Presocratics: Natural Philosophers before Socrates (Volume 2) (Ancient Philosophies)

Getting back to the basics that came from ancient Greece.This book is an excellent introduction to a time where I wish I could have experienced first hand. The Presocratics is where a certain type of intellectualism took a turn for the better. These men helped started it all, and some of the names might not be very familiar to you, but once you realize how important they were to the works of philosophical legends such as Plato and Aristotle, you'll see why the Presocratics should be studied. Did these philosophers pave the way for future philosophy? Of course! This is where talks of metaphysics began to gain some ground.I used to think that the Presocratics were just a waste of time when studying philosophy, but now I've changed my mind. One philosopher in particular is Zeno who is known for Zeno's paradoxes. The paradox of Achilles and the tortoise is still of importance to arguments that we see taking place now in academia. William Lane Craig uses an argument for an actual infinite being something that cannot exist and this debate seems to go back to Zeno. This book goes over refutations to Zeno around his time, and one noticeable is Aristotle's. One thing that sticks out here is the fact that much of what we know from Zeno comes from Aristotle's metaphysics, as the works of Zeno along with many of the presocratics have a lot of their material being cited from later philosophers.Parmenides and Heraclitus are probably the two most well known philosophers, and it seems as though the principle of sufficient reason (a metaphysical principle that I defend frequently) has much of its roots in Parmenides. Heraclitus had an interesting outlook on reality and showed much interest in fire as being a crucial substance with respect to things that exist.Thales gets mentioned as he was basically the one to start everything off, at least as far as we know. Other notables are Xenophanes who brought up a good point on how Theists from different cultures ultimately just have a different concept of what God is like rather than believe in a different God altogether. I believe this is a great point to made, especially when answering people who use the silly objection that states "there are many gods out there, why is yours the right one?". Xenophanes seemed to influence skepticism and I think his ideas in some areas where great.This book is great for those who want to get into the basics of philosophy, and I highly encourage those who have an interest in the history of philosophy to definitely check out this book. The author gives MANY references to look at if someone wants to keep researching philosophy around this time period.

A helpful introduction to the Greek philosophers known as the "Presocratics," mostly before the time of Socrates, focused primarily on matters of natural philosophy.The author does well at showing what can be known from the fragments preserved from the Presocratics: Thales, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Zeno and Melissus, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Democritus and Leucippus, Philolaus, and Diogenes of Apollonia. He describes what can be known of their philosophies and the questions with which they grappled.Even though the material can sometimes be challenging, the author does well at explaining the issues in a way most people will be able to understand. One is struck at how the issues discussed within philosophy from the beginning, in many ways, continue to the present day; the same basic issues about our reality and how we perceive that reality are discussed by later Greek philosophers and such discussions continue until now.Therefore, the book is quite useful and relevant for the modern day reader. Worth consideration.

I would recommend this to mature readers like myself who had thought this early phase of western thought could be summed up in a short paragraph. Warren does a fine job of providing historical and conceptual contexts, and sometimes even brings these astonishing old boys to life. I taught literature and humanities for several decades. I'm embarrassed to admit how ignorant of these foundations I was. Using few instruments other than their brains, eyes, and imaginations, they established methods of inquiry and collaboration across cultures and timelines--precedents that SHOULD encourage academics to fight against the deadening specialization that now prevails.

If you were ever curious about the Presocratics --the modern name for a group of ancient Greek philosophers, most of whom lived before Socrates--, this is an excellent place to start. Warren has written an engaging and lucid work, that explains the thought of these 'first philosophers' in the Western tradition very well. His introductory chapter on how we know about them (fragmentary texts in a range of later authors, not all sympathetic) and what this means for how we should read them is illuminating. His eye for significant details and good sense of illustrative examples make this a great help for students and anyone wanting to take a peak at some of the famous figures who stand at the beginning of the rational world view. No other introduction since Hussey (1972) manages to pack so much into such a short book and make it so readable.

This is a wonderfully insightful book and, in my opinion, the best introduction to the presocratics, among a fine field. It of interest both to the beginner and the expert.

Numerous typos, needed better copyediting for scholarly book.

The book is structured around the most important pre-socractic thinkers and presents them and their ideas. Many views are directly quoted from the original fragments, which allows further research for every claim made. For my taste it could have been more exhaustive, although it probably would loose its introductory character that way.