Early Greek Philosophy (Penguin Classic) (Paperback)

~ Various (Author), (Editor) "Thales, the first of the canonical line of Presocratic philosophers, did not start from scratch..." (more)
Key Phrases: limitless things, uniform items, Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers, Sextus Empiricus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This text takes the form of a reader with passages from the pre-Socratic philosophers and a considerable amount of commentary.

About the Author

Jonathan Barnes is professor of ancient philosophy at the University of Geneva. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Texas. His publications include The Presocratic Philosophers. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (June 2, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140444610
• ISBN-13: 978-0140444612
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #977,483 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid introduction to the subject, but needs context, June 26, 2000

By	Mr Mondo (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews

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.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good companion, but not the place to start, June 17, 2001

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

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, April 2, 1998

By	Eric Brooks ([e-mail]) (New York City) - See all my reviews

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.