ancient philosophy a new history of western philosophy volume 1

The next seven chapters each cover a specific aspect of philosophy and the arguments that contributed to each field, including: Logic, epistemology, physics, metaphysics, the study of the soul and mind, and god.ĭespite being in college I have yet to take a single philosophy course (the joys of being a science major), so to fill this gap in my formal education I decided to pick this up. It starts off with the first two chapters chronologically covering the general concepts of the major philosophical players. This entry covers the span of major philosophical inquiry from the Pre-Socratics to the pre-Christian Augustine.

He has published more than forty books on philosophy and history.Īncient Philosophy by Anthony John Patrick Kenny is the first in a four part collection on the progression of Western Philosophy. He has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Master of Balliol College, Chairman of the Board of the British Library, and President of the British Academy.

Sir Anthony Kenny is one of Britain's most distinguished academic figures. Vividly written, but serious and deep enough to offer a genuine understanding of the great philosophers, Kenny's lucid and stimulating history will become the definitive work for anyone interested in the people and ideas that shaped the course of Western thought. He examines the development of logic and reason, ancient ideas about physics ('how things happen'), metaphysics and ethics, and the earliest thinking about the soul and god. Kenny offers an illuminating account of the various schools of thought, from the Pre-Socratics to the Epicureans. Thus we do not simply get an overview of Aristotle, for example, but a penetrating and insightful critique of his thought. Instead of an uncritical, straightforward recitation of known factsPlato and his cave of shadows, Aristotle's ethics, Augustine's City of Godwe see the major philosophers through the eyes of a man who has spent a lifetime contemplating their work. The book's great virtue is that it is written by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject.

This is the initial volume of a four-book set in which Kenny will unfold a magisterial new history of Western philosophy, the first major single-author history of philosophy to appear in decades.Īncient Philosophy spans over a thousand years and brings to life the great minds of the past, from Thales, Pythagoras, and Parmenides, to Socrates, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Augustine. Sir Anthony Kenny here tells the fascinating story of the birth of philosophy and its remarkable flourishing in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Ancient philosophy a new history of western philosophy volume 1