Rewriting the History of Ancient Greek Philosophy: (Contributions in Philosophy) [Hardcover]

V. Tejera (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313303576 | ISBN-13: 978-0313303579 | Publication Date: November 30, 1997

This book examines what we can reliably know about Plato and the historical Socrates. It shows how pervasively the sources of information were biased by Pythagoreanism, Platonism, and Neoplatonism. It gives a source-critical account of how the climate of opinion in fourth-century Athens was captured by the Pythagoreans and how Speusippos's Academy also came to be pythagorized--adding definitional idealism to Pythagorean number idealism, and elevating Plato to a divine level that makes him into a coequal of Pythagoras, thus capturing Plato for Pythagoreanism. By showing how Plato's dialogues were dedramatized, dedialogized, and read or understood as if they were works expounding pythagorizing doctrine, Tejera has created a provocative reappraisal for scholars of ancient Greek philosophy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This study is of cardinal interest to all who wish to become aware of the larger ironies and conflations within the philosophic schools of the ancient world: how the words of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle have been kidnapped by their commentators for the creation and maintenance of new orthodoxies that none of the original thinkers would have recognized as their own. For its semiotic savvy alone, as well as for its awareness of the oral-aural mindset overtaken by the new impact of the written word, this study amply repays both the lay reader and the scholar of the history of philosophy.”–Andres Mata Editor, "El Universal" and Regional Director, Inter-American Press Association

About the Author

V. TEJERA is Stony Brook University Professor Emeritus of Humanities.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (November 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313303576
• ISBN-13: 978-0313303579
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,422,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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