Norman L Geisler

A History of Western Philosophy Norman L Geisler

One can see farther when standing on the shoulders of giants. The great philosophers of antiquity are truly the intellectual giants bridging the abyss between the past and the present. Unfortunately, the thoughts of the earlier thinkers were often conflicting and occasionally incorrect. Nevertheless, we can often learn from the errors of these great minds. There is a lot of truth to be learned from a significant error. Great minds produce great thoughts, and great thoughts are worth thinking again. Our mind is enriched by following in the intellectual footsteps of those that have gone before us. Philosophy provides a basis of thought in virtually every other discipline. For example, one cannot truly know science without understanding the philosophy of science. Nor can one know theology without understanding the philosophical principles that it is built upon. The study of the history of thought is a worthy and rewarding enterprise all within itself. You could not spend your intellectual efforts more profitably than in the study of the unfolding of the history of great ideas. We do not live in a vacuum, thus, we must not think in a vacuum. With the preparation of the thoughts of those that have gone before us, we can influence the thoughts of those that come after us.