Studies in Greek Philosophy, Vol 1: The Presocratics

by Gregory Vlastos, Daniel W. Graham (Editor)

Gregory Vlastos (1907-1991) was one of the twentieth century's most influential scholars of ancient philosophy. Over a span of more than fifty years, he published essays and book reviews that established his place as a leading authority on early Greek philosophy. The two volumes that comprise Studies in Greek Philosophy include nearly forty contributions by this acknowledged master of the philosophical essay. Many of these pieces are now considered to be classics in the field. Perhaps more than any other modern scholar, Gregory Vlastos was responsible for raising standards of research, analysis, and exposition in classical philosophy to new levels of excellence. His essays have served as paradigms of scholarship for several generations. Available for the first time in a comprehensive collection, these contributions reveal the author's ability to combine the skills of a philosopher, philologist, and historian of ideas in addressing some of the most difficult problems of ancient philosophy. Volume I collects Vlastos's essays on Presocratic philosophy. Wide-ranging concept studies link Greek science, religion, and politics with philosophy. Individual studies illuminate the thought of major philosophers such as Heraclitus, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, and Democritus. A magisterial series of studies on Zeno of Elea reveals the author's power in source criticism and logical analysis. Volume II contains essays on the thought of Socrates, Plato, and later thinkers and essays dealing with ethical, social, and political issues as well as metaphysics, science, and the foundations of mathematics.

Genres: Philosophy

389 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 1995

Reviews

[James F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventeen articles dating from between 1945 and 1975. Vlastos was an analytic philosopher as well as an expert on Greek philosophy, and he used his skills in linguistic analysis to interpret the arguments of the Greek philosophers. Every one of these articles cast new light on the development of the early philosophical tradition. Five are general articles on Greek democracy, which he considered to have been an important influence on the cosmological doctrines of the first Presocratics; the sixth is on Heraclitus, and the last three are on Anaxagoras and Democritus. The remainder are concerned with Parmenides and Zeno of Eleas, and the paradoxes.

[Anhedonic Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but I can't recommend it to most readers. If you're doing high level philological work in presocratic Greek thought, absolutely. If you're just wanting to pick up some additional knowledge about the presocratics i'd really only recommend the Anaxagoras piece near the end.
There are a lot of interesting bits, especially the connections of philosophical thought with texts from other disciplines of the time, but the overall high level of discourse, (including tons of untranslated text from at least five languages in various footnotes) makes this a no from me.