If you never understood why Plato's philosophy of Ideal Forms is called Realism, then William S. Sahakian and Mabel L. Sahakian's Ideas of the Great Philosophers makes ideal reading. This compact book provides a veritable brief history of philosophy, offering precise descriptions of the major branches of philosophical thought and exploring the contributions of great thinkers to the various fields of philosophic inquiry.
Editorial Review(s)
"Philosophy, technically defined, is the critical evaluation of all the facts of experience. In this definition, the term critical implies that the philosopher must view all data and propositions with searching scrutiny, rejecting bias or prejudice of any kind. But the key term which most accurately indicates the philosopher's task is evaluation; the philosopher evaluates all the facts of experience known to man, whereas the scientist merely describes selected facts of experience which lie within his special field. Consequently, it is the act of evaluation which distinguishes philosophy from the other disciplines." —From Ideas of the Great Philosophers
