Classical Philosophy is the first of a series of books in which Peter Adamson ai
ms ultimately to present a complete history of philosophy, more thoroughly but a
lso more enjoyably than ever before. In short, lively chapters, based on the pop
ular History of Philosophy podcast, he offers an accessible, humorous, and detai
led look at the emergence of philosophy with the Presocratics, the probing quest
ions of Socrates, and the first full flowering of philosophy with the dialogues
of Plato and the treatises of Aristotle. The story is told 'without any gaps', d
iscussing not only such major figures but also less commonly discussed topics li
ke the Hippocratic Corpus, the Platonic Academy, and the role of women in ancien
t philosophy.
Within the thought of Plato and Aristotle, the reader will find
in-depth introductions to major works, such as the Republic and the Nicomachean
Ethics, which are treated in detail that is unusual in an introduction to ancie
nt philosophy. Adamson looks at fascinating but less frequently read Platonic di
alogues like the Charmides and Cratylus, and Aristotle's ideas in zoology and po
etics. This full coverage allows him to tackle ancient discussions in all areas
of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, phil
osophy of science, ethics and politics.
