Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle

If your buying this book, its probably because you are enrolled in a philosophy or history class. And though it is used frequently in classrooms, the book doesn't fall into the same traps as other college level texts. This book features all of Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Categories, Physics, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics. It also contains Apology (Written by Plato, in which Socrates speaks at his trial), along with writings and quotes from and about less well known Greek philosophers, such as Empedocles and Parmenides. The philosophers are presented by date, starting with the earliest, but they are also categorized by ideas. One of the best things about this book is that, unlike other college texts, it is not a modern philosopher, or college historian, writing the bulk of the text. You actually hear from the horses mouth. The philosophers, such as Thales, who do not have many surviving words, have quotes from other famous Greek philosophers concerning them (often criticism, but informative criticism) . While at points the writing might seem dense, it is preferable to a third party writing; simply because any other person or group, though trying to, cannot capture the essence of what that person is trying to say. Anybody who has taking a philosophy coarse probably knows what I'm talking about; some philosophers have original message has been all but destroyed by professors "summery", either by misunderstanding, interjecting their own interpretations, or worse, allowing their own innate prejudices and beliefs to effect how they introduce them. The point is- Its preferable to have the actual philosopher talking for themselves, and this book has plenty of that. I will say that, if you already own the dialogues and writings in this book, I wouldn't suggest buying it. While the short summaries and historical highpoints are good, they don't offer much that you couldn't find better somewhere else. Quite simply, this is a comprehensive textbook that will enhance your understanding of Greek philosophy and provide a great starting place for further study.

I find this book to be invaluable to the philosophy student and any others who may be interested in Ancient philosophical thought in Miletus and Greece. The organization of the book is excellent, and the order in which he supplies the writings is fitting.

In my reading I frequently come across references to Greek philosophy. When I go to the bookstore, though, I see an entire shelf of books for Plato, and another for Aristotle. Presocratics are separate. How to choose? Fortunately, there is this volume. It is a large collection, filling 890 large pages, from the earliest Greek philosophers to Aristotle. The general breakdown is as follows: 89 pages devoted to the Presocratics and Sophists; 487 devoted to Plato; 277 devoted to Aristotle; 45 pages devoted to suggestions for further reading, concordance and sources for Presocratics, and glossary for Aristotle. The Presocratic selections represent 18 philosophers. Plato selections include the complete Republic and sections of 10 other dialogues. Aristotle selections contain readings from 13 treatises. Informative introductions precede each philosopher, and most individual selections from Plato and Aristotle have their own introductions. Each book of the Repulbic is introduced separately. In addition, footnotes are supplied on various obscure points of history, terminology, and ancient scientific theory. The notes on Timaeus are especially illustrative, giving the reader diagrams of theories. In short, this volume is very user friendly, geared toward the student or non-specialist who wants to know more about this fundamental area of Western culture, and very inclusive. The translations are modern and clear, not some dusted off antiques. A very good choice all around.