The Passion Of The Western Mind

Book excerpt: The Passion of the Western Mind is a complete guide to Western civilisation and the philosophical ideas that have shaped our world view. From Plato to Hegel, from Augustine to Nietzsche, from Copernicus to Freud, Richard Tarnas described profound philosophical concepts simply, but without simplifying them. Ten years in the making, The Passion of the Western Mind was hailed as an instant classic on publication. In it, Tarnas provides a compelling account of the evolution of the Western mind and its changing conception of reality. Advances on several fronts - in philosophy, psychology, religous studies and the history of science - have shed new light on this remarkable evolution and Tarnas draws together these advances to set forth a new perspective for understanding out culture's intellectual and spiritual history. The result is a complete liberal education in a single volume.