Offers a dialogue that engages a number of issues in moral theory in a rigorous and original manner, while remaining accessible to students and other non-specialist readers. Sentience and Sensibility accomplishes this by means of the time-honoured medium of philosophical dialogue, in which its characters actively challenge each other to clarify their ideas and defend their reasoning.
A secret concealed for centuries, shrouded in myth, silenced by stone. A secret that if unleashed threatens to shake the very foundation of Western civilization. A secret that can remain hidden no longer. The quest begins in Rome, where a grisly murder and a plundered tomb serve to ignite perhaps the most controversial conflict in human history.
Introduces readers to some key problems in understanding Plato's writings, and explores in-depth and critically the various ways of approaching Plato. This book provides an articulation and critical evaluation of the various ways to approach Plato's dialogues, along with the articulation and defence of a plausible new way to interpret Plato.
The problem of the one and the many is central to ancient Greek philosophy, but surprisingly little attention has been paid to Aristotle's treatment of it in the Metaphysics. "The Central Books of the Metaphysics" are widely recognised as the most difficult portion of a most difficult work. This title aims to examine the "Central Books".
What was distinctive about the method of Parmenides, the inventor of philosophical argument as we know it? How did Parmenides' method affect Plato's dialectic, which was supposed to provide the solution to all ultimate philosophical problems? This title offers a study of Greek philosophical method as it affects contemporary philosophical issues.
Parmenides of Elea was the most important and influential philosopher before Plato. He rejected as impossible the scientific inquiry practiced by the earlier Presocratic philosophers and held that generation, destruction, and change are unreal and that only one thing exists. In this book, Patricia Curd argues that Parmenides sought to reform rather than to reject scientific inquiry, and she offers a more coherent account of his influence on later philosophers.The Legacy of Parmenides examines Parmenides' arguments, considering his connection to earlier Greek thought and how his account of what-is could have served as a model for later philosophers. Curd also explores the theories of his successors, including the Pluralists (Anaxagoras and Empedocles), the Atomists (Leucippus and Democritus), the later Eleatics (Zeno and Melissus), and the later Presocratics (Philolaus of Croton and Diogenes of Apollonia). She concludes with a discussion of the importance of Parmenides' work to Plato's Theory of Forms.The Legacy of Parmenides challenges traditional views of early Greek philosophy and provides new insights into the work of Parmenides.
Originally written as a single treatise, this contains Plotinus' most general and sustained exposition of the relationship between the intelligible and sensible realms, addressing and coalescing two central issues in Platonism: the nature of the soul-body relationship and the nature of participation. Its main question is: How can soul animate bodies without sharing in their extension?
In Aristotle's Empiricism, Jean De Groot argues that an important part of Aristotle's natural philosophy has remained largely unexplored and shows that much of Aristotle's analysis of natural movement is influenced by the logic and concepts of mathematical mechanics that emerged from late Pythagorean thought. De Groot draws upon the pseudo-Aristotelian Physical Problems XVI to reconstruct the context of mechanics in Aristotle's time and to trace the development of kinematic thinking from Archytas to the Aristotelian Mechanics. She shows the influence of kinematic thinking on Aristotle's concept of power or potentiality, which she sees as having a physicalistic meaning originating in the problem of movement.De Groot identifies the source of early mechanical knowledge in kinesthetic awareness of mechanical advantage, showing the relation of Aristotle's empiricism to more ancient experience. The book sheds light on the classical Greek understanding of imitation and device, as it questions both the claim that Aristotle's natural philosophy codifies opinions held by convention and the view that the cogency of his scientific ideas depends on metaphysics.
This book is the scholarly & fully annotated edition of the award-winning The Illustrated To Think Like God. To Think Like God focuses on the emergence of philosophy as a speculative science, tracing its origins to the Greek colonies of Southern Italy, from the late 6th century to mid-5th century B.C. Special attention is paid to the sage Pythagoras and his movement, the poet Xenophanes of Colophon, and the lawmaker Parmenides of Elea. In their own ways, each thinker held that true insight, whether as wisdom or certainty, belonged not to mortal human beings but to the gods.The Pythagoreans sought to approach this otherwordly knowledge by studying numerical relationships, believing them to govern the universe, and that those who know the number of a thing know its true nature. Yet their quest was a hopeless one, bogged down by cultism, numerology, political conspiracies, bloody uprisings, and exile. Above all, number did not turn out as the most reliable of mediums; it was certainly not a key to the realm of the divine. Thus, their contributions to philosophy's inception, while much better-publicized, was not the most significant. That particular role was reserved for an unusual challenge and the elaborate reaction it provoked.
Ennead IV.4.30-45 and IV.5 retrieves the unity in this last section of Plotinus' treatise on "Problems concerning the Soul". Combining translation with commentary, Gurtler enhances both the accuracy of the translation and the recovery of Plotinus' often unsuspected originality. This is especially true for IV.5, where previous translations fail to convey the concise nature of his argument.
A celebratory Festschrift dedicated to Charles Kahn that includes some 23 articles by friends, former students and colleagues, many of whom first presented their papers at the international 'Presocratics and Plato' Symposium in his honour in June 2009.
The Statesman is a difficult and puzzling Platonic dialogue. In A Stranger's Knowledge Marquez argues that Plato abandons here the classic idea, prominent in the Republic, that the philosopher, qua philosopher, is qualified to rule. Instead, the dialogue presents the statesman as different from the philosopher, the possessor of a specialist expertise that cannot be reduced to philosophy.
Discusses the impact of the Greek discovery of the "cosmos" on man's perception of his place in the universe, and describes the problems this posed. In an analysis of the astronomical and physical theories of the Timaeus, this work demonstrates Plato's role in the reception and transmission of the discovery of the new conception of the universe.
The adventure of philosophy began in Greece, where it was gradually developed by the ancient thinkers as a special kind of knowledge by which to explain the totality of things. In this book, the author explores the richness of this Parmenidean thesis, which became the cornerstone of philosophy.
Presentsis a collection of dovetailing essays which together interpret and assess the chief arguments and texts which make up Plato's cosmology. Arguments in the Timaeus, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, and Laws X are analysed with an eye to problems which affect the wider understanding of Plato's metaphysics, theology, epistemology, psychology, and physics.
Fascinating illustrations contribute to this illuminating and award-winning account of how and why philosophy emerged and make it a must-read for any inquisitive thinker unsatisfied with prevailing assumptions on this timely and highly relevant subject. By taking the reader back to the Greek colonies of Southern Italy more than 500 years B.C., the author, with unparalleled insight, tells the story of the Pythagorean quest for otherwordly konwledge -- a tale of cultism, political conspiracies, and bloody uprisings that eventually culminate in tragic failure. The emerging hero is Parmenides, who introduces for the first time a technique for testing the truth of a statement that was not based on physical evidence or mortal sense-perception, but instead relied exclusively on the faculty we humans share with the gods: the ability to reason.
Edward Halper's three volume One and Many in Aristotle's 'Metaphysics' contends that Aristotle argues for his central metaphysical doctrines by showing that they alone resolve various versions of what is known as "the problem of the one and the many." Alpha-Delta argues that these books constitute the first stage of Aristotle's inquiry, his case for the existence of metaphysics.
This translation is the result of a collaboration between Arnold Hermann and Sylvana Chrysakopoulou. Heeding the challenge of balancing intelligibility with faithfulness - while maintaining sufficient consistency to allow the discernment of technical terms - great pains have been taken to secure both accuracy and accessibility.
This much-anticipated anthology on Plato's Timaeus - Plato's singular dialogue on the creation of the universe, the nature of the physical world, and the place of persons in the cosmos - examines all dimensions of one of the most important books in western civilization: its philosophy, cosmology, science, and ethics, its literary aspects and reception.
Originally part of a single work (with III.8, V.5, and II.9), it provides the foundation for a positive view of the universe as an image of divine beauty against the Gnostic rejection of the world.
Ennead VI.8 gives us access to the living mind of a long dead sage as he tries to answer some of the most fundamental questions we in the modern world continue to ask: are we really free when most of the time we are overwhelmed by compulsions, addictions, and necessities, and how can we know that we are free? Can we trace this freedom through our own agency to the gods, to the Soul, Intellect, and the Good? How do we know that the world is meaningful and not simply the result of chance or randomness? Plotinus' On the Voluntary and on the Free Will of the One is a groundbreaking work that provides a new understanding of the importance and nature of free human agency. It articulates a creative idea of agency and radical freedom by showing how such terms as desire, will, self-dependence, and freedom in the human ethical sphere can be genuinely applied to Intellect and the One while preserving the radical inability of all metaphysical language to express anything about God or gods.
"Treatise V.1 is especially noteworthy because it provides an early (#10) well-organized overview of Plotinus' system as a whole. Perl's introduction is astute and helpful; the translation is judicious in formulation and responsive to a number of critical concerns; and the commentary is packed full of historical references and analytical details helpful to any serious reader. As a scholarly production, the work never loses sight of the central philosophical and spiritual aspirations of Plotinus. Perl meets the high standards of scholarship set by others in this series on the Enneads." --Donald Blakeley, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Fresno, and adjunct lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii, Manoa "Perl's translation and commentary on Ennead V.1 is written with both clarity and insight. This early treatise . . . serves as a solid introduction to Plotinus, but Perl's discerning commentary also gives the specialist much to think about." --Kieran McGroarty, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Ancient Classics, Maynooth University "Perl masterfully takes us through one of the most significant Plotinian treatises, wherein Plotinus relates the three chief existences in his philosophy (the Soul, Intellect, and the One), and gives us advice on the way in which our soul should make the ascent to the One. The introduction and synopsis are incredibly helpful for both the expert and neophyte; the translation is lucid and readable; and his commentary adeptly references Platonic dialogues for those who wish to compare these philosophers' views, while also covering essential details of the Greek for non-Greek readers. Perl's excellent work will only add to this series' already venerable reputation." --David J. Yount, Professor of Philosophy at Mesa Community College, and author of Plotinus the Platonist "An elegant and precise translation of what is perhaps the best of all introductions to the Plotinian corpus, accompanied by a commentary arguing persuasively that, for Plotinus, 'metaphysics is spirituality, and spirituality metaphysics.'" --Jean-Marc Narbonne, Professor and Canada Research Chair on the Critical Heritage of Antiquity and its Modern Reception, Université Laval
This treatise sets out the case for the internality of Forms and argues for the necessary existence of an absolutely simple and transcendent first principle of all, the One or the Good. Not only Intellect and the Forms, but everything else depends on this principle for their being.
In the Statesman, Plato brings together his own crowning contributions to philosophical method, political theory, and drama. In his 1980 study, reissued here, Mitchell Miller employs literary theory and conceptual analysis to expose the philosophical, political, and pedagogical conflict that is the underlying context of the dialogue.
This collection of poems - offered as a dual-language English-Romanian edition - conveys to the reader a very personal tale of a human tragedy of unspeakable horrors the author endured alongside tens of thousands of other political prisoners at forced labour camps, so-called "Gulags" at the Danube-Black Sea Canal during Romania's Communist regime after WWII.
Set in an era witness to some of the most avant-garde and scintillating scientific discoveries and artistic creations of the last century, this novel takes readers behind the scenes and into the lives of many of history's most fascinating and revolutionary minds, all while posing the question - could a mathematical discovery be so controversial and threatening as to drive one to kill?
"A model of clarity and scholarly judiciousness. Although this treatise marks the culmination of Plotinus' remonstrations with the literature of his Gnostic friends, the introduction makes it clear that it is in fact directed, not to the Gnostics themselves, but to those of his students sympathetic with their views, and is part and parcel of a career-long dialogue with Gnostic thinkers and practitioners. Gertz's translation is lucid, and the commentary not only clearly explains difficulties in the Greek text for the non-Greek reader, but also clarifies the course of Plotinus' argument."--John Turner, Professor of Religious Studies, Classics, and History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln"Gertz captures with precision and eloquence the Neoplatonist's meticulous attempt to defend Platonism from Gnostic interpretation and appropriation. As the locus classicus for Plotinus' refusal to concede to the onto-cosmological pessimism of the Gnostics, this text highlights the Neoplatonist's argumentative skills as he relentlessly undermines their fundamental disdain for the cosmos, and the body in general. A must for scholars in the field of Gnosticism and later Greek philosophy."--Danielle A. Layne, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University"This treatise is about much more than Plotinus' refutation of the Gnostics--it is his case that a proper understanding of emanation and of the highest principles forces us to respect the sensible world as the best possible imitation of the intelligible world. Gertz's judicious analysis makes the full depth of Plotinus' thought accessible to a wider audience without getting bogged down in historical and philological minutiae."--Prof. Dr. James Wilberding, Ruhr-Universität Bochum Institut für Philosophie"Plotinus' Treatise33 offers the most detailed evidence of the philosophical debate between Pagans and Christians within the framework of a Platonic school at the beginning of the Christian era. I rejoice at Gertz's new translation and commentary which make connections both with the gnostic thought present in the indirect heresiological sources and in the direct sources, particularly in the new treatises discovered in 1945. The study of this debate in light of these new sources will bring a new appreciation of the importance of exchanges between philosophical schools and religious currents for the formation of philosophical thought in late antiquity."--Dr. Luciana Gabriela Soares Santoprete, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Institut für Philosophie, Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung
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