This first volume in the series traces the development of philosophy over two-and-a-half centuries, from Thales at the beginning of the sixth century BC to the death of Plato in 347 BC.

This second volume opens with Aristotle's immense influence on philosophy from the beginnings of Christian philosophy in the fifth century AD.

This third volume is devoted to the philosophical traditions that arose in the Middle Ages, encompassing Arab, Jewish and Latin thinkers.

This fourth volume traces the history of Renaissance philosophy and seventeenth century rationalism, covering Descartes and the birth of modern philosophy.

European philosophy from the late seventeenth century through most of the eighteenth is broadly conceived as `the Enlightenment', the period of empirical reaction to the great seventeenth century Rationalists. This volume begins with Herbert of Cherbury and the Cambridge Platonists and with Newton and the early English Enlightenment. Locke is a key figure in late chapters, as a result of his importance both in the development of British and Irish philosophy and because of his seminal influence in the Enlightenment as a whole. British Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment includes discussion of Scottish Enlightenment and its influence on the German Aufklarung, and consequently on Kant. French thought, which in turn affected the late radical Enlightenment, especially Bentham, is also considered here. This survey brings together clear, authoritative chapters from leading experts and provides a scholarly introduction to this period in the history of philosophy. It includes a glossary of technical terms and a chronological table of important political, philosophical, scientific and other cultural events.

German Idealism was one of the most fertile and important movements in the history of Western philosophy. This volume includes eleven chapters on all aspects and the period's most influential philosophers, including Kant and Hegel.

Continental philosophy is one of the twentieth century's most important and challenging philosophical movements. This major volume includes fourteen chapters on its major representatives and schools, including phenomenology, existentialism and postmodernism.

The twentieth century witnessed the birth of analytic philosophy. This volume covers some of its key movements and philosophers, including Frege and Wittgenstein's Tractatus.