Will Durant Books
The School of Life is an organization founded by Alain de Botton that offers classes, books, and resources on emotional intelligence, self-knowledge, and the art of living. It publishes works that help readers lead more thoughtful and fulfilled lives.
Known for: The Lessons of History, The Story of Civilization, The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers
Books by Will Durant
The Lessons of History
What can thousands of years of war, empire, religion, economics, and human ambition teach us about the modern world? In The Lessons of History, Will Durant and Ariel Durant condense the vast sweep of ...
The Story of Civilization
The Story of Civilization is one of the most ambitious historical works ever written: an eleven-volume journey through human history from the ancient Near East to the age of Napoleon. Written by Will ...
The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers
Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophy is one of the most inviting gateways ever written into Western thought. Rather than presenting philosophy as a cold sequence of abstract systems, Durant turns it ...
Key Insights from Will Durant
Human Nature Changes Less Than We Think
One of history’s most uncomfortable lessons is that while technology transforms quickly, human nature does not. People still seek power, security, status, love, belonging, and advantage much as they always have. The tools change, but the impulses remain remarkably constant. This is one reason the Du...
From The Lessons of History
Civilization Is Built on Order
Freedom is inspiring, but history suggests that order comes first. The Durants argue that civilization begins when chaos is restrained—when laws, customs, institutions, and shared norms create enough stability for people to cooperate, trade, learn, and build. Without order, liberty collapses into in...
From The Lessons of History
Inequality Reappears Across Every Age
History repeatedly disappoints those who expect equality to arise naturally. According to the Durants, inequality is not merely the result of bad laws or corrupt elites, though those can worsen it; it also grows from differences in ability, energy, inheritance, opportunity, luck, and social organiza...
From The Lessons of History
Economics Drives More Than Ideology
Behind many moral arguments and political slogans lies a simpler force: material interest. The Durants stress that economics is one of history’s most persistent engines. People and nations may speak the language of honor, faith, justice, or patriotism, but competition over land, labor, resources, tr...
From The Lessons of History
War Persists Despite Human Progress
Few conclusions in The Lessons of History are more sobering than the claim that war has been one of history’s constants. Scientific progress, global trade, and cultural refinement have not eliminated organized violence. Why? Because the causes of war—competition, fear, ambition, scarcity, honor, rev...
From The Lessons of History
Religion Endures Because It Serves Needs
Modern intellectuals often assume that religion fades naturally as science advances, but the Durants offer a more durable view. Religion persists not merely because people lack information, but because it addresses enduring human needs: meaning, moral guidance, emotional comfort, social cohesion, ri...
From The Lessons of History
About Will Durant
The School of Life is an organization founded by Alain de Botton that offers classes, books, and resources on emotional intelligence, self-knowledge, and the art of living. It publishes works that help readers lead more thoughtful and fulfilled lives.
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The School of Life is an organization founded by Alain de Botton that offers classes, books, and resources on emotional intelligence, self-knowledge, and the art of living. It publishes works that help readers lead more thoughtful and fulfilled lives.
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