Classical Philosophy
A history of philosophy without any gaps, 1
Peter Adamson, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014
Description
Classical Philosophy is the first of a series of books in which Peter Adamson aims ultimately to present a complete history of philosophy, more thoroughly but also more enjoyable than ever before. In short, lively chapters, based on the popular History of Philosophy podcast, he offers an accessible, humorous, and detailed look at the emergence of philosophy with the Presocratics, the probing questions of Socrates, and the first full flowering of philosophy with the dialogues of Plato and the treatises of Aristotle. The story is told ‘without any gaps’, discussing not only such major figures but also less commonly discussed topics like the Hippocratic Corpus, the Platonic Academy, and the role of women in ancient philosophy. Within the thought of Plato and Aristotle, the reader will find in-depth introductions to major works, such as the Republic and the Nicomachean Ethics, which are treated in detail that is unusual in an introduction to ancient philosophy. Adamson looks at fascinating but less frequently read Platonic dialogues like the Charmides and Cratylus, and Aristotle’s ideas in zoology and poetics. This full coverage allows him to tackle ancient discussions in all areas of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, ethics and politics. Attention is also given to the historical and literary context of classical philosophy, with an exploration of how early Greek cosmology responded to the poets Homer and Hesiod, how Socrates was presented by the comic playwright Aristophanes and the historian Xenophon, and how events in Greek history may have influenced Plato’s thought. This is a new kind of history which will bring philosophy to life for all readers, including those coming to the subject for the first time.
(Text from the publisher)
Table of contents
Preface
Early Greek Philosophy
1. Everything is Full of Gods: Thales
2. Infinity and Beyond: Anaximander and Anaximines
3. Created in Our Image: Xenophanes
4. The Man with the Golden Thigh: Pythagoras
5. Old Man River: Heraclitus
6. The Road Less Traveled: Parmenides
7. You Can’t Get There From Here: the Eleatics
8. The Final Cut: The Atomists
9. Mind over mixture: Anaxagoras
10. All You Need is Love, and Five Other Things: Empedocles
11. Good Humor Men: the Hippocratic Corpus
12. Making the Weaker Argument the Stronger: The Sophists
Socrates and Plato
13. Socrates Without Plato: The Portrayals of Aristophanes and Xenophon
14. Method Man: Plato’s Socrates
15. In Dialogue: The Life and Writings of Plato
16. Know Thyself: Two Unloved Platonic Dialogues
17. Virtue Meets its Match: Plato’s Gorgias
18. We Don’t Need No Education: Plato’s Meno
19. I Know, Because the Caged Bird Sings: Plato’s Theaetetus
20. Famous Last Words: Plato’s Phaedo
21. Soul and the City: Justice in Plato’s Republic
22. Ain’t No Sunshine: the Cave Allegory of Plato’s Republic
23. Second Thoughts: Plato’s Parmenides and the Forms
24. Untying the Not: Plato’s Sophist
25. What’s in a Name?: Plato’s Cratylus
26. A Likely Story: Plato’s Timaeus
27. Wings of Desire: Plato’s Erotic Dialogues
28. Last Judgments: Plato, Poetry, and Myth
Aristotle
29. Mr Know it All: Aristotle’s Life and Works
30. The Philosopher’s Toolkit: Aristotle’s Logical Works
31. A Principled Stand: Aristotle’s Epistemology
32. Down to Earth: Aristotle on Substance
33. Form and Function: Aristotle’s Four Causes
34. Let’s Get Physical: Aristotle’s Natural Philosophy
35. Soul Power: Aristotle’s De Anima
36. Classified Information: Aristotle’s Biology
37. The Goldilocks Theory: Aristotle’s Ethics
38. The Second Self: Aristotle on Pleasure and Friendship
39. God Only Knows: Aristotle on Mind and God
40. Constitutional Conventions: Aristotle’s Political Philosophy
41. Stage Directions: Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics
42. Anything You Can Do: Women and Ancient Philosophy
43. The Next Generation: The Followers of Plato and Aristotle
Guide to Further Reading
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