Early Greek Philosophy (Penguin Classics) Paperback – 26 Sept. 2002

In this book, Barnes presents an insightful and scholarly account of the different views of the philosophers which preceded the Athenian trio. These works range from the predecessors of Greek philosophy to Diogenes of Apollonia, including many of the greatest thinkers of the era.What is truly refreshing about this work is the citation of actual fragments of work from ancient philosophers, something which has been curiously lacking in the histories of philosophy. The presentation of, arguably, verbatim material gives the reader a greater understanding of the Greeks with whom they engage and allows for the construction of a true 'feel' of the philosophy.The selection within this work is also generous, whilst the majority of the work is concerned with the more plentiful fragments of major names such as Empedocles and Democritus, there is also mention of smaller intermediaries and commentaries on periods of time. These give the work a distinct charm and offer a more complete view of the development of the history of ancient Greek thought.Another great facet of this book is the scholarly nature of the writing, the authenticity of which is rare in philosophy books and once again provides another dimension to the reading.However, there are a few issues which this book encounters. Firstly, and inevitably, there is a confusing use of notation and text style in this work. These are necessary to differentiate between Barnes, commentator and actual Greek philosopher, but nonetheless it can prove troublesome. Furthermore, there is a lack of a concluding section. Whilst this is obviously not a tremendous injustice, Barnes' writing would have been a useful resolution to the book.Overall, this is a great product and one I would thoroughly recommend.

“Early Greek Philosophy” by Jonathan Barnes is an overview of the surviving texts (fragments), ideas and lives of the earliest known Western Philosophers. More scientist than philosopher, these 6th century BC “Pre-Socratics” came from all over the Greek world and were the intellectual giants of their times.Starting with Thales of Miletus, the writer has given each philosopher his own stand-alone chapter, discussing all the available textual sources. The ideas, the logic and meanings are not always easy to understand, but Barnes’ introduction and excellent explanatory notes make this a joy to read and a good reference source. The result is a good introduction to the sources of Western philosophy ranging from Thales, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Xenophanes and Zeno, to Parmenides, Heraclites, Anaximander, Democritus and Empedocles. I was astonished by the originality, sophistication, and exoticism of their thinking, covering topics as varied as atomism, physics, cosmology, evolution, theology and epistemology.Their ideas and characters are never far away in Plato’s Socrates. He is either building on or criticising them, as happens for instance in "Theaetetus (Classics)". “Early Greek Philosophy” is therefore essential reading for understanding Socrates and Plato and placing them in the wider context of the early Western philosophy and civilisation.

After over 2,500 years we have, for the most part, only fragments of the writings of these philosophers, yet their concerns and proposals are as philosophically relevant today as they ever were.Atomic, sub-atomic or even sub-sub-sub-atomic - is the pursuit of fundamental particles purely empirical, or can it be answer a priori by thought alone..? Can physical reality be regarded as infinitely divisible, or does reason require a finitely-sized and indivisible atomic?Any student of the physical/empirical sciences could benefit from these considerations of the boundary between thought and experience - a priori and a posteriori.This work by Jonathan Barnes is currently the definitive collection of these pre-Socratic writings.

The introduction particularly is wonderful and the treatment of the subject fulsome. A great introduction to the early thinkers who shape our perception of the world.

This is an intriguing collection of Greek philosophy, which I can highly recommend for its entertaining accounts of muddled geniuses and their extant writings. I particularly enjoyed the section on Pythagoras, with the laugh-out-loud stories of limbs made of gold and weeping reincarnated warriors.

Perfect condition.

Such a great read

Excellent