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Book Cover for: Ancient Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume I, Anthony Kenny

Ancient Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume I

Anthony Kenny

Sir Anthony Kenny here tells the fascinating story of the birth of philosophy and its remarkable flourishing in the ancient Mediterranean world. This is the initial volume of a four-book set in which Kenny will unfold a magisterial new history of Western philosophy, the first major single-author history of philosophy to appear in decades.
Ancient Philosophy spans over a thousand years and brings to life the great minds of the past, from Thales, Pythagoras, and Parmenides, to Socrates, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Augustine. The book's great virtue is that it is written by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject. Instead of an uncritical, straightforward recitation of known facts--Plato and his cave of shadows, Aristotle's ethics, Augustine's City of God--we see the major philosophers through the eyes of a man who has spent a lifetime contemplating their work. Thus we do not simply get an overview of Aristotle, for example, but a penetrating and insightful critique of his thought. Kenny offers an illuminating account of the various schools of thought, from the Pre-Socratics to the Epicureans. He examines the development of logic and reason, ancient ideas about physics ("how things happen"), metaphysics and ethics, and the earliest thinking about the soul and god.
Vividly written, but serious and deep enough to offer a genuine understanding of the great philosophers, Kenny's lucid and stimulating history will become the definitive work for anyone interested in the people and ideas that shaped the course of Western thought.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Publish Date: Jan 8th, 2007
  • Pages: 364
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.16in - 6.32in - 0.73in - 1.42lb
  • EAN: 9780198752721
  • Categories: History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical

About the Author

Sir Anthony Kenny is one of Britain's most distinguished academic figures. He has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Master of Balliol College, Chairman of the Board of the British Library, and President of the British Academy. He has published more than forty books on philosophy and history.

More books by Anthony Kenny

Book Cover for: A New History of Western Philosophy: In Four Parts, Anthony Kenny
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Book Cover for: An Illustrated Brief History of Western Philosophy, 20th Anniversary Edition, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: The Rise of Modern Philosophy, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: A New History of Western Philosophy, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: Medieval Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 2, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: Immanuel Kant: A Very Brief History, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: The Metaphysics of Mind, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: The God of the Philosophers, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: A Stylometric Study of the New Testament, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: The Rise of Modern Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 3, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: The Enlightenment: A Very Brief History, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: Arthur Hugh Clough: A Poet's Life, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: Aquinas on Mind, Anthony Kenny
Book Cover for: Descartes: A Study of His Philosophy, Anthony Kenny

Praise for this book

"This genial and highly accessible book...presents and analyses with exemplary clarity the most important ideas and arguments ancient philosophers contributed to the main fields of philosophical inquiry.... The range, beauty, and often the unexpectedness of the illustrations are one of the triumphs of the volume." --Malcolm Schofield, London Review of Books