Ancient Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy

Tough going in the beginning as the author is trying to introduce us to all the philosophical concepts. I had to resort to using Wikipedia and google to get more color on some of the concepts introduced. All in all it was a good read.

`Ancient Philosophy' is the first of four volumes in Anthony Kenny's `A New History of Western Philosophy' recently published by Oxford University Press. For those unfamiliar with the author, Kenny is a leading contemporary scholar that has previously written noteworthy texts on Aquinas, Descartes, and Wittgenstein amongst others. While Kenny's writing and scholarship is of a high standard I have mixed feelings about the text. One the one hand, it is the best single-author overview of Western philosophy of which I am familiar, more readable than Copleston and more evenhanded than Russell. Undertaking a history of Western philosophy is a daunting task. Such a vast subject can be approached chronologically, by subject matter or in a mixed manner. Kenny takes the latter mixed approach, providing a chronological survey of the period in the early part of the book then delving into specific subject areas in latter portions. On the other hand, I am uncertain if it will find a ready audience. Those with sufficient background to follow the discussion may pass on the book, while those unacquainted with ancient philosophy will likely find much of text rather arcane and opaque. Additionally, from a physical perspective the paper is glossy, giving the text a bit of a `fluffy' feel as well as making it difficult to read it certain lightening conditions (reflection). Overall, an ambitious undertaking by an excellent philosopher. Despite my mixed feelings, I will likely pick up the subsequent volumes.

Sir Anthony Kenny's four-volume History of Western Philosophy begins at the traditional place: in Ancient Greece. Clearly and concisely, he sketches the contributions of Thales of Miletus, Parmenides, Anaximader, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and -- in Rome -- Cicero and Augustine (and many more). For these 110 pages alone, the book is worth picking up used. Thereafter Kenny does a thematic treatment that is far more involved, technical and tangential. His intention seems to be to put the voices of the individual philosophers and schools of philosophy in dialogue with one another but he does not always keep the lines clear of who is arguing what and when. Is Kenny rebutting Aristotle himself or paraphrasing an ancient rebuttal of an Aristotelian argument? The thematic chapters will still be of use to people looking for summations of individual thematic topics, but it is far too 'inside baseball' for the casual reader. The themes are: Logic, Epistemology, Physics, Metaphysics, Soul and Mind, Ethics, God. Though it is a History of Western Philosophy, it would've been nice to see signposts that relate different ideas to the wider non-western world. Kenny uses a number of British-isms and British metaphors that an editor could've easily replaced with more universal language. The book has excellent pictorial illustrations of the philosophers from some more-obscure art library sources. I have to credit this ambitious project: while it is not the definitive history of ancient western philosophy, it must certainly be the most comprehensive and up-to-date one available. Four stars. I look forward to reading the other books in the series: Medieval Philosophy (A New History of Western Philosophy, Vol. 2) The Rise of Modern Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy Volume 3 (New History of Western Philosophy) Philosophy in the Modern World: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 4 (New History of Western Philosophy)