Briefly

Some reviews of the SCM Briefly Series 'The painless way to become well read...Daniel shows himself to be a sure-footed guide, with an obvious gift for presenting complex ideas clearly and concisely.' Church Times 'This series provides a very useful and student-friendly stepping stone between secondary and primary texts...Apart from the obvious student market, many general readers will welcome such useful introductions to some of the great names of Christian history.' Journal of Education and Christian Belief 'The Briefly series aims to help students wrap their minds around original texts without sacrificing either the subtlety or completeness of the arguments therein.' Reviews in Religion and Theology

Philosophy is for everyone! Briefly: 25 Great Philosophers from Plato to Sartre outlines the lives of 25 of the Great Philosophers from the western tradition, including Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill, Russell and Sartre, and explores some of their key ideas - ideas which have had a major impact on the development of western thought and society.

As well as highlighting contrasting approaches to philosophical questions, different treatments of particular issues, and areas where the thinking of one philosopher has influenced the ideas of others, this book reflects its authors' strongly-held belief that philosophy is for everyone, not only those who study it at university.

Each chapter has a context section, which looks at those aspects of the philosopher's thinking that shed light on the key ideas; a short biography; discussion of the key ideas; an impact section summing up their influence; and suggestions for further reading, including internet resources. A glossary of philosophers and thinkers gives brief information about other philosophers and thinkers referred to in the book, while the glossary of terms briefly defines specialist philosophical and other terms. There is also an index.

If you find this book's contents thought-provoking and horizon-expanding, do not stop here. Read some of these Great Philosophers' books. They wrote about the big issues of life. Exploring their ideas can help us to answer some of the questions we face today. At least, it can help us to understand the questions more clearly!

The authors The author of the Briefly series and SCM AS/A2 Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Dr David Mills Daniel, is an educational consultant and freelance lecturer, and a former head teacher and senior GCSE and A-level examiner.

A graduate of the Universities of Cambridge and Yale, Dafydd E. Mills Daniel is a Marquand Scholar of Yale Divinity School, where he completed a Masters degree in philosophy of religion, and is currently researching for a DPhil at Oxford.

A graduate and Scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge, Megan Daniel has degrees in theology and law and an MPhil in philosophy of religion from Cambridge University, and is a teacher of religious studies and law.