Readings In Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales To Aristotle [Paperback]

S. Marc Cohen (Author, Editor), Patricia Curd (Editor), C. D. C. Reeve (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0872207692 | ISBN-13: 978-0872207691 | Publication Date: August 1, 2005 | Edition: 3

The rich selection of superbly translated and edited Pre-Socratic fragments and testimonies, dialogues of Plato, and selections from Aristotle that has made "Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy", the pre-eminent anthology for the teaching of ancient Greek philosophy is now even richer: G M A Grube's translation of Plato's "Phaedo" and "Alexander Nehamas", and Paul Woodruff's translation of Plato's "Symposium" are now both included in their entirety. In addition, the third edition features new translations by C D C Reeve of Plato's "Euthyphro", "Apology", and "Crito".

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the first edition: "Will certainly become the 'standard' text for survey courses in ancient philosophy. Nothing on the market touches it for comprehensiveness, accuracy, and readability." --APA Newsletter on Teaching Philosophy

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 958 pages
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co; 3 edition (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872207692
• ISBN-13: 978-0872207691
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

C. D. C. (David) Reeve was born in Dundalk, Ireland in 1948. He is Delta Kappa Epsilon Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He writes about Ancient Greek Philosophy (primarily Plato and Aristotle), sex and love, and film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one to buy if you're buying only one, June 17, 2001

By 

Timothy Dougal (Joliet, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle (Paperback)

In my reading I frequently come across references to Greek philosophy. When I go to the bookstore, though, I see an entire shelf of books for Plato, and another for Aristotle. Presocratics are separate. How to choose? Fortunately, there is this volume. It is a large collection, filling 890 large pages, from the earliest Greek philosophers to Aristotle. The general breakdown is as follows: 89 pages devoted to the Presocratics and Sophists; 487 devoted to Plato; 277 devoted to Aristotle; 45 pages devoted to suggestions for further reading, concordance and sources for Presocratics, and glossary for Aristotle. The Presocratic selections represent 18 philosophers. Plato selections include the complete Republic and sections of 10 other dialogues. Aristotle selections contain readings from 13 treatises. Informative introductions precede each philosopher, and most individual selections from Plato and Aristotle have their own introductions. Each book of the Repulbic is introduced separately. In addition, footnotes are supplied on various obscure points of history, terminology, and ancient scientific theory. The notes on Timaeus are especially illustrative, giving the reader diagrams of theories. In short, this volume is very user friendly, geared toward the student or non-specialist who wants to know more about this fundamental area of Western culture, and very inclusive. The translations are modern and clear, not some dusted off antiques. A very good choice all around.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have For Philosophy Students, and Anybody else interested in the "Celebrities" of Ancient Greek thought., October 11, 2006

By 

Ryan Alger (U.S.A) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Readings In Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales To Aristotle (Paperback)

If your buying this book, its probably because you are enrolled in a philosophy or history class. And though it is used frequently in classrooms, the book doesn't fall into the same traps as other college level texts.

This book features all of Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Categories, Physics, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics. It also contains Apology (Written by Plato, in which Socrates speaks at his trial), along with writings and quotes from and about less well known Greek philosophers, such as Empedocles and Parmenides. The philosophers are presented by date, starting with the earliest, but they are also categorized by ideas.

One of the best things about this book is that, unlike other college texts, it is not a modern philosopher, or college historian, writing the bulk of the text. You actually hear from the horses mouth. The philosophers, such as Thales, who do not have many surviving words, have quotes from other famous Greek philosophers concerning them (often criticism, but informative criticism) . While at points the writing might seem dense, it is preferable to a third party writing; simply because any other person or group, though trying to, cannot capture the essence of what that person is trying to say. Anybody who has taking a philosophy coarse probably knows what I'm talking about; some philosophers have original message has been all but destroyed by professors "summery", either by misunderstanding, interjecting their own interpretations, or worse, allowing their own innate prejudices and beliefs to effect how they introduce them. The point is- Its preferable to have the actual philosopher talking for themselves, and this book has plenty of that.

I will say that, if you already own the dialogues and writings in this book, I wouldn't suggest buying it. While the short summaries and historical highpoints are good, they don't offer much that you couldn't find better somewhere else.

Quite simply, this is a comprehensive textbook that will enhance your understanding of Greek philosophy and provide a great starting place for further study.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good choice, April 26, 2004

By 

Marc Neilsen (Logan, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle (Paperback)

I find this book to be invaluable to the philosophy student and any others who may be interested in Ancient philosophical thought in Miletus and Greece. The organization of the book is excellent, and the order in which he supplies the writings is fitting.