|
Showing 1 - 6 of
6 matches in All Departments
This book contains twelve engaging philosophical lectures given by
Alexandru Dragomir, most of them given during Romania's Communist
regime. The lectures deal with a diverse range of topics, such as
the function of the question, self-deception, banalities with a
metaphysical dimension, and how the world we live in has been
shaped by the intellect. Among the thinkers discussed in these
lectures are Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and
Nietzsche. Alexandru Dragomir was a Romanian philosopher born in
1916. After studying law and philosophy at the University of
Bucharest (1933-1939), he left Romania to study for a doctorate in
philosophy in Freiburg, Germany, under Martin Heidegger. He stayed
in Freiburg for two years (1941-1943), but before defending his
dissertation he was called back to Romania for military service and
sent to the front. After 1948, historical circumstances forced him
to become a clandestine philosopher: he was known only within a
very limited circle. He died in 2002 without ever publishing
anything. It was only after his death that Dragomir's notebooks
came to light. His work has been published posthumously in five
volumes by Humanitas, Bucharest; the present volume is the first to
appear in English translation. In 2009, the Alexandru Dragomir
Institute for Philosophy was founded in Bucharest as an independent
research institute under the auspices of the Romanian Society for
Phenomenology.
This book contains twelve engaging philosophical lectures given by
Alexandru Dragomir, most of them given during Romania's Communist
regime. The lectures deal with a diverse range of topics, such as
the function of the question, self-deception, banalities with a
metaphysical dimension, and how the world we live in has been
shaped by the intellect. Among the thinkers discussed in these
lectures are Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and
Nietzsche. Alexandru Dragomir was a Romanian philosopher born in
1916. After studying law and philosophy at the University of
Bucharest (1933-1939), he left Romania to study for a doctorate in
philosophy in Freiburg, Germany, under Martin Heidegger. He stayed
in Freiburg for two years (1941-1943), but before defending his
dissertation he was called back to Romania for military service and
sent to the front. After 1948, historical circumstances forced him
to become a clandestine philosopher: he was known only within a
very limited circle. He died in 2002 without ever publishing
anything. It was only after his death that Dragomir's notebooks
came to light. His work has been published posthumously in five
volumes by Humanitas, Bucharest; the present volume is the first to
appear in English translation. In 2009, the Alexandru Dragomir
Institute for Philosophy was founded in Bucharest as an independent
research institute under the auspices of the Romanian Society for
Phenomenology.
|
Selected Myths (Paperback)
Plato; Edited by Catalin Partenie
|
R277
R224
Discovery Miles 2 240
Save R53 (19%)
|
Ships in 9 - 15 working days
|
"Once upon a time there were just the gods; mortal beings did not
yet exist."
We are used to thinking of myths containing lines like this simply
as stories, and modern myths as made up and fictitious. For the
ancient Greeks, however, a myth was unveiled reality, and for
Plato, who was a myth-maker as well as a myth-teller, a myth could
tell us something important about ourselves and our world. The
ultimate purpose of Plato's myths is to help us live a better life,
and to teach philosophical truths in a form we can most easily
understand. This volume brings together ten of the most celebrated
Platonic myths from eight of Plato's dialogues, ranging from the
early Protagoras and Gorgias to the later Timaeus and Critias. The
collection includes the famous myth of the cave from Republic as
well as "The Judgement of Souls" and "The Birth of Love." Each myth
is a self-contained story, prefaced by a short explanatory note. An
introduction to the volume considers Plato's use of myth and
imagery.
These myths are both thought-provoking and profound, and together
they provide an ideal introduction to Plato's philosophy.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of
other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
In archaic societies myths were believed to tell true stories -
stories about the ultimate origin of reality. For us, on the
contrary, the term 'myth' denotes a false belief. Between the
archaic notion of myth and ours stands Plato's. This 2009 volume is
a collection of ten studies by eminent scholars that focus on the
ways in which some of Plato's most famous myths are interwoven with
his philosophy. The myths discussed include the eschatological
myths of the Gorgias, the Phaedo, the Republic and Laws 10, the
central myths of the Phaedrus and the Statesman, and the so-called
myth of the Noble Lie from the Republic. The mythical character of
the Timaeus cosmology is also amply discussed. The volume also
contains seventeen rare Renaissance illustrations of Platonic
myths. The contributors argue that in Plato myth and philosophy are
tightly bound together, despite Plato's occasional claim that they
are opposed modes of discourse.
In archaic societies myths were believed to tell true stories -
stories about the ultimate origin of reality. For us, on the
contrary, the term 'myth' denotes a false belief. Between the
archaic notion of myth and ours stands Plato's. This 2009 volume is
a collection of ten studies by eminent scholars that focus on the
ways in which some of Plato's most famous myths are interwoven with
his philosophy. The myths discussed include the eschatological
myths of the Gorgias, the Phaedo, the Republic and Laws 10, the
central myths of the Phaedrus and the Statesman, and the so-called
myth of the Noble Lie from the Republic. The mythical character of
the Timaeus cosmology is also amply discussed. The volume also
contains seventeen rare Renaissance illustrations of Platonic
myths. The contributors argue that in Plato myth and philosophy are
tightly bound together, despite Plato's occasional claim that they
are opposed modes of discourse.
For Martin Heidegger the "fall" of philosophy into metaphysics
begins with Plato. Thus, the relationship between the two
philosophers is crucial to an understanding of Heidegger--and,
perhaps, even to the whole plausibility of postmodern critiques of
metaphysics. It is also, as the essays in this volume attest,
highly complex, and possibly founded on a questionable
understanding of Plato.
As editors Catalin Partenie and Tom Rockmore remark, a simple way
to describe Heidegger's reading of Plato might be to say that what
began as an attempt to appropriate Plato (and through him a large
portion of Western philosophy) finally ended in an estrangement
from both Plato and Western philosophy. The authors of this volume
consider Heidegger's thought in relation to Plato before and after
the ""Kehre"" or turn. In doing so, they take up various central
issues in Heidegger's "Being and Time" (1927) and thereafter, and
the questions of hermeneutics, truth, and language. The result is a
subtle and multifaceted reinterpretation of Heidegger's position in
the tradition of philosophy, and of Plato's role in determining
that position.
|
|