The Beginnings of Philosophy in Greece

by Maria Michela Sassi, Michele Asuni (Translator)

A celebrated study of the origins of ancient Greek philosophy, now in English for the first time.

How can we talk about the beginnings of philosophy today? How can we avoid the conventional opposition of mythology and the dawn of reason and instead explore the multiple styles of thought that emerged between them? In this acclaimed book, available in English for the first time, Maria Michela Sassi reconstructs the intellectual world of the early Greek "Presocratics" to provide a richer understanding of the roots of what used to be called "the Greek miracle."

The beginnings of the long process leading to philosophy were characterized by intellectual diversity and geographic polycentrism. In the sixth and fifth centuries, between the Asian shores of Ionia and the Greek city-states of southern Italy, thinkers started to reflect on the cosmic order, elaborate doctrines on the soul, write in solemn Homeric meter, or, later, abandon poetry for an assertive prose. And yet the Presocraticswhether the Milesian natural thinkers, the rhapsode Xenophanes, the mathematician and "shaman" Pythagoras, the naturalist and seer Empedocles, the oracular Heraclitus, or the inspired Parmenidesall shared an approach to critical thinking that, by questioning traditional viewpoints, revolutionized knowledge.

A unique study that explores the full range of early Greek thinkers in the context of their worlds, the book also features a new preface to the English edition in which the author discusses the latest scholarship on the subject.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Lucas Mattos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very boring. Sassi is neither the best nor the most engaging writer. The binding strands connecting the contents of all five chapters are tenuous, and I found myself questioning the reason for the inclusion of much of the book’s contents. There were some interesting kernels throughout, though. Closer to a 5/10 than to a 4/10.

Read for PHIL 7303 (Ancient Greek Philosophy: The Greeks and Human Knowledge).

[Adriana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written to say the least. Sassi’s brain is scattered, not to mention her poor analysis and arguments. She references Burkett multiple times yet fails to account his anthropological evidence against her claims. Sassi spent more time beating around the bush than actually making any compelling argument .

[Dean Chavooshian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read if you have a burning interest in the more obscure preSocratic philosophers (e.g. Heraclitus, Anaximander, Pherecydes, Epimenides, Cenophanes, etc.). Remarkably detailed and scholarly, written almost like a lecture series. One can almost feel the author’s thought process.

[Mills College Library]

180 S2528 2018