The works collected in this volume form the true foundation of Western philosophy--the base upon which Plato and Aristotle and their successors would eventually build. Yet the importance of the Pre-Socratics thinkers lies less in their influence--great though that was--than in their astonishing intellectual ambition and imaginative reach. Zeno's dizzying 'proofs' that motion is impossible; the extraordinary atomic theories of Democritus; the haunting and enigmatic epigrams of Heraclitus; and the maxims of Alcmaeon: fragmentary as they often are, the thoughts of these philosophers seem...

In recent years, the mutual interaction between philosophy and Roman political and cultural life has aroused much interest. In this collection of papers, originally delivered at the seminar on Philosophy and Roman Society at the University of Oxford, scholars from several disciplines investigate this interaction in the late Republic and early Empire, with particular emphasis on the formative period of the first century B.C. The book presents chapters on key digures such as Posidonius, Antiochus of Ascalon, Philodemus, Lucretius, Cicero, and Plutarch, as well as general essays on "Philosophy,...

The mutual interaction of philosophy and Roman political and cultural life has aroused more and more interest in recent years among students of classical literature, Roman history, and ancient philosophy. In this volume, which gathers together some of the papers originally delivered at a series of seminars in the University of Oxford, scholars from all three disciplines explore the role of Platonism and Aristotelianism in Roman intellectual, cultural, and political life from the second century BC to the third century AD.

Ancient philosophers

This book is available either individually, or as part of the specially-priced Arguments of the Philosphers Collection.

The Modes of Scepticism is one of the most important and influential of all ancient philosophical texts. The texts made an enormous impact on Western thought when they were rediscovered in the 16th century and they have shaped the whole future course of Western philosophy. Despite their importance, the Modes have been little discussed in recent times. This book translates the texts and supplies them with a discursive commentary, concentrating on philosophical issues but also including historical material. The book will be of interest to professional scholars and philosophers but its clear and...

In the works of Sextus Empiricus, scepticism is presented in its most elaborate and challenging form. This book investigates - both from an exegetical and from a philosophical point of view - the chief argumentative forms which ancient scepticism developed. Thus the particular focus is on the Agrippan aspect of Sextus' Pyrrhonism. Barnes gives a lucid explanation and analysis of these arguments, both individually and as constituent parts of a sceptical system. For, taken together, these forms amount to a formidable and systematic challenge to any claim to knowledge or rational belief. The...

Long neglected and unappreciated, the philosophy of the Greek and Roman worlds--from the last days of Aristotle (c. 320 BC) until 100 B.C.--has over the last decade received a considerable amount of renewed scholarly attention. This history is organized by subject, rather than chronologically or by philosophical school, with sections on logic, epistemology, physics and metaphysics, ethics and politics. Written by specialists, it is intended to be a reference for any student of ancient philosophy. Greek and Latin are used sparingly and always translated in the main text.

The main argument of this book, against a prevailing orthodoxy, is that the study of logic was a vital - and a popular - part of stoic philosophy in the early imperial period. The argument relies primarily on detailed analyses of certain texts in the Discourses of Epictetus. It includes some account of logical 'analysis', of 'hypothetical' reasoning, and of 'changing' arguments. Written both for historians and for philosophers, and presupposing no logical expertise, this is an important contribution to the history of philosophy in the early imperial period.

The present book is the English version of a monograph 'Die aristotelische Syllogistik', which first appeared ten years ago in the series of Abhand 1 lungen edited by the Academy of Sciences in Gottingen. In the preface to the English edition, I would first like to express my indebtedness to Mr. J. Barnes, now fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He not only translated what must have been a difficult text with exemplary precision and ingenuity, but followed critically every argument and check ed every reference. While translating it, he has improved the book. Of those changes which I have made on...