52 pages • 1 hour read
Robert HeilbronerThe Worldly Philosophers
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 1953A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
The last major work discussed by Heilbroner comes from 1942. If you were updating the book, what contemporary problems and questions would post-1942 worldly philosophers have to grapple with?
The Worldly Philosophers splits each chapter between the biography of each thinker and a summary of their most important work. What does knowledge of their personal history add to your understanding of their ideas?
In the final chapter, Heilbroner argues that economics cannot be a science, and should stop aspiring to be one. What do you think of this argument? How does the practice of the worldly philosopher differ from the mathematically driven economic professional?
