Fundamentals of Western Philosophy

Fundamentals of Western Philosophy is a comprehensive review of the principles underlying the four primary disciplines of Western Philosophy: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, and Political Philosophy.

This work includes detailed examinations of the ideas put forth by such influential thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, George Berkeley, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Bertrand Russell, Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and Alexis de Tocqueville. It also presents some of the ideas of Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

The work also includes in-depth, chapter-by-chapter reviews of many of Western Philosophy's most essential writings, which include:

* Apology/Republic (Plato)
* Nicomachean Ethics/Politics (Aristotle)

* Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Kant)
* Utilitarianism/On Liberty (Mill)
* The Problems of Philosophy (Russell)
* The Prince (Machiavelli)
* Leviathan (Hobbes)
* Two Treatises of Government (Locke)
* The Social Contract/The Second Discourse (Rousseau)
* Democracy in America (Tocqueville)
* And more

Whether political, economic, cultural, or religious, all aspects of our lives are grounded in some sort of philosophical belief (even the United States Constitution has its origin in the teachings of Aristotle). Philosophy is the discipline that deals with the foundation and nature of these beliefs.

Unfortunately, whether by design or otherwise, philosophy is no longer seen as the valuable component to education that it once was. Today, education concerns itself more with what to know rather than how to know. Consequently, many of us have been conditioned to accept the world as it has been presented to us by others, and without any critical thought of our own. M. James Ziccardi has written this book to help counter this dangerous trend.

His objective is to provide a starting point for those who wish to have a better understanding of the beliefs that have shaped Western Society into what it is today. His hope is that by providing a better understanding of the origin of these beliefs, we will better be able to distinguish between those that have led to prosperity and those that have led to ruin.