Table of Contents
Fast Facts
Read Next
Media
History & Society
Western philosophy
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Category:
History & Society
Western philosophy, history of Western philosophy from its development among the ancient Greeks to the present. This article has three basic purposes: (1) to provide an overview of the history of philosophy in the West, (2) to relate philosophical ideas and movements to their historical background and to the cultural history of their time, and (3) to trace the changing conception of the definition, the function, and the task of philosophy. It would be difficult if not impossible to find two philosophers who would define philosophy in exactly the same way. Throughout its long and varied history in the West, ...(100 of 35933 words)