Ancient Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary - Paperback

by Nick Smith (Editor), Fritz Allhoff (Editor), Anand Jayprakash Vaidya (Editor)

Part of The Blackwell Readings in Philosophy Series, this survey of ancient philosophy explores the scope of ancient philosophy, focusing on the key philosophers and their texts, examining how the foundations of philosophy as we know it were laid.

• Focuses on the key philosophers and their texts, from Pre-Socratic thinkers through to the Neo-Platonists
• Brings together the key primary writings of Thales, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius, Seneca, Sextus Empiricus, Plotinus, and many others
• Is broken down into eight chronological sections for easy comprehension and comparison
• The readings are accompanied by expert commentary from the editors

Back Jacket

The progression of philosophy in ancient Greece spans an extensive and complex period in history. Between 600 BCE and 600 CE the foundations of philosophy as we know it were laid, establishing the central areas of philosophical concern, and creating an agenda for future study and debate.

This thorough introduction to ancient philosophy:

• Focuses on the key philosophers and their texts, from Pre-Socratic thinkers through to the Neo-Platonists
• Brings together the key primary writings of Thales, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius, Seneca, Sextus Empiricus, Plotinus, and many others
• Is broken down into eight chronological sections for easy comprehension and comparison

The readings are accompanied by expert commentary from the editors.

Author Biography

Nicholas Smith is James F. Miller Professor of Humanities in the Department of Philosophy at Lewis & Clark College. He has been involved in the writing of several distinguished essays and over fifteen books, including Plato's Socrates with T. C. Brickhouse, which won the Outstanding Academic Book for 1995 award from Choice.

Fritz Allhoff is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Western Michigan University.

Anand Jayprakash Vaidya is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at San José State University.