Introducing Greek Philosophy

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 arrival in Rome, where the main ideas are set out in the Latin poetry of Lucretius and the prose of Cicero.The book eschews the method of most histories of ancient philosophy of addressing one thinker after another through the centuries. Instead, after a basic mapping of the territory, it takes the great themes that the Greeks were engaged in from the earliest times, and looks at them individually, their development in argument and counter-argument, from the beginnings of recorded Greek history, through the various upheavals of tyrannies, democracies, oligarchies and kingships, to their introduction into Rome in the first century BC.

Table of Contents:
Preface Chronology 1. Mapping the territory 2. Language, logic and literary form 3. Cosmologies 4. Pagan monotheism 5. Souls and selves 6. Believing, doubting and knowing 7. Leadership, law and the origins of political theory 8. Ethics, goodness and happiness Epilogue Appendix: Sources for Greek philosophy Glossary Notes Further Reading Index of passages Index

About the Author :
M. R. Wright is Emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of Wales.

Review :
"An elegant book of exemplary clarity." - Anglo-Hellenic Review "A very good explanation of the beginnings and developments in ancient Greek philosophy from which newcomers are sure to benefit. Wright's rich explanatory context can teach much to the student. It is well-written and thorough. Its discussions are often nuanced in a way to make themselves relevant to contemporary intellectual concerns." - Metapsychology An excellent introduction to early Greek philosophy by an acknowledged expert in the subject. The volume tells beginning students all they need to know about both the key themes and personalities in Greek philosophy and the historical and religious context in which it developed.A" - John Sellars, University of the West of England Ancient philosophy has become very specialised in recent publications and a volume of this kind, with its emphasis on the general and introductory, fills a gap. The presentation is clear and accessible, the selection of topics is well judged and the commentary is accurate and fair.A" - J. D. G. Evans, Queen's University of Belfast