Will Durant
Sign in to saveAmerican historian, philosopher and writer (1885–1981)
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Will Durant was an American historian, philosopher, and writer who lived from 1885 to 1981 and became famous for making complex ideas accessible to general readers. He is best known for his multi-volume work "The Story of Civilization," which presented world history in an engaging, narrative style that brought historical knowledge to millions of people.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1885
- Died
- 1981
- Works
- 134
Top works
- 廾世紀文豪看人生
- The Story of Philosophy
- الحضارة اليهودية
- Lịch sử văn minh Trung Hoa
- The Lessons of History
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Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 983
- Total plays
- 13,115
William James Durant (November 5, 1885–November 7, 1981) was an American philosopher, historian, and writer. He is best known for his authorship and co-authorship with his wife Ariel Durant of The Story of Civilization. Life and Works Durant was born in North Adams, Massachusetts of French-Canadian parents Joseph Durant and Mary Allard, who had been part of the Quebec emigration to the United States. He fought for equal wages, women's suffrage and fairer working conditions for the American lab
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William James Durant (/dəˈrænt/; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American historian and philosopher, best known for his eleven-volume work, The Story of Civilization, which contains and details the history of Eastern and Western civilizations. It was written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy (1926), described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy".
Durant conceived of philosophy as total perspective or seeing things sub specie totius (i.e., "from the perspective of the whole")—a phrase inspired by Spinoza's sub specie aeternitatis, roughly meaning "from the perspective of the eternal". He sought to unify and humanize the great body of historical knowledge, which had grown voluminous and become fragmented into esoteric specialties, and to vitalize it for contemporary application. As a result of their success, he and his wife were jointly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
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1885 births1981 deaths20th-century American educators20th-century American male writers20th-century American non-fiction writers20th-century American philosophersAmerican historians of philosophyAmerican male essayistsAmerican people of French-Canadian descentAmerican philosophy academicsBurials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery