A History of Greek Philosophy: Volume 1, the Earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans

by W.K.C. Guthrie

Book Overview

All volumes of Professor Guthrie's great history of Greek philosophy have won their due acclaim. The most striking merits of Guthrie's work are his mastery of a tremendous range of ancient literature and modern scholarship, his fairness and balance of judgement and the lucidity and precision of his English prose. He has achieved clarity and comprehensiveness.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521294207
• ISBN13: 9780521294201
• Release Date: February 1979
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 556 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.9" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

To the Roots of Knowledge and Culture

One of the truly remarkable intellectual achievements of our time, Guthrie's magisterial six volume History of Greek Philosophy, is, within the compass of my reading, the most comprehensive rendering of the golden epoch of Western Philosophy available. The sheer magnitude of the research collected, sorted, and weighed here is enough to recommend, but this work offers much more than a survey of leading interpretations. Many a major commentary, ancient and modern, receives a fair hearing for each argument analyzed both in the text and in extensive notes. One only wishes Guthrie were eternal that he might have been able to include all that has and will come in the way of analysis since publication of these texts in the 1960's with the same judicious acumen. On immersing oneself in these many pages, over and again, one is struck by the centrality and the exhaustive nature of the venture. While such a scope of endeavor is bound to be open to controversy on any number of particulars, and Guthrie is not without critics, the distance traversed is staggering, and the work, in its point-by-point detailed coverage, assumes an authority on the achievement of such breadth alone. But it is the analytic depth of Guthrie's treatment of the arguments that for me holds the greater value. For the many treasures on display in these pages shine ever more brightly due to the loving care with which they are presented in view of their developmental contexts. Among the finer features of Guthrie is the headliner on each page, providing focus for the narrative, in the style of the annotated Jowett Plato. Organization of the chapters under topical rubrics contributes to the superior organization of the work itself and, along with the extensive Indexes, makes reference within this dense field blessedly user-friendly. If you love Archaic (Pre-Socratic) Greek Philosophy like I do, I feel that there is no better practice than to regularly inter yourself in the first two volumes of Guthrie. I've been asked which is the best investment for a book on early Greek Philosophy. The best-known one-volume histories all have their virtues. Of these, Barnes is probably most useful, very good on the Eleatics and Xenophanes, not so comprehending of Herakleitos, the Milesians, and others. The writing tends to be nuanced in a very Anglo-analytic, somewhat technical, orientation. Kirk and Raven don't thrill me much either as writers or analysts, and make what a number of commentators feel are erroneous judgments. Not nearly as thorough as Guthrie, their book on balance is - sufficient. The old Burnet is quite good at times, but now has been antiquated on many points by later, more accurate readings (discussed in Guthrie). Nietzsche's study, translated as "Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks" is definitely worth a read (what did Nietzsche ever write that wasn't?), but was not intended as comprehensive scholarship. All considered, the first two volumes of Guthrie easily outpace

A word on the Pre- Socratics

My review relates to the one volume of it I have read on the pre- Socratics. It is a clearly written and richly informative work. It was also when I read it as an undergraduate many years ago inspiring. I remember the description of philosophy's beginning in the ' wonder of anything that it is '. i.e. the wonder of how there is anything , and everything at all. I too remember the Heraclitus - Parmenides division and how they anticipate the Platonean synthesis. I am not an expert in the field and can say nothing about the work's scholarship, but as an ordinary reader I can say it is a work that interests and enhances interest in the subject it covers.

The Achievement of a Lifetime's Work

This five-volume set is the most comprehensive treatment of the spectrum of Greek philosophy ever written; this is a man's life-work, a distillation of decades of scholarship. Necessarily, it's written in a rather academic style, and Professor Guthrie expected the reader to already be versed in the basics. But that is not an insurmountable obstacle. The section on the Pythagoreans in this first volume is a self-contained book unto itself and a terrific source of information on the minor adherents to Pythagoreanism, which I haven't been able to find anywhere else. Guthrie also thoroughly works over the competing interpretations of the oracular pronouncements of Heraclitus, and delves in depth into the ontologies of the Milesians. Although most of the footnotes contain information on dusty battles between (mostly German) scholars about etymological and ascriptive concerns, they are rewarding.

Outstanding

This six-volume history of Greek philosophy, which Guthrie unfortunately left unfinished, is a monument of scholarship. His knowledge of Greek is staggering, his treatments are thorough, and he is generally careful to let you know where the facts leave off and interpretations begin. My one reservation is that he sometimes betrays more interest in historical minutiae than in philosophy; for instance, his treatment of Plato (vols. 4-5) attaches far too much importance to the order in which the dialogues were written (as if we could be really sure of that!). And there's no question that these books are expensive and meant only for the serious student. But if Greek philosophy is your passion, you can't overlook these volumes.