John Arthur Passmore (1914–2004)

One of the best histories of philosophy I've read, and I've read far too many of them. Passmore writes beautifully, and clearly, and, for the most part, sympathetically, about an enormous number of people you've never read, or never heard of, or never even really need to have heard of. But he also does a great job on the major figures of this time period (i.e., from Mill to Quine). I was already impressed with his ability to write about Wittgenstein, Collingwood, Austin and Russell as if he was a critical partisan of each. But then he does justice to Jaspers, Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty!

I say he's even-handed, and he does justice, but by that I mean he isn't afraid to be critical, particularly where criticism is warranted (i.e., much of Jaspers and much of Sartre). He also has obvious biases. But in general, an amazing history of an occasionally obscure period. Highly recommended.… (mehr)

First published in 1970, this is an analytic discussion of the various ways in which perfectibility has been interpreted. Professor Passmore traces its long history from the Greeks to the 20th century, by way of Christianity, orthodox and heterodox, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, anarchism, utopias, communism, psychoanalysis, and evolutionary theories of man and society. The text explores the history of the idea of perfectibility - manifest in the ideology of perfectibilism - and its consequences, which have invariably been catastrophic for individual liberty and responsibility in private, social, economic and political life. This second edition features a new preface.… (mehr)