The Sense of the Past

Fülszöveg

THE SENSE OF THE PAST
Essays in the History of Philosophy BERNARD WILLIAMS
Edited and with an introduction by Myles Burnyeat
Before his death in 2003, Bernard Williams planned to publish a collection of historical essays, focussing primarily on the ancient world. This posthumous volume brings together a much wider selection, written over some forty years. The subjects range from the sixth century bc to the twentieth ad, from Homer to Wittgenstein by way of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Sidgwick, Collingwood, and Nietzsche. Often one would be hard put to say which parts are history, which philosophy. Both are involved throughout, because this is the history of philosophy written philosophically. Historical exposition goes hand in hand with philosophical scrutiny. Insights into the past counteract blind acceptance of present assumptions.
The classical sections are rich and wide. As Myles Burnyeat writes, § 'The Analogy of City and Soul in Plato's Republic9 has... Tovább

Fülszöveg

THE SENSE OF THE PAST
Essays in the History of Philosophy BERNARD WILLIAMS
Edited and with an introduction by Myles Burnyeat
Before his death in 2003, Bernard Williams planned to publish a collection of historical essays, focussing primarily on the ancient world. This posthumous volume brings together a much wider selection, written over some forty years. The subjects range from the sixth century bc to the twentieth ad, from Homer to Wittgenstein by way of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Sidgwick, Collingwood, and Nietzsche. Often one would be hard put to say which parts are history, which philosophy. Both are involved throughout, because this is the history of philosophy written philosophically. Historical exposition goes hand in hand with philosophical scrutiny. Insights into the past counteract blind acceptance of present assumptions.
The classical sections are rich and wide. As Myles Burnyeat writes, § 'The Analogy of City and Soul in Plato's Republic9 has dominated the discussion of its subject ever since. 'The Legacy of Greek Philosophy,' | he explains, came about because "Bernard had been assigned the impossible task of summing up Greek philosophy in a volume for the general reader designed to cover all aspects of our legacy from ancient Greece. What he actually does in his fifty-plus pages is something much more valuable. He manages to convey the spirit and excitement of Greek philosophy in a way that grips the modern reader, even one with no previous experience of Greek philosophy. In the process he makes a number of important observations from which specialist scholars can benefit as well." "Plato: The Invention of Philosophy is simply the liveliest, shortest and clearest introduction in print," claims a reviewer of this mini-book, re-published here.
(continued on back flap) Vissza