Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55), one of the most original thinkers of the nineteenth century, wrote widely on religious, psychological, and literary themes. This book shows how Kierkegaard developed his views in emphatic opposition to prevailing opinions. His arresting but paradoxical conception of religious belief is critically discussed, and Patrick Gardiner concludes this lucid introduction by showing how Kiekegaard has influenced contemporary thought.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Isaiah Berlin's The Sense of Reality contains an important body of previously unknown work by one of our century's leading historians of ideas, and one of the finest essayists writing in English. Eight of the nine pieces included here are published for the first time, and their range is characteristically wide: the subjects explored include realism in history; judgement in politics; the history of socialism; the nature and impact of Marxism; the radical cultural revolution instigated by the Romantics; Russian notions of artistic commitment; and the origins and practice of nationalism. The title essay, starting from the impossibility of historians being able to recreate a bygone epoch, is a superb centerpiece.

The original paperback series Readings in the History of Philosophy evaluates the full scope and impact of Western philosophy from Presocratics to the important thinkers of the twentieth century. Full of sections that are appearing in English for the first time, this book includes careful chosen and extensive selections that emphasize the range and signifcane of the important philosophers of each period. This addition to the series highlights the thoughts, theories, and works of philosophers from the nineteenth-century, including Bradley, Fichte, Marx, and Hegel.