Unique in concept, this stimulating book is a brilliant examination of Western thought, philosophy and ideas since the Renaissance. It illuminates the origins and development of the ideas men have held about the major issues of existence the good, the true, the beautiful, the useful the kind of life men ought to live here on earth. Combining immense erudition with readability and humor, Professor Brinton explains why certain attitudes towards ethics, religion, politics, and science have been accepted by some generations and rejected by others. He traces the flow of great ideas from abstract concepts to vital influences in the lives of average and principles in the light of Western culture, in an attempt to allay some of our present day anxieties about the future of our society.