Great European Thinkers: A Window to Continental Philosophy

Great European Thinkers is premised on the basic belief that a little philosophy is a necessary thing. The book brings together the most accessible writings of eight great European thinkers from Plato to Freud. These essays are expected to serve as foundational texts for students majoring in English literature. Our effort is specifically directed at sensitizing students of literature towards key philosophical ideas that they are bound to deal with on regular basis: appearance and reality, ethics, idealism, politics, statecraft, pragmatism, morality, truth and method, social contract, freedom and responsibility, historical materialism, historicity, consequentialism, sexual and social determination, etc. Teachers and students try to make sense of these terms, often without any contextual awareness of the use and indeed usability of the concepts. This book will initiate the students into key areas of critical inquiry in philosophical issues and help them articulate critical ideas with a certain degree of confidence.