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Early Greek Philosophy
This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1920 edition by A. & C. Black, Ltd., London.
389 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1892
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About the author
John Burnet
149 books6 followersJohn Burnet, FBA was a Scottish classicist. He was born in Edinburgh and died in St. Andrews.
Burnet was educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained first-class honours in Classical Moderations (Greek and Latin) in 1885 and in Literae Humaniores in 1887.
Burnet was educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained first-class honours in Classical Moderations (Greek and Latin) in 1885 and in Literae Humaniores in 1887.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 4, 2026
John Burnet was a distinguished Scottish classicist and Professor of St Andrews who died in 1928. He was especially noted for his interest in Plato and many consider his work on Plato to be unsurpassed to this day.
This is a very useful, clear, and thorough exposition of the Pre Socratics. Each philosopher or school is shown in relation to the overall development of Greek philosophy; indeed, Burnet was noted for his insistence that Plato’s thought should be seen as a development of the school of Anaxagoras. There are also helpful and illuminating quotations from each philosopher which begin each section. I found it very useful at exploring the interconnections between them all, and musing on how apposite (and occasionally how wrong headed) so many of them seem to be from our standpoint. (Which is not to say, of course, that I believe we have all the answers either).
Some might find this not quite deep enough – this might be the case if you are already thoroughly steeped in ancient Greek philosophy and thirst for greater forensic examination of the subject. Others might feel the opposite: as a work written a century ago, and with its prior assumption that the reader is possessed of what would then have been a good general education, it may be too demanding for those impoverished by modern education and short attention spans. But I felt like Goldilocks with my porridge at just the right temperature.
This is a very useful, clear, and thorough exposition of the Pre Socratics. Each philosopher or school is shown in relation to the overall development of Greek philosophy; indeed, Burnet was noted for his insistence that Plato’s thought should be seen as a development of the school of Anaxagoras. There are also helpful and illuminating quotations from each philosopher which begin each section. I found it very useful at exploring the interconnections between them all, and musing on how apposite (and occasionally how wrong headed) so many of them seem to be from our standpoint. (Which is not to say, of course, that I believe we have all the answers either).
Some might find this not quite deep enough – this might be the case if you are already thoroughly steeped in ancient Greek philosophy and thirst for greater forensic examination of the subject. Others might feel the opposite: as a work written a century ago, and with its prior assumption that the reader is possessed of what would then have been a good general education, it may be too demanding for those impoverished by modern education and short attention spans. But I felt like Goldilocks with my porridge at just the right temperature.
June 23, 2014
So this was a pretty decent overview of the Presocratics. It didn't really suffer from being overly pedantic or dense. And I thought it covered the important figures fairly well, but not exhaustively. Perhaps the best thing was either the attention to the details of how each figure (and their philosophies) were related to their predecessors and successors or the frequent footnotes indicating what ancient sources Burnet was using, but at times the footnotes became a bit cumbersome.
The only other issue with this book is that its sort of out of date. I'm pretty sure the way it talks about Ionian science being some distinct cultural movement is a reduction of a much more complicated picture.
Also nice was translations of many of the fragments of each Presocratic in each section.
The only other issue with this book is that its sort of out of date. I'm pretty sure the way it talks about Ionian science being some distinct cultural movement is a reduction of a much more complicated picture.
Also nice was translations of many of the fragments of each Presocratic in each section.
October 9, 2013
I read this, along with a great number of similar survey books, during the second semester of 1980/81 for Peter Maxwell's "History of Ancient Philosophy" course at Loyola University Chicago.
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October 27, 2020Acho que um dos grandes problemas de estudar a filosofia pré-socrática quando se adentra no curso de filosofia é ver os pré-socráticos com certo desdém, pensando que todas as discussões que foram feitas nessa época foram discussões místicas e sem peso pra uma filosofia mais contemporânea. O que esse livro faz, e muito bem por sinal, é demonstrar a lógica argumentativa por de trás do pensamento que antecedeu Sócrates, expondo uma certa engenhosidade e genialidade presente nesses primeiros sistemas filosóficos. A leitura das teorias aqui é uma leitura que não subestima seus criadores em nenhum momento e ajuda a criar um fio condutor que, puxando características históricas e lógicas, consegue enlaçar toda a complexa e fascinante imagem da filosofia pré-socrática.
O livro me salvou muito nas minhas provas de História da Filosofia I e eu recomendaria a todo calouro de filosofia que esteja tendo dificuldades em captar a essência do pensamento pré-socrático, apresentado aqui de uma maneira clara e bem articulada.
O livro me salvou muito nas minhas provas de História da Filosofia I e eu recomendaria a todo calouro de filosofia que esteja tendo dificuldades em captar a essência do pensamento pré-socrático, apresentado aqui de uma maneira clara e bem articulada.
October 10, 2017
Interesting...good for reference. Unfortunately there was lots of untranslated Greek in both of the editions I read.
March 12, 2024
Good overview. Just the kind of refresher I wanted. Middle portion was stronger than the start or the finish. I wish we had more source material from this period, but that is not Burnet's fault or burden - he walks through the material in an efficient fashion, especially when discussing influences and disputed interpretations. Quality stuff.
Recommend to those looking for an intro or a refresher.
Recommend to those looking for an intro or a refresher.
February 24, 2025
Generally very good and informative, although Burnet definitely seems to favor Plato over Aristotelian sources when looking at later philosophers' treatment of the pre-socratics.
March 13, 2020
Finished reading ⭐⭐⭐
First published in 1892, John Burnet's classic examination of presocratic Greek philosophy offers a concise exploration of Greek ideas about life, the universe, and everything, from Thales to Leucippos. His work remains a valuable and accessible introduction to the topic, although it can often be inherently difficult to comprehend what the ancient philosophers meant, partly because the material is so fragmentary, and partly because our thoughts today are governed by such different assumptions after 2,500 years of change.
Burnet perhaps overdraws the early philosophers as protoscientists standing against the religionists of their day. While they certainly represented a break with a thoroughly mythical and religious worldview, it is possible to overstate their scientific credentials and to downplay the pure rationalism of their approach. For example, Burnet frequently refers to the clepsydra of Empedocles as an example of protomodern empirical experimentation, a characterisation which later writers such as Furley would dispute as less of an experiment and more of an observational analogy. Burnet also devotes a much larger amount of space to the Pythagoreans than I'm accustomed to seeing in works on the Presocratics, perhaps because they were a more mystical group and therefore a worthy foil to Burnet's protoscientists.
Regardless of these quibbles, the strength of Burnet's work is evident in the fact that it went through multiple editions and is still in use as a textbook more than a century after its initial publication. Apart from a bit of dry writing, it would be difficult to recommend a better introduction to the main figures and ideas of Greek philosophy before the transformative age of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
First published in 1892, John Burnet's classic examination of presocratic Greek philosophy offers a concise exploration of Greek ideas about life, the universe, and everything, from Thales to Leucippos. His work remains a valuable and accessible introduction to the topic, although it can often be inherently difficult to comprehend what the ancient philosophers meant, partly because the material is so fragmentary, and partly because our thoughts today are governed by such different assumptions after 2,500 years of change.
Burnet perhaps overdraws the early philosophers as protoscientists standing against the religionists of their day. While they certainly represented a break with a thoroughly mythical and religious worldview, it is possible to overstate their scientific credentials and to downplay the pure rationalism of their approach. For example, Burnet frequently refers to the clepsydra of Empedocles as an example of protomodern empirical experimentation, a characterisation which later writers such as Furley would dispute as less of an experiment and more of an observational analogy. Burnet also devotes a much larger amount of space to the Pythagoreans than I'm accustomed to seeing in works on the Presocratics, perhaps because they were a more mystical group and therefore a worthy foil to Burnet's protoscientists.
Regardless of these quibbles, the strength of Burnet's work is evident in the fact that it went through multiple editions and is still in use as a textbook more than a century after its initial publication. Apart from a bit of dry writing, it would be difficult to recommend a better introduction to the main figures and ideas of Greek philosophy before the transformative age of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
January 26, 2021
I've been meaning to read this book for like 20 years. I've read bought and read like 3 other books on the Pythagoreans since then. I should've read this first. It was excellent and examines the influence of the Pythagoreans on the pre-Soctratics and into Plato's Timeaus.
This even puts in to perspective Zeno's paradox. He was basically criticizing the Pythagorean unit space. And was credited with creating the dialectic.
This even puts in to perspective Zeno's paradox. He was basically criticizing the Pythagorean unit space. And was credited with creating the dialectic.
October 19, 2019
A well-organized, well-referenced survey of the pre-Socratic philosophers which includes an abundance of primary sources. The introductory commentary is a bit antiquated, the book being originally published in 1892, and stresses the independent development of Greek thought, whereas more recent scholarship recognizes a greater influence of cultural exchange from Egypt and the Near East.
October 1, 2024
A book which, due to our excessive specialization and abandonment of the classics, will probably make less and less sense to the casual reader. Many untranslated Greek words (it is fun to try and translate them on your own). Excellent summaries of Heraclitus & Parmenides, and esp. thankful for the commentary on Zeno.
January 27, 2025
As an intermission in the Plato Project, a useful overview of the Pre-Socratic philosophers which includes the full texts of extant fragments, before I dive back into the longer and more metaphysically complex dialogues which Ukemi categorizes as “Middle” (though, regarding the chronology of the dialogues, God alone knows).
October 30, 2019
Bit elitist at points but overall a good contextualization and analysis
January 14, 2013
Good to have platos complete works on hand as well as be able to read old greek letters
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews