Customer Reviews

Early Greek Philosophy (Penguin Classics)

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I don't profess to be an expert in ancient Greek philosophy (or any other kind, for that matter), but I have wondered what roots Plato, via his Socrates, had drawn upon for his splendid work in a wide variety of subjects. This book is a solid introduction to those roots and cheap at the price.

The Pre-Socratics are important because they provide the first tenuous link in a great shift from explanation via religious belief to explanation via rational inquiry. These men, scattered throughout the Greek world and across several centuries, looked at the world around them and tried to construct the "first principles" that would explain how that world came to be and what it was made of. Democritus, Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, Parmenides and the many other authors presented here aren't household names, but they are the foundation of our view of the world both as physical object and mental representation.

It is striking how much of this thought will sound very familiar to anyone with exposure to current physics or, say, Heideggerian philosophy. The Pre-Socratics have much to say to our culture in particular despite the vast differences in intellectual frame of reference between the two.

That said, this is a good starting point for studying the Pre-Socratics. Johnathan Barnes has worked scrupulously to overcome a seemingly insurmountable historigraphic roadblock -- the fact that most of these philosophers are known to us only third-hand by quotation in works produced centuries after their deaths by Roman and medieval scholars. His documentation of the textual sources of the material is very helpful, although its arrangment on the page is often confusing and we're not sure whether we're listening to Barnes or one of the intermediary scholars.

This book needs more historical context and more intellectual context that will help neophytes like myself understand the impact these philosophers have had on Western thought. Penguin usually does a good job of supplying just such an essay with each book. Barnes does have a short introduction, but it's not enough.

These caveats aside, I have no qualms about recommending this collection for use in the classroom, especially if done so under the guidance of an instructor who is well-grounded in this era of Greek history. Those of us coming to these works later in life may want to supplement this with other, more scholarly interpretations and analyses.

It should be noted that there are two works on Presocratic philosophy by Dr. Barnes: this work, and a more esoteric work entitled "The Presocratic Philosophers."

That said, this work, the exoteric counterpart, serves is primary purpose: appealing to the general pulic. It features an excellent collection of quotations from a variety of sources. Barnes is cautious about the validity of this sources, and admits their dubious character where necessary. His introduction gives an adequate overview of contemporary scholarship on and interpretations of presocratic thought, and its place in the history of philosophy.

The work lacks two things. First, because it is exoteric in its design, it lacks a vigorous interpretation of the texts given, beyond the short introduction. Second, its organization is often inadequate; arranged by subject in some places, and sources in other places. The reader is left to organize and interpret the information much by their own discretion. Whether this is ultimately an advantage or disadvantage, I will not here decide.

Our present knowledge of the Presocratic philosophers is all second-hand: it consists of attributions made in later classical literature by a wide variety of authors, from pagans, like Aristotle and Iamblichus, to Christians, like Clement and Hippolytus. This book gives the reader who has been tantalized by these fragmentary citations a chance to view these quotes surrounded by the contexts in which they are preserved. That is both the strength and the bane of this volume. For instance, it is interesting to note how often Heraclitus is referred to as "obscure", but then, how much of what is attributed to him was actually said by him, how much does the citation represent the quoter's bias or training, and in what context or order were the sayings originally delivered? We will never know. So, if you have a passing acquaintance with the sayings of Zeno, Pythagoras, Empedocles et al., this may be the book to draw you deeper into the mysteries. The beginner may be merely mystified by the Presocratic palimpsest.

The book contains essentially the complete writings of the pre-socratics in readable translation. The actual texts are printed in bold, with commentary by both pagan and Christian writers up to the medieval period. The edotor's own comments are helpful and clear.

In a clear and scholarly manner, J. Barnes presents all the writings of the pre-Socratic Greek philosophers. It is a wonderful, well presented, easy to read book that brings the time and the people, with their ideas, alive.

This volume covers all the Greek pre-socratic philosophers providing all of their existing fragments, sayings, epigrams, quotes and teachings.

It was originally published in 1987. This is the second edition, revised in 2001. Jonathan Barnes says that he has re-translated everything and re-tested it to the Greek. He also has put the fragments and sayings in bold, which he did not in the first edition. Everything is spaced appropriately, italics given when explaining, and all the sources are provided under each saying. An interesting addition is the recently found papyrus of Empedocles!

Philosophers include:

Hesiod, Epicharmus, Pherecydes -(precursors); Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras (and 5th century Pythagoreans), Alcmaeon, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Melissus, Zeno, Empedocles, Hippasus, Philolaus, Ion, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, Leucippus, Democritus and Diogenes.

The text is lucid, readable, enjoyable and profound. Also included is a synopsis the life of each philosopher, a wonderful introduction, an appendix and 3 different indexes at the end!

I commend Penguin and Mr. Barnes for updating this amazing edition!

There is not much existing material written by the Presocratic Greek philosophers, but most of it is here, presented in its proper context and without a lot of undue commentary. The book simply presents the material, you can decide what it means. If you are interested in the Presocratics, this is the essential volume. Just be prepared: 99% of what is known about these ancient figures comes from references penned by later Greeks or even Romans two or three centuries after the fact.

Philosophy begins in wonder ' at what is that it is'. The Pre-Socratics at the very beginning of the historical enterprise of philosophy( love of wisdom) contradict each other in presenting total visions of the world. For Parmenides all is one unchanging, and the Real is this Eternal Stasis. For Heraclitus " we step and do not step into the same river, we are and are not" All is change. In this way in these contradictions these philosophers set the stage for the questionings of Socrates and the synthesis of Plato and the explorations of Aristotle.

Let the publisher be your guide.

It's by Penguin Press -- it's for someone who's browses a half-price book store and gets the idea that some familiarity with pre-socratic philsophy is something they want to add to their lives.

It lacks the critical richness of other works (I enjoy Patricia Curd et. al's ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY) -- so if you want depth, you won't find it here.

I read this book as part of an ancient greek philosophy class and I hated virtually everything on the reading list. This book was part of said curs-ed list.