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Will Durant (1885–1981) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1968) and the Presidential Medal of
Freedom (1977). He spent more than fifty years writing his critically acclaimed eleven-volume
series, The Story of Civilization (the later volumes written in conjunction with his wife, Ariel). A
champion of human rights issues, such as the brotherhood of man and social reform, long
before such issues were popular, Durant's writing still educates and entertains readers around
the world.
William James "Will" Durant (/dəˈrænt/; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an
American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work The Story of
Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published
between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy (1926), described as
"a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy"
He conceived of philosophy as total perspective or seeing things sub specie totius (a phrase
inspired by Spinoza's sub specie aeternitatis). He sought to unify and humanize the great body
of historical knowledge, which had grown voluminous and become fragmented into esoteric
specialties, and to vitalize it for contemporary application.
The Durants were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1968 and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Early life
Durant was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, to French-Canadian Catholic parents Joseph
Durant and Mary Allard, who had been part of the Quebec emigration to the United States.
In 1900, Durant was educated by the Jesuits in St. Peter's Preparatory School and, later, Saint
Peter's College in Jersey City, New Jersey. Historian Joan Rubin writes of that period, "Despite
some adolescent flirtations, he began preparing for the vocation that promised to realize his
mother's fondest hopes for him: the priesthood. In that way, one might argue, he embarked on
a course that, while distant from Yale's or Columbia's apprenticeships in gentility, offered
equivalent cultural authority within his own milieu."
In 1905, he began experimenting with socialist philosophy, but, after World War I, he began
recognizing that a "lust for power" underlay all forms of political behavior. However, even
before the war, "other aspects of his sensibility had competed with his radical leanings," notes
Rubin. She adds that "the most concrete of those was a persistent penchant for philosophy.
Freedom (1977). He spent more than fifty years writing his critically acclaimed eleven-volume
series, The Story of Civilization (the later volumes written in conjunction with his wife, Ariel). A
champion of human rights issues, such as the brotherhood of man and social reform, long
before such issues were popular, Durant's writing still educates and entertains readers around
the world.
William James "Will" Durant (/dəˈrænt/; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an
American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work The Story of
Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published
between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy (1926), described as
"a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy"
He conceived of philosophy as total perspective or seeing things sub specie totius (a phrase
inspired by Spinoza's sub specie aeternitatis). He sought to unify and humanize the great body
of historical knowledge, which had grown voluminous and become fragmented into esoteric
specialties, and to vitalize it for contemporary application.
The Durants were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1968 and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Early life
Durant was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, to French-Canadian Catholic parents Joseph
Durant and Mary Allard, who had been part of the Quebec emigration to the United States.
In 1900, Durant was educated by the Jesuits in St. Peter's Preparatory School and, later, Saint
Peter's College in Jersey City, New Jersey. Historian Joan Rubin writes of that period, "Despite
some adolescent flirtations, he began preparing for the vocation that promised to realize his
mother's fondest hopes for him: the priesthood. In that way, one might argue, he embarked on
a course that, while distant from Yale's or Columbia's apprenticeships in gentility, offered
equivalent cultural authority within his own milieu."
In 1905, he began experimenting with socialist philosophy, but, after World War I, he began
recognizing that a "lust for power" underlay all forms of political behavior. However, even
before the war, "other aspects of his sensibility had competed with his radical leanings," notes
Rubin. She adds that "the most concrete of those was a persistent penchant for philosophy.
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