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Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Ancient Western philosophy to c 500 > General
Death and immortality played a central role in Greek and Roman
thought, from Homer and early Greek philosophy to Marcus Aurelius.
In this book A. G. Long explains the significance of death and
immortality in ancient ethics, particularly Plato's dialogues,
Stoicism and Epicureanism; he also shows how philosophical
cosmology and theology caused immortality to be re-imagined.
Ancient arguments and theories are related both to the original
literary and theological contexts and to contemporary debates on
the philosophy of death. The book will be of major interest to
scholars and students working on Greek and Roman philosophy, and to
those wishing to explore ancient precursors of contemporary debates
about death and its outcomes.
Accompanied by a new translation of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
X, this volume presents a hybrid between a traditional commentary
and a scholarly monograph. Aristotle's text is divided into one
hundred lemmata which not only explore comprehensively the content
and strength of each of these units of thought, but also emphasise
their continuity, showing how the smaller units feed into the
larger structure. The Commentary illuminates what Aristotle thinks
in each lemma (and why), and also shows how he thinks. In order to
bring Aristotle alive as a thinker, it often explores several
possible ways of reading the text to enable the reader to make up
their own mind about the best interpretation of a given passage.
The relevant background in Plato's dialogues is discussed, and a
substantial Introduction sets out the philosophical framework
necessary for understanding Book X, the final and most arresting
section of the Ethics.
During the months before and after he saw Julius Caesar
assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Cicero wrote two
philosophical dialogues about religion and theology: On the Nature
of the Gods and On Divination. This book brings to life his
portraits of Stoic and Epicurean theology, as well as the
scepticism of the new Academy, his own school. We meet the
Epicurean gods who live a life of pleasure and care nothing for us,
the determinism and beauty of the Stoic universe, itself our
benevolent creator, and the reply to both that traditional religion
is better served by a lack of dogma. Cicero hoped that these
reflections would renew the traditional religion at Rome, with its
prayers and sacrifices, temples and statues, myths and poets, and
all forms of divination. This volume is the first to fully
investigate Cicero's dialogues as the work of a careful
philosophical author.
This book focuses on the development of Platonic philosophy at the
hands of Roman writers between the first century BCE and the early
fifth century CE. It discusses the interpretation of Plato's
Timaeus by Cicero, Apuleius, Calcidius, and Augustine, and examines
how these authors created new contexts and settings for the
intellectual heritage they received and thereby contributed to the
construction of the complex and multifaceted genre of Roman
Platonism. It takes advantage of the authors' treatment of Plato's
Timaeus as a continuous point of reference to illustrate the
individuality and originality of each writer in his engagement with
this Greek philosophical text; each chooses a specific vocabulary,
methodology, and literary setting for his appropriation of Timaean
doctrine. The authors' contributions to the dialogue's history of
transmission are shown to have enriched and prolonged the enduring
significance of Plato's cosmology.
This book offers a fresh analysis of the account of Peripatetic
ethics in Cicero's On Ends 5, which goes back to the first-century
BCE philosopher Antiochus of Ascalon. Georgia Tsouni challenges
previous characterisations of Antiochus' philosophical project as
'eclectic' and shows how his reconstruction of the ethics of the
'Old Academy' demonstrates a careful attempt to update the ancient
heritage, and predominantly the views of Aristotle and the
Peripatos, in the light of contemporary Stoic-led debates. This
results in both a hermeneutically complex and a philosophically
exciting reading of the old tradition. A case in point is the way
Antiochus grounds the 'Old Academic' conception of the happy life
in natural appropriation (oikeiosis), thus offering a naturalistic
version of Aristotelian ethics.
All disciplines can count on a noble founder, and the
representation of this founder as an authority is key in order to
construe a discipline's identity. This book sheds light on how
Plato and other authorities were represented in one of the most
long-lasting traditions of all time. It leads the reader through
exegesis and polemics, recovery of the past and construction of a
philosophical identity. From Xenocrates to Proclus, from the
sceptical shift to the re-establishment of dogmatism, from the
Mosaic of the Philosophers to the Neoplatonist Commentaries, the
construction of authority emerges as a way of access to the core of
the Platonist tradition.
This book provides a comprehensive and in-depth study of Physics I,
the first book of Aristotle's foundational treatise on natural
philosophy. While the text has inspired a rich scholarly
literature, this is the first volume devoted solely to it to have
been published for many years, and it includes a new translation of
the Greek text. Book I introduces Aristotle's approach to topics
such as matter and form, and discusses the fundamental problems of
the study of natural science, examining the theories of previous
thinkers including Parmenides. Leading experts provide fresh
interpretations of key passages and raise new problems. The volume
will appeal to scholars and students of ancient philosophy as well
as to specialists working in the fields of philosophy and the
history of science.
Greek Memories aims to identify and examine the central concepts
underlying the theories and practices of memory in the Greek world,
from the archaic period to Late Antiquity, across all the main
literary genres, and to trace some fundamental changes in these
theories and practices. It explores the interaction and development
of different 'disciplinary' approaches to memory in Ancient Greece,
which will enable a fuller and deeper understanding of the whole
phenomenon, and of its specific manifestations. This collection of
papers contributes to enriching the current scholarly discussion by
refocusing it on the question of how various theories and practices
of memory, recollection, and forgetting play themselves out in
specific texts and authors from Ancient Greece, within a wide
chronological span (from the Homeric poems to Plotinus), and across
a broad range of genres and disciplines (epic and lyric poetry,
tragedy, comedy, historiography, philosophy and scientific prose
treatises).
Human suffering, the fear of death, war, poverty, ecological
destruction and social inequality: almost 2,000 ago Lucretius
proposed an ethics of motion as simple and stunning solution to
these ethical problems. Thomas Nail argues that Lucretius was the
first to locate the core of all these ethical ills in our obsession
with stasis, our fear of movement and our hatred of matter. Instead
of trying to transcend nature with our minds, escape it with our
immortal souls and dominate it with our technologies, Lucretius was
perhaps the first in the Western tradition to forcefully argue for
a completely materialist, immanent and naturalistic ethics based on
moving well with and as nature. If we want to survive and live well
on this planet, Lucretius taught us, our best chance is not to
struggle against nature but to embrace it and facilitate its
movement.Lucretius II is the second installment in Thomas Nail's
transformative reading of Lucretius' didactic poem De Rerum Natura,
which can be read individually or as a trilogy. Lucretius I covered
books 1 and 2 of De Rerum Natura and looked at Lucretius' ontology;
this volume covers books 3 and 4 and Lucretius' ethics. The third
and final volume will cover books 5 and 6."
This posthumous book represents the first publication of one of the
seminars of Cornelius Castoriadis, a renowned and influential
figure in twentieth-century thought. A close reading of Plato's
"Statesman," it is an exemplary instance of Castoriadis's
pragmatic, pertinent, and discriminating approach to thinking and
reading a great work: "I mean really reading it, by respecting it
without respecting it, by going into the recesses and details
without having decided in advance that everything it contains is
coherent, homogeneous, makes sense, and is true."
Castoriadis brings out what he calls "The Statesman"'s "quirky
structure," with its three digressions, its eight incidental
points, and its two definitions, neither of which is deemed good.
He does not hesitate to differ with the text, to show that what is,
in appearance, secondary is really essential, and that the
denunciation of the Sophists accommodates itself quite well to the
use of sophistical procedures. Castoriadis shows how "The
Statesman" takes us into the heart of what is distinctive in the
late Plato: blending, acceptance of the mixed, of the intermediate.
These transcriptions of Cornelius's afford the reader an
opportunity to discover his trenchant, convincing, energetic,
provocative, and often droll voice. Here is a hitherto unknown
Castoriadis, who reflects as he speaks, collects himself, corrects
himself, and doesn't hesitate to revisit key points. In short, this
is Castoriadis's thinking in action.
Plato's 4th century B.C. Dialogues rank among Western
civilisation's most important and influential philosophical works.
All six of these works feature authoritative translations by the
distinguished classical scholar Benjamin Jowett.
While few soldiers may have read the works of Epictetus or Marcus
Aurelius, it is undoubtedly true that the ancient philosophy known
as Stoicism guides the actions of many in the military. Soldiers
and seamen learn early in their training "to suck it up," to
endure, to put aside their feelings and to get on with the mission.
Stoic Warriors is the first book to delve deeply into the ancient
legacy of this relationship, exploring what the Stoic philosophy
actually is, the role it plays in the character of the military
(both ancient and modern), and its powerful value as a philosophy
of life. Marshalling anecdotes from military history-ranging from
ancient Greek wars to World War II, Vietnam, and Iraq-Nancy Sherman
illuminates the military mind and uses it as a window on the
virtues of the Stoic philosophy, which are far richer and more
interesting than our popularized notions. Sherman-a respected
philosopher who taught at the US Naval Academy-explores the deep,
lasting value that Stoicism can yield, in issues of military
leadership and character; in the Stoic conception of anger and its
control (does a warrior need anger to go to battle?); and in Stoic
thinking about fear and resilience, grief and mourning, and the
value of camaraderie and brotherhood. Sherman concludes by
recommending a moderate Stoicism, where the task for the
individual, both civilian and military, youth and adult, is to
temper control with forgiveness, and warrior drive and achievement
with humility and humor. Here then is a perceptive investigation of
what makes Stoicism so compelling not only as a guiding principle
for the military, but as a philosophy for anyone facing the
hardships of life.
Herbert Marcuse called the preface to Hegel's Phenomenology "one of
the greatest philosophical undertakings of all times." This summary
of Hegel's system of philosophy is now available in English
translation with commentary on facing pages. While remaining
faithful to the author's meaning, Walter Kaufmann has removed many
encumbrances inherent in Hegel's style.
The last several decades have witnessed an explosion of research in
Platonic philosophy. A central focus of his philosophical effort,
Plato's psychology is of interest both in its own right and as
fundamental to his metaphysical and moral theories. This anthology
offers, for the first time, a collection of the best classic and
recent essays on cenral topics of Plato's psychological theory,
including essays on the nature of the soul, studies of the
tripartite soul for which Plato argues in the Republic, and
analyses of his varied arguments for immortality. With a
comprehensive introduction to the major issues of Plato's
psychology and an up-to-date bibliography of work on the relevant
issues, this much-needed text makes the study of Plato's psychology
accessible to scholars in ancient Greek philosophy, classics, and
history of psychology.
In this radical reinterpretation of Aristotle's Metaphysics, Walter
E. Wehrle demonstrates that developmental theories of Aristotle are
based on a faulty assumption: that the fifth chapter of Categories
('substance') is an early theory of metaphysics that Aristotle
later abandoned. The ancient commentators unanimously held that the
Categories was semantical and not metaphysical, and so there was no
conflict between it and the Metaphysics proper. They were right,
Wehrle argues: the modern assumption, to the contrary, is based on
a medieval mistake and is perpetuated by the anti-metaphysical
postures of contemporary philosophy. Furthermore, by using the
logico-semantical distinction in Aristotle's works, Wehrle shows
just how the principal 'contradictions' in Metaphysics Books VII
and VIII can be resolved. The result in an interpretation of
Aristotle that challenges mainstream viewpoints, revealing a
supreme philosopher in sharp contrast to the developmentalists'
version.
In this international and interdisciplinary collection of critical
essays, distinguished contributors examine a crucial premise of
traditional readings of Plato's dialogues: that Plato's own
doctrines and arguments can be read off the statements made in the
dialogues by Socrates and other leading characters. The authors
argue in general and with reference to specific dialogues, that no
character should be taken to be Plato's mouthpiece. This is
essential reading for students and scholars of Plato. Visit our
website for sample chapters
The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote down his thoughts between
170 and 180. He was a late Stoic Philosopher and this one of the
few examples of this type of literature that exists today. The book
is written as personal notes to himself and his thesis is that one
can obtain inner calm irrespective of outer adversity. The text
considers good and evil, solidarity, adversity and inner freedom.
It is a book that offers wisdom, comfort and inspiration. As well
as the thought, this edition contains a biographical sketch and
summary of the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, a number of
illustrations and both an index and index of terms.
The philosopher Philo was born about 20 BCE to a prominent
Jewish family in Alexandria, the chief home of the Jewish Diaspora
as well as the chief center of Hellenistic culture; he was trained
in Greek as well as Jewish learning. In attempting to reconcile
biblical teachings with Greek philosophy he developed ideas that
had wide influence on Christian and Jewish religious thought.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of the works of Philo is in
ten volumes and two supplements, distributed as follows. Volume I:
Creation; Interpretation of Genesis II and III. II: On the
Cherubim; The Sacrifices of Abel and Cain; The Worse Attacks the
Better; The Posterity and Exile of Cain; On the Giants. III: The
Unchangeableness of God; On Husbandry; Noah's Work as a Planter; On
Drunkenness; On Sobriety. IV: The Confusion of Tongues; The
Migration of Abraham; The Heir of Divine Things; On the Preliminary
Studies. V: On Flight and Finding; Change of Names; On Dreams. VI:
Abraham; Joseph; Moses. VII: The Decalogue; On Special Laws Books
IIII. VIII: On Special Laws Book IV; On the Virtues; Rewards and
Punishments. IX: Every Good Man Is Free; The Contemplative Life;
The Eternity of the World; Against Flaccus; Apology for the Jews;
On Providence. X: On the Embassy to Gaius; indexes. Supplement I:
Questions on Genesis. II: Questions on Exodus; index to
supplements.
In this book, Marian Demos demonstrates the significance of three
famous lyric quotations within their respective contexts in the
dialogues of Plato. Demos reminds us that familiarity with the
lyric poets was part of the educational background of Plato and his
audience; therefore, she argues, Socrates is portrayed in the
Platonic dialogues not only as a philosopher but also as someone
with poetic sensibilities. Demos first investigates the Simonides
poem in the Protagoras, showing that Plato has Socrates provide a
fundamentally sound interpretation of the meaning of Simonides'
words. She then argues that a purposeful misquotation of Pindar
placed in the mouth of Callicles by Plato is not altogether
implausible in light of the quotation's context in the Gorgias.
Finally, Demos discusses Socrates' quotation of Stesichorus'
palinode in the Phaedrus. Demos' analysis of the important role
played by lyric quotation in Platonic dialogues will be of great
interest to students and scholars of Plato and ancient lyric
poetry.
Preserved by Arabic mathematicians and canonized by Christian scholars, Aristotle’s works have shaped Western thought, science, and religion for nearly two thousand years. Richard McKeon’s The Basic Works of Aristotle–constituted out of the definitive Oxford translation and in print as a Random House hardcover for sixty years–has long been considered the best available one-volume Aristotle. Appearing in paperback at long last, this edition includes selections from the Organon, On the Heavens, The Short Physical Treatises, Rhetoric, among others, and On the Soul, On Generation and Corruption, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Poetics in their entirety.
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