The Greeks and the Irrational

by Dodds, E. R.

• ISBN13: 9780520242302
• ISBN10: 0520242300
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

In this philosophy classic, which was first published in 1951, E. R. Dodds takes on the traditional view of Greek culture as a triumph of rationalism. Using the analytical tools of modern anthropology and psychology, Dodds asks, "Why should we attribute to the ancient Greeks an immunity from 'primitive' modes of thought which we do not find in any society open to our direct observation?" Praised by reviewers as "an event in modern Greek scholarship" and "a book which it would be difficult to over-praise,"The Greeks and the Irrationalwas Volume 25 of the Sather Classical Lectures series.

Author Biography

E. R. Dodds was Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford from 1936 to 1960 and President of the Society for Psychical Research from 1961 to 1963.

Table of Contents

I Agamemnon's Apology	1	(27)
II From Shame-Culture to Guilt-Culture	28	(36)
III The Blessings of Madness	64	(38)
IV Dream-Pattern and Culture-Pattern	102	(33)
V The Greek Shamans and the Origin of Puritanism	135	(44)
VI Rationalism and Reaction in the Classical Age	179	(28)
VII Plato, the Irrational Soul, and the Inherited Conglomerate	207	(29)
VIII The Fear of Freedom	236	(34)
Appendix I Maenadism	270	(13)
Appendix II Theurgy	283	(32)
Index	315