Greek Philosophers

by Taylor, C. C. W.; Hare, R. M.; Barnes, Jonathan; Thomas, Keith

• ISBN13: 9780192876966
• ISBN10: 0192876961
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-05
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Greek Philosophers contains essays on three of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates wrote nothing himself, and our knowledge of his philosophical opinions and method is derived mainly from the engaging and infuriating figure who appears in Plato's dialogues. The philosophy of Socrates and Plato is therefore closely interconnected, and the most powerful elements of Plato's mature thought form the basis of an interpretation of knowledge, reality, and morality which is still held and debated by philosophers today. Aristotle's scientific explorations and systematic philosophical investigation have been instrumental in the development of Western philosophy. Each of this book's three authors provides a thorough section on a single philosopher, and the confluence of these studies will help readers understand these great thinkers both individually and in the context of each other.

Author Biography

About the Authors:
Jonathan Barnes is Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Geneva. R. M. Hare is Professor Emeritus of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, and Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Florida. C. C. W. Taylor is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College and a Reader in Philosophy at Oxford University.

Table of Contents

Socrates	1	(102)
C. C. W. Taylor
Acknowledgements	3	(2)
Abbreviations	5	(1)
Introduction	6	(2)
Life	8	(17)
Trial and death	14	(11)
Socratic literature and the Socratic problem	25	(19)
Authors other than Plato	25	(11)
Plato	36	(8)
Plato's Socrates	44	(32)
Socrates' disavowal of wisdom	45	(6)
Definition	51	(9)
Ethics	60	(9)
Socrates and the Sophists	69	(7)
Socrates and later philosophy	76	(25)
Ancient philosophy	76	(9)
Medieval and modern philosophy	85	(16)
Conclusion	101	(2)
Plato	103	(88)
R. M. Hare
Preface	105	(2)
Life and times	107	(9)
Plato's forebears	116	(8)
How Plato became a philosopher	124	(9)
Understanding Plato	133	(6)
Knowing things	139	(9)
Definition, dialectic and the good	148	(10)
Education and the good life	158	(6)
The divided mind	164	(6)
The authoritarian State	170	(12)
Plato's achievement	182	(9)
Aristotle	191	(112)
Jonathan Barnes
The man and his work	195	(5)
A public figure	200	(4)
Zoological researches	204	(7)
Collecting facts	211	(5)
The philosophical background	216	(6)
The structure of the sciences	222	(6)
Logic	228	(5)
Knowledge	233	(6)
Ideal and achievement	239	(4)
Reality	243	(8)
Change	251	(6)
Causes	257	(7)
Empiricism	264	(4)
Aristotle's world-picture	268	(6)
Psychology	274	(4)
Evidence and theory	278	(5)
Teleology	283	(5)
Practical philosophy	288	(7)
The arts	295	(3)
Afterlife	298	(5)
Chronological table	302	(1)
References and Further Reading	303	(20)
Socrates	305	(6)
Plato	311	(3)
Aristotle	314	(9)
Index	323