One of the most important Presocratic philosophers was the Sicilian Empedocles. He presented his work in the form of two hexameter poems, of which about 450 lines are extant, revealing a formidable range of interests, acute observation, and a firm grasp of fundamental issues in the study of man and nature. Empedocles' theory of four elements was crucial to later developments in science and medicine. He showed how forces of attraction and repulsion acted on the elements within a framework of cyclical time and limited space, and initiated or advanced major discoveries in astronomy, biology,...
One of the most important Presocratic philosophers was the Sicilian Empedocles. He presented his work in the form of two hexameter poems, of which abo...
The popularity of Stephen Hawking's work has put cosmology back in the public eye. The question of how the universe began, and why it hangs together, still puzzles scientists. Their puzzlement began two and a half thousand years ago when Greek philosophers first 'looked up at the sky and formed a theory of everything.' Though their solutions are little credited today, the questions remain fresh. The early Greek thinkers struggled to come to terms with and explain the totality of their surroundings; to identitify an original substance from which the universe was compounded; and to reconcile...
The popularity of Stephen Hawking's work has put cosmology back in the public eye. The question of how the universe began, and why it hangs together, ...
This collection is designed to provide a basic text for early Greek philosophy and to encourage those with an elementary knowledge of Greek to read the most important fragments of the Presocratics themselves. The book contains the Greek text of 186 fragments with brief commentary, plus the text and translation of parts of Aristotle's Metaphysics A. An introduction gives a useful overview of the Presocratics.
This collection is designed to provide a basic text for early Greek philosophy and to encourage those with an elementary knowledge of Greek to read...
Aimed at students of classics and of philosophy who would like a taste of the subject before being committed to a full course and at those who have already started and need to find their bearings in what may seem at first a complex maze of names and schools, "Introducing Greek Philosophy" is a concise, lively, philosophically aware introduction to ancient Greek philosophy. The book begins with the Milesians in Asia Minor before moving over to the developments in the western Greek world, then focusing on Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Athens, finishing with the Hellenistic schools and their...
Aimed at students of classics and of philosophy who would like a taste of the subject before being committed to a full course and at those who have al...
