Studies in Greek Philosophy, Volume I: The Presocratics

by Gregory Vlastos, Daniel W. Graham (Editor)

Overview

Gregory Vlastos (1907-1991) was one of the twentieth century's most influential scholars of ancient philosophy. Over a span of more than fifty years, he published essays and book reviews that established his place as a leading authority on early Greek philosophy. The two volumes that comprise Studies in Greek Philosophy include nearly forty contributions by this acknowledged master of the philosophical essay. Many of these pieces are now considered to be classics in the field. Perhaps more than any other modern scholar, Gregory Vlastos was responsible for raising standards of research, analysis, and exposition in classical philosophy to new levels of excellence. His essays have served as paradigms of scholarship for several generations. Available for the first time in a comprehensive collection, these contributions reveal the author's ability to combine the skills of a philosopher, philologist, and historian of ideas in addressing some of the most difficult problems of ancient philosophy. Volume I collects Vlastos's essays on Presocratic philosophy. Wide-ranging concept studies link Greek science, religion, and politics with philosophy. Individual studies illuminate the thought of major philosophers such as Heraclitus, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, and Democritus. A magisterial series of studies on Zeno of Elea reveals the author's power in source criticism and logical analysis. Volume II contains essays on the thought of Socrates, Plato, and later thinkers and essays dealing with ethical, social, and political issues as well as metaphysics, science, and the foundations of mathematics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691019376
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/12/1997
Series:	Studies in Greek Philosophy , #1
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

At the time of his death, Gregory Vlastos was Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley. He was the author of the well-known book Platonic Studies (Princeton). Daniel Graham is Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University and is the author of Aristotle's Two Systems.

Table of Contents

PREFACE ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
INTRODUCTION xv
NOTE ON TEXTUAL CONVENTIONS xxv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxvii
PART ONE: CONCEPT STUDIES
1. Theology and Philosophy in Early Greek Thought 3
2. Solonian Justice 32
3. Equality and Justice in Early Greek Cosmologies 57
4. Isonomia 89 5. Cornford's Principium Sapientiae 112
PART TWO: HERACLITUS
6. On Heraclitus 127
PART THREE: THE ELEATICS
7. Parmenides' Theory of Knowledge 153
8. Frankel's Wege und Formen fruhgriechischen Denkens 164
9. Raven's Pythagoreans and Eleatics 180
10. Zeno's Race Course: With an Appendix on the Achilles 189
11. A Note on Zeno's Arrow 205
12. A Zenonian Argument Against Plurality 219
13. Zeno of Elea 241
14. Plato's Testimony Concerning Zeno of Elea 264
PART FOUR: THE PLURALISTS
15. The Physical Theory of Anaxagoras 303
16. Ethics and Physics in Democritus 328
17. On the Pre-History in Diodorus 351
INDEX LOCORUM 359
GENERAL INDEX 381

What People are Saying About This

Cooper

This collection will be hailed as a significant event in the fields of classics and the history of philosophy. Many of the papers make lasting contributions and will continue to be treated as essential work for their new research.
— John M. Cooper, Princeton University

From the Publisher

"This collection will be hailed as a significant event in the fields of classics and the history of philosophy. Many of the papers make lasting contributions and will continue to be treated as essential work for their new research."—John M. Cooper, Princeton University

Editorial Reviews

"This well-edited collection of thirty-six essays is . . . a great boon to students of pre-Aristotelian philosophy. . . . The clarity of argument allows for fruitful use by anyone with a keen interest in ancient thought."

Times Literary Supplement

"This collection of essays and papers by Gregory Vlastos constitutes a fitting memorial to his remarkable career. . . . It is convenient, useful, and instructive to have them within these volumes. A valuable acquisition."

Choice

This well-edited collection of thirty-six essays is . . . a great boon to students of pre-Aristotelian philosophy. . . . The clarity of argument allows for fruitful use by anyone with a keen interest in ancient thought.

Time Magazines Literary Supplement

"This collection will be hailed as a significant event in the fields of classics and the history of philosophy. Many of the papers make lasting contributions and will continue to be treated as essential work for their new research."—John M. Cooper, Princeton University

From the Publisher