classic philosophy and questions many pieces of conventional wisdom. The book invites comparison with Bertrand Russell's monumental History of Western Philosophy, "but Gottlieb's book is less idiosyncratic and based on more recent scholarship" (Colin McGinn, Los Angeles Times). A New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Best Book, and a Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2001.

  • Published: 3 October 2016
  • ISBN: 9780141983844
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 512
  • RRP: $24.99

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Praise for The Dream of Reason

A delight. It is written with both wit and scholarship, providing a wonderful overall picture of Western philosophy up to the Renaissance.

Sir Roger Penrose

[Gottlieb] writes with fluency and lucidity, with a gift for making even difficult matters seem comprehensible.

Richard Jenkins, New York Times

Gottlieb is as enjoyable as he is intellectually stimulating.

Robert Conquest, Los Angeles Times