''Past Masters'' is an

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

published from 1980. Directly inspired by Isaiah Berlin's approach to the history of ideas, the series was created by

Henry Hardy Henry Robert Dugdale Hardy (born 15 March 1949) is a British academic, author and editor. Career Hardy was born in London in 1949 and educated at Lancing College, where his contemporaries included Christopher Hampton and Tim Rice. He went ...

in 1980, with Keith Thomas as General Editor. Its aim was to provide a brief, lively introduction to the ideas and beliefs of important thinkers from the past who have influenced the way we think today.''Past Masters''
Oxford University Press USA. Retrieved 20 March 2015. In 1995 it was expanded to form the ''

Very Short Introductions ''Very Short Introductions'' (''VSI'') is a book series published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). The books are concise introductions to particular subjects, intended for a general audience but written by experts. Most are under 200 page ...

'' series, in which a number of Past Masters were subsequently republished.

Publication history

Note: This list may not be complete. ISBNs given refer mainly to the paperback editions.

1980s

*''Aquinas'', A. J. P. Kenny, 1980. *''Burke'',

C. B. Macpherson Crawford Brough Macpherson (1911–1987) was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto. Life Macpherson was born on 18 November 1911 in Toronto, Ontario. After graduating from the Univ ...

, 1980. *''Dante'', George Holmes, 1980. *''Francis Bacon'',

Anthony Quinton Anthony Meredith Quinton, Baron Quinton, FBA (25 March 192519 June 2010) was a British political and moral philosopher, metaphysician, and materialist philosopher of mind. He served as President of Trinity College, Oxford from 1978 to 1987; and ...

, 1980. *''Galileo'',

Stillman Drake Stillman Drake (December 24, 1910 – October 6, 1993) was a Canadian historian of science best known for his work on Galileo Galilei (1569–1642). Drake published over 131 books, articles, and book chapters on Galileo. Including his translati ...

, 1980. * *''Homer'',

Jasper Griffin Jasper Griffin (29 May 1937 – 22 November 2019) was a British classicist and academic. He was Public Orator and Professor of Classical Literature in the University of Oxford from 1992 until 2004. Early life Griffin was born on 29 May 1937. H ...

, 1980. *''Hume'',

A. J. Ayer Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer (; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989), usually cited as A. J. Ayer, was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) ...

, 1980. *''Jesus'',

Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkli ...

, 1980. *''Marx'',

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...

, 1980. *''Pascal'', A. J. Krailsheimer, 1980. *''Confucius'',

Raymond Dawson Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, 1981. *''Engels'',

Terrell Carver Terrell Foster Carver (born 4 September 1946) is a Professor of Political Theory at the University of Bristol. Career Carver was born in Boise, Idaho. After receiving his B.A. from Columbia University in 1968, Carver went on to study in Engla ...

, 1981.* *''Machiavelli'',

Quentin Skinner Quentin Robert Duthie Skinner (born 26 November 1940) is a British intellectual historian. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Cambridge School of the history of political thought. He has won numerous prizes for his work, including th ...

, 1981. * *''Montaigne'', Peter Burke, 1981. *''Aristotle'',

Jonathan Barnes Jonathan Barnes, British Academy, FBA (born 26 December 1942 in Wenlock, Shropshire) is an English scholar of Aristotelianism, Aristotelian and ancient philosophy. Education and career He was educated at the City of London School and Balliol Co ...

, 1982. *''Berkeley'',

J. O. Urmson James Opie Urmson (4 March 1915 – 29 January 2012), was a philosopher and classicist who spent most of his professional career at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was a prolific author and expert on a number of topics including British anal ...

, 1982. *''Carlyle'', A. L. Le Quesne, 1982. *''Darwin'', Jonathan Howard, 1982. *''Kant'',

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 t ...

, 1982. * *''Tolstoy'', Henry Gifford, 1982. *''Bayle'',

Elisabeth Labrousse Elisabeth Labrousse (10 January 1914 – 1 February 2000) was a French philosopher, historian, and academic. She became known for her work on Pierre Bayle and the history of French Protestantism. Early life and education Elisabeth Goguel was bor ...

, 1983. *''Clausewitz'',

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

, 1983.* *''Cobbett'',

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

, 1983. *''Diderot'',

Peter France Peter France, FBA, FRSE (born 1935) is a British scholar of French literature and retired academic. He was Professor of French at the University of Edinburgh from 1980 to 1990. After completing a BA and DPhil at Magdalen College, Oxford, he w ...

, 1983. *''George Eliot'',

Rosemary Ashton Rosemary Doreen Ashton, (''née'' Thomson; born 11 April 1947) is a Scottish literary scholar. From 2002 to 2012, she was the Quain Professor of English Language and Literature at University College London. Her reviews appear in the '' London Re ...

, 1983. *''Hegel'',

, 1983.* *''Muhammad'', Michael Cook, 1983. *''Plato'',

R. M. Hare Richard Mervyn Hare (21 March 1919 – 29 January 2002), usually cited as R. M. Hare, was a British moral philosopher who held the post of White's Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford from 1966 until 1983. He subseque ...

, 1983. *''Proust'', Derwent May, 1983. *''The Buddha'',

Michael Carrithers Michael Barnes Carrithers, FBA (born 1945) is an anthropologist and academic. Since 1992, he has been Professor of Anthropology at Durham University. Career Born in 1945, Michael Barnes Carrithers graduated from Wesleyan University in 1967 with ...

, 1983.* *''Thomas More'',

Anthony Kenny Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny (born 16 March 1931) is a British philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of Wittgenstein of whose literary esta ...

, 1983. *''William Morris'',

Peter Stansky Peter David Lyman Stansky (born January 18, 1932) is an American historian specializing in modern British history. Works *''Ambitions and Strategies: The Struggle for the Leadership of the Liberal Party in the 1890s'' (1964) *''England Since 186 ...

, 1983. *''Chaucer'', George Kane, 1984. *''Goethe'', T. J. Reed, 1984. *''Lamarck'', L. J. Jordanova, 1984. *''Leibniz'', George MacDonald Ross, 1984. *''Locke'', John Dunn, 1984. * *''Petrarch'', Nicholas Mann, 1984. *''Adam Smith'',

D. D. Raphael David Daiches Raphael (25 January 1916 – 22 December 2015) was a British philosopher. Academic career He taught at the University of Otago, Dunedin, in New Zealand from 1946 to 1949, before returning to the United Kingdom as a lecturer in moral ...

, 1985. *''Bergson'',

Leszek Kołakowski Leszek Kołakowski (; ; 23 October 1927 – 17 July 2009) was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analyses of Marxist thought, especially his three-volume history, '' Main Currents of Marxism'' (1976). ...

, 1985. *''Cervantes'', P. E. Russell, 1985. *''Gibbon'', J. W. Burrow, 1985. *''Mill'', William Thomas, 1985. *''Ruskin'',

George P. Landow George Paul Landow (b. 25 August 1940) is Professor of English and Art History Emeritus at Brown University. He is a leading authority on Victorian literature, art, and culture, as well as a pioneer in criticism and theory of Electronic literature, ...

, 1985. *''Vico'', Peter Burke, 1985. *''Augustine'' Henry Chadwick, 1986. * *''Shakespeare'',

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literatu ...

, 1986. * *''Spinoza'',

, 1986.* *''Virgil'',

, 1986. *''Descartes'', Tom Sorell, 1987. *''Malthus'',

Donald Winch Donald Norman Winch, (15 April 1935 – 12 June 2017) was a British economist and academic. He was Professor of the History of Economics at the University of Sussex from 1969 to 2000, and its Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Arts and Social Studies) from 1 ...

, 1987. * *''Montesquieu'', Judith N. Shklar, 1987. *''Kierkegaard'',

Patrick Gardiner Patrick Lancaster Gardiner, FBA (1922–1997) was a British academic philosopher and a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Biography Gardiner was born in Chelsea, London, on 17 March 1922. His father was Clive Gardiner, a landscape artist and ...

, 1988.* *''Wittgenstein'', A. C. Grayling, 1988.* *''Arnold'',

Stefan Collini Stefan Collini (born 6 September 1947)COLLINI, Prof. Stefan Anthony
''Who ...

, 1989. *''Bentham'', J. R. Dinwiddy, 1989. *''Hobbes'',

Richard Tuck Richard Francis Tuck (born 1 January 1949) is a British academic, political theorist and historian of political thought. He taught at the University of Cambridge from 1973 to 1995. He then joined the faculty of Harvard University, where he teaches ...

, 1989.* *''Freud'',

Anthony Storr Anthony Storr (18 May 1920 – 17 March 2001) was an English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author. Background and education Born in London, Storr was educated at Winchester College, Christ's College, Cambridge, and Westminster Hospital. H ...

, 1989.*

1990s

*''Paine'', Mark Philp, 1989. *''Disraeli'', John Vincent, 1990. *''Erasmus'', James McConica, 1991. *''Paul'',

E. P. Sanders Ed Parish Sanders (April 18, 1937 – November 21, 2022) was an American New Testament scholar and a principal proponent of the "New Perspective on Paul". He was a major scholar in the scholarship on the historical Jesus and contributed to the v ...

, 1991. * *''Schiller'', T. J. Reed, 1991. *''Durkheim'', Frank Parkin, 1992. *''Samuel Johnson'', Pat Rogers, 1993. *''Jung'',

Anthony Stevens Anthony Stevens (born 2 July 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos. He was named as ruck rover in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. Stevens was a member of North Melbourne premiershi ...

, 1994.* *''Nietzsche'',

Michael Tanner Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, 1994. * *''Schopenhauer'',

Christopher Janaway Christopher Janaway is a philosopher and author. He earned degrees from the University of Oxford. Before moving to Southampton in 2005, Janaway taught at the University of Sydney and Birkbeck, University of London. His recent research has been on ...

, 1994.* *''Tocqueville'',

Larry Siedentop Sir Larry Alan Siedentop (born 24 May 1936) is an American-born British political philosopher with a special interest in 19th-century French liberalism. He is the author of ''Democracy in Europe'' and an occasional contributor to several major Br ...

, 1994. *''Rousseau'',

Robert Wokler Robert Lucien Wokler (6 December 1942 – 30 July 2006) was a British historian who was a leading scholar of the political thought of the Enlightenment. References * https://www.jstor.org/stable/26222117 * https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rob ...

, 1995.* *''Keynes'',

Robert Skidelsky Robert Jacob Alexander, Baron Skidelsky, (born 25 April 1939) is a British economic historian. He is the author of a three-volume award-winning biography of British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). Skidelsky read history at Jesus C ...

, 1996. *''Russell'', A. C. Grayling, 1996.* *''Gandhi'', B. C. Parekh, 1997. * *''Heidegger'',

Michael Inwood Michael Inwood (12 February 1944 – 31 December 2021) was a British philosopher and fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. He is known for his works on Hegel, Heidegger and ancient philosophy. Inwood died from lung cancer in Kidlington on 31 Decem ...

, 1997. * *''Past Masters: German Philosophers: Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer & Nietzsche'',

et al., 1997. *''Three Great Economists: Smith, Malthus, Keynes'', Keith Thomas et al., 1997. *''Frege'', Joan Weiner, 1999. *Also published as a ''Very Short Introduction''.

References

Series of non-fiction books Oxford University Press books {{bio-book-stub

Publication history

1980s

1990s

See also

References