“Moderate to Excess” Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophy and the Popularisation of Aristotle

Description

In 1923, Will Durant published The Story of Aristotle’s Philosophy in the working-class-oriented Little Blue Book Series, and by 1928, it had sold 27,000 copies. In 1926, three years after its initial publication, it became a chapter in Durant’s more significant book, The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers, which remained on the annual top-ten best-seller list for four of the following five years, was the best-selling nonfiction title of 1927, translated into over twenty languages, and whose lifetime sales are conservatively estimated to be over eight million copies. The Story thus constitutes a critical instance in the popularisation and dissemination of Aristotelian philosophy to a broad working- and middle-class audience outside the isolated realm of academia. The Story provides a broad overview of Aristotelian philosophy to a group historically excluded from accessing his works. The popularity, availability, and widespread dissemination of Durant’s text means that the Story was the first interaction many people had with Aristotle, shaping their understanding and interpretation of “The Philosopher’s” thoughts.

This paper analyses how Durant makes the ideas of a philosopher whose works are so “varied and manifold that no centralizing unity can be found to co-ordinate it for easier comprehension” accessible to his predominantly working-class, non-university-educated audience. This chapter will also analyse how Durant’s text – while not explicitly political – is marked by criticisms rooted in his historical and ideological background. Finally, using contemporary and later newspaper articles, journals, and other forms of public media, it assesses how the general public received Durant’s text, how his criticisms influenced public perceptions of Aristotle as a conservative thinker, and the prevalence of quotes falsely attributed to Aristotle that – in actuality – come from Durant.

Period	26 Mar 2025
Event title	Explorations in the Public Reception of Aristotle
Event type	Conference
Degree of Recognition	International