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Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Ancient Western philosophy to c 500 > General
Adapted to better meet the needs of American college students, The Oxford Latin Course, College Edition, retains its trademark reading-based approach, but does so now in two companion volumes--Readings and Vocabulary and Grammar, Exercises, Context--that cover all of the topics essential to a first-year Latin course. OTHER NEW FEATURES: * Streamlined organization that focuses more closely on the life of the Roman poet Horace * Additional and more robust grammar explanations * Revised cartoons--completely redrawn for a college audience--that illustrate grammar points and provide students with "visual vignettes" * A revised narrative that corresponds to customary U.S. usage and Americanized spelling * A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/morwood containing grammar and syntax drills, flashcards for vocabulary review, phonetic pronunciations, and instructional materials
Originally published in 1973. Aristotle's early works probably belong to the formative era of his philosophic thought and as such contribute vitally to the understanding and evaluation of the development of his philosophy. This book shows that the philosophy propagated in these lost works indicates an undeniable Platonism, and thus seems to conflict with the basic doctrines in the traditional treatises collected in the Corpus Aristotelicum. Was the author of the lost early works and the later preserved treatises one and the same person, or were some of these treatises written by members of the Early Peripatus? This, the second of two volumes, discusses in detail certain decisive aspects of Aristotle's early works. Fascinating hypotheses and conjectures put forward here provoke discussion and further investigation in the 'Aristotelian Problem'.
Aristotle's Metaphysics is a collection of essays on a wide range of topics, almost certainly never put together by Aristotle himself. This helps to explain why the material covers such a very wide range of material, from meaning to mathematics, from logical sequences to religion. It includes very useful treatments of the nature of axioms (or primary truths) such as the law of non-contradiction and the laws of logic. In looking at these, Aristotle provides sustained guides to clear thinking as would be evidenced in analysis and evaluation of arguments and the production of good reasoning. He also provides some valuable discussion of interpretation by looking at homonyms (as in 'this knife is sharp' and 'this note is sharp') and what he calls 'paronyms,' which lie between homonyms and synonyms: an example is the word 'healthy'. Metaphysics is also useful to study for its frequent examples of hypothetical reasoning, including their use in mathematics ('if x, then y...') and science ('if a moves b, then b moves c...', so what moves a?). In addition, we find Aristotle analysing Plato's arguments and subjecting them to sustained (critical) evaluation. While Metaphysics shows Aristotle in many well-developed critical thinking modes, it is first and foremost a work of exquisite reasoning, creating strong arguments that continue to be debated and deployed today, nearly 2500 years after they were written.
Despite being written between 170 and 180, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations often resonates with modern readers because of its remarkable resemblance to a self-help book. Written as a series of personal notes in the last decade of his reign as Roman emperor, the meditations were never intended for circulation. But they remain today among the classics of stoic philosophy - and as exquisite examples of problem-solving. Meditations sees a great leader engaged in solving one of the central problems of all philosophy: how to live a good life. Marcus Aurelius is quick to ask questions and generate solutions, all of which lead him to a greater understanding of what a good life really is. He makes the decision that philosophy is an important tool we can use every day to help us understand and deal with the world. The best way to get to the bottom of a problem, he records, is to analyze its different aspects with care - this will help to 'dissolve' the issue. To keep our minds well balanced, it is vital to keep our desire for the material and the sensual in check to avoid falling prey to negative behaviors like jealousy, quarrelling and indulgence. Philosophy, the Meditations show, can also help us to understand other people's problems and difficulties - acting as a continual spur to the consideration and resolution of problems, wherever they arise.
The Republic is Plato's most complete and incisive work - a detailed study of the problem of how best to ensure that justice exists in a real society, rather than as merely the product of an idealized philosophical construct. The work considers several competing definitions of justice, and looks closely not only at what exactly a "just life" should be, but also at the ways in which society can organise itself in ways that maximise the opportunities for every member to live justly. Much of the discussion is via imagined dialogues, giving Plato the opportunity to deploy the tools of Socratic debate to remarkable effect; nowhere else, it can be argued, is the Socratic dialectic better exemplified than in The Republic. In large measure, Plato's success is the product of the acute analytical ability that he demonstrates throughout his surviving oeuvre. No one is better at understanding the relationships between the various parts of a successful argument than Plato, and The Republic also demonstrates the Greek philosopher has few peers when it comes to looking for and highlighting the core assumptions that underlie an argument. The demolition of competing views that Plato puts into the mouth of Socrates is based on a series of relentless interventions and counter-examples that this mastery makes possible. Combining analytical skills with great powers of reasoning to produce a well-structured solution that deals emphatically with counter-arguments, Plato crafts one of the most enduring works of philosophy in the entire western canon.
This highly anticipated anthology, compiled by noted author and scholar Steven Cahn, presents the seven major works central to any introductory philosophy course in their entirety. Each work has had a profound influence on philosophical thought, and the authors are generally regarded as among the worlds greatest philosophers. Seven Masterpieces in Philosophy features the most well-respected and admired translations, and offers introductions and annotations by Steven Cahn. Anyone seeking to understand the challenges of philosophy could hardly do better than concentrate attention on these seven masterpieces. A great alternative to larger tomes, this book allows the instructor to supplement these works with additional materials of their choosing.
Aristotle, a student of Plato, wrote Nicomachean Ethics in 350 BCE, in a time of extraordinary intellectual development. Over two millennia later, his thorough exploration of virtue, reason, and the ultimate human good still forms the basis of the values at the heart of Western civilization. According to Aristotle, the ultimate human good is eudaimonia, or happiness, which comes from a life of virtuous action. He argues that virtues like justice, restraint, and practical wisdom cannot simply be taught but must be developed over time by cultivating virtuous habits, which can be developed by using practical wisdom and recognizing the desirable middle ground between extremes of human behavior.
Plato's Symposium, composed in the early fourth century BC, demonstrates how powerful the skills of reasoning and evaluation can be. Known to philosophers for its seminal discussion of the relationship of love to knowledge, it is also a classic text for demonstrating the two critical thinking skills that define Plato's whole body of work. Plato's philosophical technique of dialogue is the perfect frame for producing arguments and presenting a persuasive case for a given point of view, and at the same time judging the strength of arguments, their relevance and their acceptability. Staging a fictional debate between characters (wealthy Athenians at a dinner party) who must respond in turn to each others' arguments and points of view means that, at every stage, Plato evaluates the previous argument, assesses its strength and relevance, and then proceeds (through the next character) to reason out a new argument in response. Exerting unparalleled influence on the techniques of philosophical thought, Plato's use of dialogue is a supreme example of these two crucial critical thinking skills.
A splendid new translation of one of the greatest books on friendship ever written In a world where social media, online relationships, and relentless self-absorption threaten the very idea of deep and lasting friendships, the search for true friends is more important than ever. In this short book, which is one of the greatest ever written on the subject, the famous Roman politician and philosopher Cicero offers a compelling guide to finding, keeping, and appreciating friends. With wit and wisdom, Cicero shows us not only how to build friendships but also why they must be a key part of our lives. For, as Cicero says, life without friends is not worth living. Filled with timeless advice and insights, Cicero's heartfelt and moving classic-written in 44 BC and originally titled De Amicitia-has inspired readers for more than two thousand years, from St. Augustine and Dante to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Presented here in a lively new translation with the original Latin on facing pages and an inviting introduction, How to Be a Friend explores how to choose the right friends, how to avoid the pitfalls of friendship, and how to live with friends in good times and bad. Cicero also praises what he sees as the deepest kind of friendship-one in which two people find in each other "another self" or a kindred soul. An honest and eloquent guide to finding and treasuring true friends, How to Be a Friend speaks as powerfully today as when it was first written.
Following the extraordinary success of the New York Times bestseller Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas's latest book offers inspirational and intellectually rigorous thought about the great questions surrounding us all today. The Greek philosopher Socrates famously said that "the unexamined life is not worth living." Taking this as a starting point, Eric Metaxas founded a speaking series that encouraged busy and successful professionals to attend forums and think actively about the bigger questions in life. Thus Socrates in the City: Conversations on "Life, God, and Other Small Topics" was born. This book is for the seeker in all of us, the collector of wisdom, and the person who asks "What if?" Within this collection of original essays that were first given to standing-room-only crowds in New York City are serious thinkers taking on Life, God, Evil, Redemption, and other small topics. Luminaries such as Dr. Francis Collins, Sir John Polkinghorne, Charles Colson, N.T. Wright, Os Guinness, Peter Kreeft, and Jean Bethke Elshatin have written about extraordinary topics vital to both secular and Christian thinking, such as "Making Sense Out of Suffering," "How Good Confronts Evil," and "Belief in God in an Age of Science." No question is too big-in fact, the bigger, the harder, the more complex, the better. These essays are both thought-provoking and entertaining, because nowhere is it written that finding answers to life's biggest questions shouldn't be exciting and even, perhaps, fun.
The Symposium is a complex piece which is perhaps as widely read as any of Plato's works apart from the Republic. However the existing standard commentaries in English do not offer much by way of help to any reader except the classicist who knows Greek; and they also tend to be light on the dialogue as a work of philosophy. This new edition aims to fill both gaps. As well as providing a new and accurate translation facing the Greek text, it includes a substantial commentary, keyed mainly to the translation, which takes into account the needs of those without (or with little) Greek. It also treats the Symposium not just as a piece of literature that includes some philosophy, but as the product of a serious philosopher who is simultaneously a writer of the first order. Among the particular concerns of the commentary is to elucidate the underlying structure and argument of the dialogue. The outcome is not a synthesis of previous scholarship (collected in a sizeable, but selective, bibliography, but what is in many respects a fresh reading of a central and influential Platonic text. Greek text with facing-page translation, introduction and notes.
Volume 12 in the RUSCH series continues work already begun on the School of Aristotle. It focuses on two Peripatetic philosophers who lived in the third century BCE, when Stoicism and Epicureanism flourished. Lyco of Troas was the third head of the Peripatos after Aristotle. Hieronymus of Rhodes was a member of the school and an antagonist of Lyco. Excellence in teaching was Lyco's distinguishing attribute, but he also attracted benefactors and had the reputation of being a bon vivant. Hieronymus is best known for his work on ethics, but he also wrote on literature, history, and rhetoric. Our understanding of the work being done in the Peripatos during the third century BCE will be greatly enhanced by Peter Stork's new edition of Lyco and Stephen White's edition of Hieronymus. The two editions in this volume are accompanied by full translations as well as notes on the Greek and Latin texts (an apparatus criticus) and substantive notes that accompany the translation. The editions will replace those of Fritz Wehrli, which were made over half a century ago and published without an accompanying translation. In addition to the two editions, this volume includes ten essays that address significant themes presented by the texts. Three of the essays deal with biographical material: "Diogenes Life of Lyco" (J orgen Mejer), "Hieronymus in Athens and Rhodes" (Elisabetta Matelli), and "Peripatetic Philosophers as Wandering Scholars" (Peter Scholz). Four develop philosophical topics: "Hieronymus of Rhodes on Vision" (Todd Ganson), "The Historical Setting of Hieronymus fr. 10 White" (Peter Lautner), "Peripatetic Reactions to Hellenistic Epistemology" (Hans Gottschalk), and "Lyco and Hieronymus on the Good Life" (Stephen White). Three concern rhetoric and literature: "Lyco Phrastikos" (William Fortenbaugh), "Hieronymus on Isocrates' Style" (David Mirhady), and "Hieronymus in Ancient Commentaries on Hesiod's Shield" (Andrea Martano).
Ancient Greek Philosophy: From the Presocratics to the Hellenistic Philosophers presents a comprehensive introduction to the philosophers and philosophical traditions that developed in ancient Greece from 585 BC to 529 AD. * Provides coverage of the Presocratics through the Hellenistic philosophers * Moves beyond traditional textbooks that conclude with Aristotle * A uniquely balanced organization of exposition, choice excerpts and commentary, informed by classroom feedback * Contextual commentary traces the development of lines of thought through the period, ideal for students new to the discipline * Can be used in conjunction with the online resources found at http://tomblackson.com/Ancient/toc.html
Determining what has gone wrong in a malfunctioning body and proposing an effective treatment requires expertise. Since antiquity, philosophers and doctors have wondered what sort of knowledge this expertise involves, and whether and how it can warrant its conclusions. Few people were as qualified to deal with these questions as Galen of Pergamum (129-ca. 216). A practising doctor with a keen interest in logic and natural science, he devoted much of his enormous literary output to the task of putting medicine on firm methodological grounds. At the same time he reflected on philosophical issues entailed by this project, such as the nature of experience, its relation to reason, the criteria of truth, and the methods of justification. This volume explores Galen's contributions to (mainly scientific) epistemology, as they arise in the specific inquiries and polemics of his works, as well as their legacy in the Islamic world.
Demetrius of Phalerum (c. 355-280BCE) of Phalerum was a philosopher-statesman. He studied in the Peripatos under Theophrastus and subsequently used his political influence to help his teacher acquire property for the Peripatetic school. As overseer of Athens, his governance was characterized by a decade of domestic peace. Exiled to Alexandria in Egypt, he became the adviser of Ptolemy. He is said to have been in charge of legislation, and it is likely that he influenced the founding of the Museum and the Library. This edition of the fragments of Demetrius of Phalerum reflects the growing interest in the Hellenistic period and the philosophical schools of that age. As a philosopher-statesman, Demetrius appears to have combined theory and practice. For example, in the work "On Behalf of the Politeia," he almost certainly explained his own legislation and governance by appealing to the Aristotelian notion of politeia, that is, a constitution in which democratic and oligarchic elements are combined. In "On Peace," he may have defended his subservience to Macedon by appealing to Aristotle, who repeatedly recognized the importance of peace over war; and in "On Fortune," he will have followed Theophrastus, emphasizing the way fortune can determine the success or failure of sound policy. Whatever the case concerning any one title, we can well understand why Cicero regarded Demetrius as a unique individual: the educated statesman who was able to bring learning out of the shadows of erudition into the light of political conflict, and that despite an oratorical style more suited to the shadows of the Peripatos then to political combat. The new edition of secondary reports by Stork, van Ophuijsen, and Dorandi brings together the evidence for these and other judgments. The facing translation which accompanies the Greek and Latin texts opens up the material to readers who lack the ancient languages, and the accompanying essays introduce us to important issues. The volume will be of interest to those interested in Greek literature, Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic history, and generally to persons captivated by the notion of philosopher-statesman. "William W. Fortenbaugh" is professor of classics at Rutgers University. In addition to the other books in this series and his many articles, Professor Fortenbaugh has written "Aristotle on Emotion and Quellen zur Ethik Theophrasts. Eckart Sch3trumpf is professor of classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has recently been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. His interests include ancient literary criticism, rhetoric and political theory. His extensive commentary on Aristotle's Politics is in progress: three volumes on Books 1-6 have appeared and a final volume on Books 7-8 will be published soon. "
Originally published in 1993. This book presents an amended version of R.D. Hick's classic translation of Aristotle's "De Anima" Books 2 and 3, with pertinent extracts from Book 1, together with an introduction and six papers by prominent international Aristotelian scholars. The editor brings together up-to-date discussions of Aristotle's "De Anima", examining central topics such as the nature of perception, perception and thought, thinking and the intellect, the nature of the soul and the relation between body and soul. These papers draw attention to the importance and value of Aristotle's original contributions both to these topics and to philosophical psychology in general. They show the relevance of Aristotle's ancient classical philosophy to contemporary philosophical debate. This book also examines the key issues of Aristotle's thesis and aims to demonstrate its enduring significance. The "De Anima" is placed within a wider Aristotelian framework, and also within a more comprehensive structure, as a contribution to philosophical development and advance.
This volume explores the conceptual, methodological and praxeological aspects of dialectical analysis in world politics. As dialectics has remained an under-theorised analytical tool in international relations, this volume provides a critical resource for those seeking to deploy dialectics in their own research by showcasing its effectiveness for understanding and transforming world politics. Contributions demonstrate a number of innovative ways in which dialectical thinking can be of benefit to the study of world politics by covering three thematic concerns: (i) conceptual or meta-theoretical dimensions of dialectics; (ii) methodological features and general principles of dialectical approaches; and (iii) applications and/or case studies that deploy a dialectical approach to world politics. Canvassing a diverse range of dialectical approaches on key issues in world politics - from global security to postcolonial resistances, from the theoretical problems of reification and complexity, to the study of the global futures and the intercultural historical expressions of dialectics - Dialectics and World Politics offers key insights into the social forces and contradictions that are generative of transformation in world politics and yet routinely downplayed in orthodox approaches to international relations. Each chapter demonstrates how dialectics can be utilized more broadly in the discipline and deployed in a critical fashion as part of an emancipatory project. This book was originally published as a special issue of Globalizations.
We might think we are through with the past, but the past isn't through with us. Tragedy permits us to come face to face with the things we don't want to know about ourselves, but which still make us who we are. It articulates the conflicts and contradictions that we need to address in order to better understand the world we live in. A work honed from a decade's teaching at the New School, where 'Critchley on Tragedy' is one of the most popular courses, Tragedy, the Greeks and Us is a compelling examination of the history of tragedy. Simon Critchley demolishes our common misconceptions about the poets, dramatists and philosophers of Ancient Greece - then presents these writers to us in an unfamiliar and original light.
Reading Plato offers a concise and illuminating insight into the
complexities and difficulties of the Platonic dialogues, providing
an invaluable text for any student of Plato's philosophy.
Reading Plato offers a concise and illuminating insight into the
complexities and difficulties of the Platonic dialogues, providing
an invaluable text for any student of Plato's philosophy.
This book pursues a strand in the history of thought - ranging from codified statutes to looser social expectations - that uses particulars, more specifically examples, to produce norms. Much intellectual history takes ancient Greece as a point of departure. But the practice of exemplarity is historically rooted firmly in ancient Roman rhetoric, oratory, literature, and law - genres that also secured its transmission. Their pragmatic approach results in a conceptualization of politics, social organization, philosophy, and law that is derived from the concrete. It is commonly supposed that, with the shift from pre-modern to modern ways of thinking - as modern knowledge came to privilege abstraction over exempla, the general over the particular - exemplarity lost its way. This book reveals the limits of this understanding. Tracing the role of exemplarity from Rome through to its influence on the fields of literature, politics, philosophy, psychoanalysis and law, it shows how Roman exemplarity has subsisted, not only as a figure of thought, but also as an alternative way to organize and to transmit knowledge. |
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