
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHY
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I THE MILESIAN SCHOOL
CHAPTER II SCIENCE AND RELIGION
CHAPTER III HERAKLEITOS OF EPHESOS
CHAPTER IV PARMENIDES OF ELEA
CHAPTER V EMPEDOKLES OF AKRAGAS
This work offers a clear, scholarly tour through the birth of philosophical thought in ancient Greece. Beginning with the earliest thinkers who first questioned the traditional myths and customs, it shows how the search for natural explanations sparked a new way of understanding the world. The author carefully presents the arguments of the Milesian school, the enigmatic teachings of Heraclitus and Parmenides, and the poetic insights of the Pythagoreans, all while explaining the historical context that shaped their ideas.
The book is grounded in the latest research of its time, drawing on newly discovered fragments and up‑to‑date editions of classic sources. Each chapter follows a different thinker or movement, summarizing their core doctrines and the way their views influenced later philosophy. Readers will come away with a solid grasp of how early Greek thinkers laid the foundations for science, metaphysics, and ethics, making a complex era accessible without sacrificing scholarly rigor.
Language
en
Duration
~14 hours (833K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United Kingdom: A. and C. Black, 1908.
Credits
KD Weeks, Steven Rowland, Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Jan 3, 2022
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1863–1928
A leading Scottish classicist, he helped shape how generations of readers approached Plato and the earliest Greek philosophers. His books brought dense ancient thought into clear, lasting focus.
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