The Giants of Pre-Sophistic Greek Philosophy


Book Description

Again and again and again: PHILOSOPHIA FIAT, QUAE PHILOLOGIA FUIT! As a consequence of certain developments in these last hundred years, ancient philosophy has been slipping from the hands of philosophers to become finally an almost exclusive domain of philologists. This has been happening not only because a tremendous amount of genuinely philological work had to be done, and still is needed, in collecting and textually adjusting the pertinent material, but also because a thorough knowledge and command of the ancient languages has become ever more and more of a rarity among philosophers, unfortunately. From the viewpoint of philosophical culture, this is disastrous. For most philologists are in a state of innocence as far as philosophy is concerned. Of course, they themselves are not aware of it. But the tragicomical fact remains: They have all the answers and do not know the questions. And so, led astray by philosophical miscon ceptions, they even commit appalling philological blunders every once in a while.







Presocratic Reflexivity: The Construction of Philosophical Discourse c. 600-450 B.C.


Book Description

In this third Volume of Logological Investigations Sandywell continues his sociological reconstruction of the origins of reflexive thought and discourse with special reference to pre-Socratic philosophy and science and their socio-political context.




The Dream of the West, Pt II


Book Description

This volume looks at the ancient heritage of Greek philosophy and Mesopotamian astronomy and examines the history of map-making, coastal and celestial navigation and astronomy from 1487-1727.




Thales of Miletus


Book Description

'What is the basic building block of the universe?' Thales of Miletus was the first to ask this fundamental, yet to be answered, question in the sixth century B.C. This book offers an in-depth account of the answers he gave and of his adventure into many areas of learning: philosophy, science, mathematics and astronomy. Thales proved that the events of nature were comprehensible to man and could be explained without the intervention of mythological beings. Henceforth they became subject to investigation, experiment, questioning and discussion. Presenting for the first time in the English language a comprehensive study of Thales of Miletus, Patricia O'Grady brings Thales out of pre-Socratic shadows into historical illumination and explores why this historical figure has proved to be of lasting significance.







Empedocles, the Extant Fragments


Book Description

One of the most important Presocratic philosophers was the Sicilian Empedocles. He presented his work in the form of two hexameter poems, of which about 450 lines are extant, revealing a formidable range of interests, acute observation, and a firm grasp of fundamental issues in the study of man and nature. Empedocles' theory of four elements was crucial to later developments in science and medicine. He showed how forces of attraction and repulsion acted on the elements within a framework of cyclical time and limited space, and initiated or advanced major discoveries in astronomy, biology, and physiology. More sophisticated concepts of divinity, personality, and mortality replaced traditional mythology, and these concepts were founded on the conviction that the individual has control over his own character and intellectual growth. The introduction discusses Empedocles' life and interests, the content of the Physics and Katharmoi, and the relation of the two poems to each other. A new Greek text with apparatus is followed by translation, commentary, and detailed concordance, to give a comprehensive edition of this key figure in the history of ideas. "With its careful and judicious editing of the fragments and its many fresh insights into Empedocles' thought, this work will be indispensable to students of Presocratic philosophy."--Alexander P.D. Mourelatos




Mortal and Divine in Early Greek Epistemology


Book Description

This book rethinks the relations between reasoning and revelation and, therefore, the nature of philosophy and religion in archaic Greece.