Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction

Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Catherine Osborne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192840940
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
A lively and thematic treatment of early Greek philosophy, this work discusses the invention of western philosophy - the first thinkers to explore ideas about the nature of reality, time, and the origin of the universe.

Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction

Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Catherine Osborne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192840940
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
A lively and thematic treatment of early Greek philosophy, this work discusses the invention of western philosophy - the first thinkers to explore ideas about the nature of reality, time, and the origin of the universe.

Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction

Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Edward Craig
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 0192854216
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Examines how philosophers including Plato, Descartes, Hobbes, Darwin, and de Beauvoir responded to real life situations, and how their responses continue to influence people today.

Plato

Plato PDF Author: Julia Annas
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 9780192802163
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
This introduction to Plato focuses on the philosophy and argument of his writings, drawing the reader into Plato's way of doing philosophy, and the general themes of his thinking. It includes a brief account of Plato's life.

Introduction to Presocratics

Introduction to Presocratics PDF Author: Giannis Stamatellos
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470655038
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
INTRODUCTION TO PRESOCRATICS “The general public and scholars alike will find Introduction to Presocratics stimulating, engaging and exceptionally useful. Stamatellos’ intriguing and illuminating theme-based approach to this subject and his inclusion of a fresh translation of all the major fragments make this book a ‘must have’ for anyone interested in Presocratic philosophy.” Robert D. Luginbill, University of Louisville “An excellent introduction to early Greek philosophy – full of information, yet eminently readable and clearly organised. The thematic treatment brings new perspectives and fresh philosophical insights.” Andrew Smith, University College Dublin “Surveying the key surviving texts theme by theme sooner than man by man, Stamatellos offers the beginner clear and comprehensive insight into the compelling inquiries of the early Greek thinkers.” Susan Prince, University of Cincinnati “Giannis Stamatellos’ book is a very elegant and finely structured introduction to the fascinating beginnings of Western thought. He has succeeded in making a rather difficult and complex topic extremely accessible and stimulating.” Mark Beck, University of South Carolina Despite what is commonly taught, Western philosophy did not begin with Socrates. The roots of Western philosophy and science, in fact, run much deeper than this watershed philosophical figure – to a series of innovative Greek thinkers of the 6th and 5th century BCE. Introduction to Presocratics presents a succinct overview of early Greek thought by following a thematic exposition of the topics and enquiries explored by the first philosophers of the Western tradition. Ionian figures such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and Pythagoras are covered; Eleatics such as Parmenides and Zeno; and Pluralists or Neo-Ionians such as Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Democritus. Key areas of Presocratic philosophy are addressed, including principles, cosmos, being, soul, knowledge, and ethics. A brief account of the legacy and reception of the Presocratics in later philosophical traditions is also included. Also featured is an original translation of the main Presocratic fragments by renowned classics professor Rosemary Wright. Introduction to Presocratics offers illuminating insights into the true pioneers of philosophical thought in the Western tradition.

The Concept of Presocratic Philosophy

The Concept of Presocratic Philosophy PDF Author: André Laks
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691191484
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
When we talk about Presocratic philosophy, we are speaking about the origins of Greek philosophy and Western rationality itself. But what exactly does it mean to talk about “Presocratic philosophy” in the first place? How did early Greek thinkers come to be considered collectively as Presocratic philosophers? In this brief book, André Laks provides a history of the influential idea of Presocratic philosophy, tracing its historical and philosophical significance and consequences, from its ancient antecedents to its full crystallization in the modern period and its continuing effects today. Laks examines ancient Greek and Roman views about the birth of philosophy before turning to the eighteenth-century emergence of the term “Presocratics” and the debates about it that spanned the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He analyzes the intellectual circumstances that led to the idea of Presocratic philosophy—and what was and is at stake in the construction of the notion. The book closes by comparing two models of the history of philosophy—the phenomenological, represented by Hans-Georg Gadamer, and the rationalist, represented by Ernst Cassirer—and their implications for Presocratic philosophy, as well as other categories of philosophical history. Other figures discussed include Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Diogenes Laertius, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Nietzsche, Max Weber, and J.-P. Vernant. Challenging standard histories of Presocratic philosophy, the book calls for a reconsideration of the conventional story of early Greek philosophy and Western rationality.

Philosophy of Mind

Philosophy of Mind PDF Author: Barbara Gail Montero
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198809077
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Is the neurophysiology of pain all there is to pain? How do words and mental pictures come to represent things in the world? Do computers think, and if so, are their thought processes significantly similar to our thought processes? Or is there something distinctive about human thought thatprecludes replication in a computer? These are some of the puzzles that motivate the philosophical discipline called "philosophy of mind," a central area of philosophy.This Very Short Introduction introduces the philosophy of mind, and looks at some of the most interesting and important topics in this fascinating field, including the mind-body problem and dualism. Barbara Montero also discusses minds other than our own, and the problems associated with definingconsciousness in animals, aliens and machines. Considering these and other such thorny issues such as physicalism and intentionality, she demonstrates how questions of the philosophy of mind also infiltrate disciplines outside of philosophy, including psychology, neuroscience, economics,evolutionary biology, and linguistics. As she observes, most everyone, at some time or another, has ruminated over the relation between mind and matter.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Stoicism: A Very Short Introduction

Stoicism: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Brad Inwood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019109031X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Stoicism is two things: a long past philosophical school of ancient Greece and Rome, and an enduring philosophical movement that still inspires people in the twenty-first century to re-think and re-organize their lives in order to achieve personal satisfaction. What is the connection between them? This Very Short Introduction provides an introductory account of Stoic philosophy, and tells the story of how ancient Stoicism survived and evolved into the movement we see today. Exploring the roots of the school in the philosophy of fourth century BCE Greece, Brad Inwood examines its basic history and doctrines and its relationship to the thought of Plato, Aristotle and his successors, and the Epicureans. Sketching the history of the school's reception in the western tradition, he argues that, despite the differences between ancient and contemporary Stoics, there is a common core of philosophical insight that unites the modern version not just to Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius but also to the school's original founders, Zeno, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus. Inwood concludes by considering the place of Stoicism in modern life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The History of Philosophy

The History of Philosophy PDF Author: A. C. Grayling
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241980860
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 559

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Book Description
AUTHORITATIVE AND ACCESSIBLE, THIS LANDMARK WORK IS THE FIRST SINGLE-VOLUME HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY SHARED FOR DECADES 'A cerebrally enjoyable survey, written with great clarity and touches of wit' Sunday Times The story of philosophy is an epic tale: an exploration of the ideas, views and teachings of some of the most creative minds known to humanity. But there has been no comprehensive history of this great intellectual journey since 1945. Intelligible for students and eye-opening for philosophy readers, A. C. Grayling covers with characteristic clarity and elegance subjects like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, logic, and the philosophy of mind, as well as the history of debates in these areas, through the ideas of celebrated philosophers as well as less well-known influential thinkers. The History of Philosophy takes the reader on a journey from the age of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates. Through Christianity's dominance of the European mind to the Renaissance and Enlightenment. On to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre, then the philosophical traditions of India, China and the Persian-Arabic world. And finally, into philosophy today.

The Presocratic Philosophers

The Presocratic Philosophers PDF Author: G. S. Kirk
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521274555
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description
This book traces the intellectual revolution initiated by Thales in the sixth century BC to its culmination in the metaphysics of Parmenides.

Lives of the Eminent Philosophers

Lives of the Eminent Philosophers PDF Author: Diogenes Laertius
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197523390
Category : Philosophers, Ancient
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
The translation is based on the most authoritative edition of the Greek text. 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers' is a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins of philosophy in ancient Greece. Accompanied by dozens of artworks and newly commissioned essays that shed light on Diogenes' context and influence, this new, complete translation provides a revealing glimpse into the philosophers of Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lyceum, and Epicurus' Garden.