This essential introduction to world philosophy contains the most noted quotations from 100 of the greatest philosophers in our history. Along with their most famous thoughts, the accompanying text puts each philosopher into the context of their place and time and provides the reader with fascinating but highly accessible insight into the meaning and interpretations of each one.

From Lao Tzu in sixth-century BCE China to Plato in Classical Greece, and from Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century to Noam Chomsky in the twenty-first, the breadth of philosophical thought gives the reader unique insights into different attitudes and cultures around the world – along with the issues that unite and divide us. This timely book is an introduction to world thought and intellectual debate through the eyes and minds of those who, by their very nature, ask the most important questions and can fuel change and progress.