The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and SophistsThe first philosophers paved the way for the work of Plato and Aristotle - and hence for the whole of Western thought. Aristotle said that philosophy begins with wonder, and the first Western philosophers developed theories of the world which express simultaneously their sense of wonder and their intuition that the world should be comprehensible. But their enterprise was by no means limited to this proto-scientific task. Through, for instance, Heraclitus' enigmatic sayings, the poetry of Parmenides and Empedocles, and Zeno's paradoxes, the Western world was introduced to metaphysics, rationalist theology, ethics, and logic, by thinkers who often seem to be mystics or shamans as much as philosophers or scientists in the modern mould. And out of the Sophists' reflections on human beings and their place in the world arose and interest in language, and in political, moral, and social philosophy. This volume contains a translation of all the most important fragments of the Presocratics and Sophists, and of the most informative testimonia from ancient sources, supplemented by lucid commentary. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. |
Contents
| iv | |
Xenophanes of Colophon | xx |
Parmenides of Elea | xliv |
Zeno of Elea | lxi |
Pythagoras of Croton and Fifthcentury Pythagoreanism | xii |
Empedocles of Acragas | xxvi |
Leucippus of Abdera Democritus of Abdera | liii |
Diogenes of Apollonia | lxxviii |
Gorgias of Leontini | ci |
Prodicus of Ceos | cxvii |
Antiphon the Sophist | cxxxi |
Euthydemus and Dionysodorus of Chios | cxlvii |
Anonymous and Miscellaneous Texts | cdxiv |
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Common terms and phrases
Aëtius aither Anaxagoras Anaximander Anaximenes Anthology Antiphon Apeiron argue argument Aristotle Aristotle's Physics atomists atoms attributes Burnet Cambridge claim cold Commentary on Aristotle's cosmogonic creatures Democritus Diels Diels/Kranz Diogenes Laertius Dionysodorus divine earth elements Empedocles Euthydemus everything existence explain fact fifth century fire follows fragment gods Gorgias Greek heavenly bodies Heavens Heraclitus Hippias Hippolytus homoeomeries human idea infinite instance John of Stobi justice kind Leucippus logos Marcovich means Melissus Metaphysics Milesian mind Miscellanies moon motion nature objects opposite original Oxford Parmenides phenomena Philolaus Phronesis Plato plurality Plutarch Presocratics principle Prodicus Protagoras Pyth Pythagoras Pythagorean Reading Rhetoric Ross says seems sense Sextus Empiricus Simplicius Socrates someone Sophists soul speak speech spoken word Stählin/Früchtel strife testimonia Thales Theophrastus theory things thinkers thought Thrasymachus truth unacceptable University Press void Wachsmuth/Hense what-is what-is-not Xenophanes Zeno Zeno's