A Study Of Greek Philosophy

"A Study of Greek Philosoph" The value of philosophy is the basal assumption in the issue of the above volume. Because of its lofty range of inquiry, its thought-discipline, and its search after the ultimate truth, it ranks among the chief studies that can occupy human attention. Greek philosophy also, from its antecedent and fundamental relation to the later philosophic systems, is a perpetual body of instruction. Its maxims have an enduring charm for men; its theories, if dissented from, are wisely conceived; its leaders are among the great schoolmasters of the world. In a circle of St. Louis women, where the study of Greek thought was undertaken under the lead of the present author, the book now considered had its origin. From the rise of philosophy in Greece, under the Ionians, to its close following Neo-Platonism the historic review here sweeps. The personality of many great leaders of Grecian thought-as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno-is set forth with clearness; and the differing systems which they gave to their age and the world are traced with sufficient outline for the full understanding of the whole range of Grecian inquiry in those great centuries of intellectual activity. It is instructive in these days, when the materialistic is receiving its full share of notice at the expense of the ideal, to notice such a circle of learners as that which gave the present volume its origin; and in the published result of their philosophic pursuits a wider circle of readers should find enjoyment and edification. -"The Methodist Review," Volume 52 [1892]

Our Greek colleagues, in Greece and abroad, must know (indeed they do know) how pleasant it is to recognize the renaissance of the philosophy of science among them with this fine collection. Classical and modern, technical and humane, historical and logical, admirably original and respectfully traditional, these essays will deserve close study by philosophical readers throughout the world. Classical scholars and historians of science likewise will be stimulated, and the historians of ancient as well as modern philosophers too. Reviewers might note one or more of the contributions as of special interest, or as subject to critical wrestling (that ancient tribute); we will simply congratulate Pantelis Nicolacopoulos for assembling the essays and presenting the book, and we thank the contributors for their works and for their happy agreement to let their writings appear in this book. R. S. C. xi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Neither philosophy nor science is new to Greece, but philosophy of science is. There are broader (socio-historical) and more specific (academic) reasons that explain, to a satisfactory degree, both the under-development of philosophy and history of science in Greece until recently and its recent development to international standards. It is, perhaps, not easy to have in mind the fact that the modem Greek State is only 160 years old (during quite a period of which it was consider ably smaller than it is today, its present territory having been settled after World War II).

This lively and original guidebook offers an invitation to the study of Greek philosophy and signposts to lead the student deeper. The reader is drawn in to the questions the philosophers posed. Doing Greek Philosophy conveys a vital sense of the dynamism and continuity in the Greek philosophical tradition, and shows how interaction between the philosophers creates and sustains that tradition. It concentrates on a set of interrelated concepts and problems – contradiction, relativism, refutation and consistency – which appear in the tradition, and show how philosophers dealt with them. The author considers not just what the philosophers were doing, but also what they thought they were doing. The goal is not simply to inform readers about Greek philosophy, but also to equip them with an intellectual toolkit, and to encourage them to use it. The reader will come away from this book with a set of good questions and the means to probe them further. Accessibly written, the book will appeal to philosophers at every level, and its concision will make it the ideal starting point for the beginner in philosophy.

Virtually every aspect of the modern Western worldview has its roots in the remarkably diverse body of philosophy that emerged from a small patch of land in the Mediterranean thousands of years ago. This volume offers an overview of the highlights of ancient Greek philosophy, as well as an historical account of the lives of many of the scholars and thinkers who helped shaped it.

W.K.C. Guthrie has written a survey of the great age of Greek philosophy - from Thales to Aristotle - which combines comprehensiveness with brevity. Without pre-supposing a knowledge of Greek or the Classics, he sets out to explain the ideas of Plato and Aristotle in the light of their predecessors rather than their successors, and to describe the characteristic features of the Greek way of thinking and outlook on the world. Thus The Greek Philosophers provides excellent background material for the general reader - as well as providing a firm basis for specialist studies.