BLOG POSTS
Archives: Book Authors
Freud Sigmund
Sigismund Freud (1856 – 1939), better known as Sigmund Freud, was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. If some of his ideas, always controversial, have now fallen out of favour, it does not diminish the impact that his thinking has had on psychology, therapy and, indeed, culture in general. His favourite book, ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, remains the most significant work on the subject matter, even if some of the underlying theories have been discredited.
Descartes Rene
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) has been described as the ‘father’ of modern philosophy, and is, without doubt, one of the greatest thinkers in history. His genius lies at the core of our contemporary intellectual identity. His writings attempted to answer the central questions surrounding the self, God, free-will and knowledge, using the science of thought as opposed to received wisdom based on the tenets of faith.
Tocqueville Alexis de
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805 – 1859) was a French philosopher. His ‘Democracy in America’ is a classic of political philosophy. Hailed by John Stuart Mill and Horace Greely as the finest book ever written on the nature of democracy, it continues to be an influential text on both sides of the Atlantic, and above all in the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe.
Darwin Charles
There have been few books written of more significance than ‘The Origin of Species’ by Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882). Although some of the detail has superseded by subsequent scientific progress, the book remains central to current evolutionary theory.
Dante
Dante Alighieri (1265? – 1321) is considered the finest poet that Italy has ever produced, and is also celebrated as a major influence on western European culture through his major work, ‘The Divine Comedy’.
Clausewitz Carl von
Carl von Clausewitz (1780 – 1831) was a Prussian professional soldier, who achieved fame as a military theorist, and his classic work, ‘On War’, has become one of the most inflential books on the philosophy of warfare.
Bunyan John
John Bunyan (1628-1688) was the writer of ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’, that was at one stage the second most popular book after the the Bible.
Boccaccio Giovanni
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) is heralded as one of Europe’s foremost storytellers. Boccaccio is renowned for ‘Decameron’, a collection of one hundred novellas, and widely recognised as a masterpiece of world literature.
Aristotle
Aristotle (384-322BC) is the philosopher who has most influence on the development of western culture, writing on a wide variety of subjects including the natural sciences as well as the more strictly philosophical topics of logic, metaphysics and ethics.