Plato's Universe [Paperback]

Gregory Vlastos (Author), Luc Brisson (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2005

A distinguished Platonic scholar discusses the impact of the Greek discovery of the "cosmos" on man's perception of his place in the universe, describes the problems this posed, and interprets Plato's response to this discovery. Starting with the Presocratics, Vlastos describes the intellectual revolution that began with the cosmogonies of Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes in the sixth century B.C. and culminated a century later in the atomist system of Leucippus and Democritus. What united these men was that for all of them nature remained the inviolate, all-inclusive principle of explanation, precluding any appeal to a supernatural cause or ordering agency. In a detailed analysis of the astronomical and physical theories of the Timaeus, Vlastos demonstrates Plato's role in the reception and transmission of the discovery of the new conception of the universe. Plato gives us the chance to see that movement from a unique perspective: that of a fierce opponent of the revolution who was determined to wrest from its brilliant discovery, annex its cosmos, and redesign it on the pattern of his own idealistic and theistic metaphysics. This book is a reprint of the edition published in 1975 by the University of Washington Press. It includes a new Introduction by Luc Brisson.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gregory Vlastos' influence on the study of Greek philosophy, notably of the Presocratics and Plato, has been great and admirable. His papers on Plato were collected in 1973, but this is his first book. It is a fine short study, written with the familiar rhetorical elegance that marks his forensic style but designed for delivery to an audience composed not wholly or mainly of specialists. Where controversies threaten they are generally relegated to footnotes or appendixes. Professor Vlastos' master-question is: "did the Greek really discover what we now mean by 'science'?" His answer is: No, but they discovered "the conception of the cosmos that is presupposed by natural science and by its practice". There are three chapters to the book. The first finds new patterns of rationality common to all the earliest physiologoi, natural philosophers, from Thales near the beginning of the sixth century BC to Heraclitus near the beginning of the fifth. The other chapters are chiefly analyses of Plato's Timaeus, the first tackling the astronomy and the other the analysis of matter. G. E. L. Owen Times Literary Supplement, 1977"

About the Author

Gregory Vlastos was Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. He was the author of Platonic Studies (1973) and many articles and monographs on the Presocratics and Plato. Luc Brisson is Director of Research at the National Council for Scientific Research, France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Parmenides Publishing; Revised edition (December 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193097213X
• ISBN-13: 978-1930972131
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,266,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gregory Vlastos' Plato's Universe, April 10, 2007

By 

Anait Keuchguerian "Brutian" (Montreal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plato's Universe (Paperback)

The comments I'm about to make come from p.xiv of the Introduction of the book:"Recalling that many important things have come to us from the Greeks--democracy, tragedy, the Olympic Games, mathematics, logic, philosophy--Vlastos wonders... if the Greeks really discovered what we now mean by 'science'. ...Even if they were not able to 'grasp the essential genius of the scientific method', they did 'discover the notion of a cosmos 'that is presupposed by the idea of natural science and by its practice.' In fact, the early Greeks had 'the perception of a rational universe'." Similar to the Greeks, Vlastos accomplishes a logical and impartial description and interpretation of Plato's thought, that so many previous commentators have missed. I recommend this book to anyone that has deep interest in Greek thought in general and Plato in particular.

Anait Keuchguerian

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Birth of "Cosmos", March 21, 2007

By 

Allen Stairs (Takoma Park, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plato's Universe (Paperback)

In this absolutely splendid book, Vlastos traces the origins of the idea of the cosmos and, indeed, of nature itself as a subject for intellectual inquiry. He also helps the reader make more sense of Plato's Timaeus than a casual first reading might ever suggest is possible. The book is a perfect melding of scholarship with Vlastos's gift for conveying big ideas to a broad audience.