Sara Ahbel-Rappe - Böcker

Argues that Socrates' fundamental role in the dialogues is to guide us toward self-inquiry and self-knowledge.In this highly original and provocative book, Sara Ahbel-Rappe argues that the Platonic dialogues contain an esoteric Socrates who signifies a profound commitment to self-knowledge and whose appearances in the dialogues are meant to foster the practice of self-inquiry. According to Ahbel-Rappe, the elenchus, or inner examination, and the thesis that virtue is knowledge, are tools for a contemplative practice that teaches us how to investigate the mind and its objects directly. In other words, the Socratic persona of the dialogues represents wisdom, which is distinct from and serves as the larger space in which Platonic knowledge-ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics-is constructed. Ahbel-Rappe offers complete readings of the Apology, Charmides, Alcibiades I, Euthyphro, Lysis, Phaedrus, Theaetetus, and Parmenides, as well as parts of the Republic. Her interpretation challenges two common approaches to the figure of Socrates: the thesis that the dialogues represent an "early" Plato who later disavows his reliance on Socratic wisdom, and the thesis that Socratic ethics can best be expressed by the construct of eudaimonism or egoism.

Damascius was head of the Neoplatonist academy in Athens when the Emperor Justinian shut its doors forever in 529. His work, Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles, is the last surviving independent philosophical treatise from the Late Academy. Its survey of Neoplatonist metaphysics, discussion of transcendence, and compendium of late antique theologies, make it unique among all extant works of late antique philosophy. It has never before been translated into English. The Problems and Solutions exhibits a thoroughgoing critique of Proclean metaphysics, starting with the principle that all that exists proceeds from a single cause, proceeding to critique the Proclean triadic view of procession and reversion, and severely undermining the status of intellectual reversion in establishing being as the intelligible object. Damascius investigates the internal contradictions lurking within the theory of descent as a whole, showing that similarity of effect and cause is vitiated in the case of processions where one order (e.g. intellect) gives rise to an entirely different order (e.g. soul). Neoplatonism as a speculative metaphysics posits the One as the exotic or extopic explanans for plurality, conceived as immediate, present to hand, and therefore requiring explanation. Damascius shifts the perspective of his metaphysics: he struggles to create a metaphysical discourse that accommodates, insofar as language is sufficient, the ultimate principle of reality. After all, how coherent is a metaphysical system that bases itself on the Ineffable as a first principle? Instead of creating an objective ontology, Damascius writes ever mindful of the limitations of dialectic, and of the pitfalls and snares inherent in the very structure of metaphysical discourse.

This book offers an introduction to Socrates, ideal for undergraduate students taking courses in Ancient and Greek Philosophy. Socrates is regarded as the founder of Western philosophical inquiry. Yet he left no writings and claimed to know 'nothing fine or worthy'. He spent his life perplexing those who encountered him and is as important and perplexing now as he was 2500 years ago. Drawing on the various competing sources for Socrates that are available to us, "Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed" guides the reader through the main themes and ideas of Socrates' thought. Taking into account the puzzles surrounding his trial and death, the philosophical methods and ethical positions associated with Socrates, and his lasting influence, Sara Ahbel-Rappe presents a concise and accessible introduction to this most influential and important of philosophers. She concludes by suggesting that it is in fact the Socratic insistence on self-knowledge that makes Socrates at once so pivotal and so elusive for the student of philosophy. This book is the ideal companion to the study of key thinker in the history of philosophy.Continuum's "Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

This book offers an introduction to Socrates, ideal for undergraduate students taking courses in Ancient and Greek Philosophy. Socrates is regarded as the founder of Western philosophical inquiry. Yet he left no writings and claimed to know 'nothing fine or worthy'. He spent his life perplexing those who encountered him and is as important and perplexing now as he was 2500 years ago. Drawing on the various competing sources for Socrates that are available to us, "Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed" guides the reader through the main themes and ideas of Socrates' thought. Taking into account the puzzles surrounding his trial and death, the philosophical methods and ethical positions associated with Socrates, and his lasting influence, Sara Ahbel-Rappe presents a concise and accessible introduction to this most influential and important of philosophers. She concludes by suggesting that it is in fact the Socratic insistence on self-knowledge that makes Socrates at once so pivotal and so elusive for the student of philosophy. This book is the ideal companion to the study of key thinker in the history of philosophy.Continuum's "Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

Written by an outstanding international team of scholars, this Companion explores the profound influence of Socrates on the history of Western philosophy. Discusses the life of Socrates and key philosophical doctrines associated with himCovers the whole range of Socratic studies from the ancient world to contemporary European philosophyExamines Socrates’ place in the larger philosophical traditions of the Hellenistic world, the Roman Empire, the Arabic world, the Renaissance, and contemporary EuropeAddresses interdisciplinary subjects such as Socrates and Nietzsche, Socrates and psychoanalysis, and representations of Socrates in artHelps readers to understand the meaning and significance of Socrates across the ages

Written by an outstanding international team of scholars, this Companion explores the profound influence of Socrates on the history of Western philosophy. Discusses the life of Socrates and key philosophical doctrines associated with himCovers the whole range of Socratic studies from the ancient world to contemporary European philosophyExamines Socrates’ place in the larger philosophical traditions of the Hellenistic world, the Roman Empire, the Arabic world, the Renaissance, and contemporary EuropeAddresses interdisciplinary subjects such as Socrates and Nietzsche, Socrates and psychoanalysis, and representations of Socrates in artHelps readers to understand the meaning and significance of Socrates across the ages

Argues that Socrates' fundamental role in the dialogues is to guide us toward self-inquiry and self-knowledge.In this highly original and provocative book, Sara Ahbel-Rappe argues that the Platonic dialogues contain an esoteric Socrates who signifies a profound commitment to self-knowledge and whose appearances in the dialogues are meant to foster the practice of self-inquiry. According to Ahbel-Rappe, the elenchus, or inner examination, and the thesis that virtue is knowledge, are tools for a contemplative practice that teaches us how to investigate the mind and its objects directly. In other words, the Socratic persona of the dialogues represents wisdom, which is distinct from and serves as the larger space in which Platonic knowledge-ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics-is constructed. Ahbel-Rappe offers complete readings of the Apology, Charmides, Alcibiades I, Euthyphro, Lysis, Phaedrus, Theaetetus, and Parmenides, as well as parts of the Republic. Her interpretation challenges two common approaches to the figure of Socrates: the thesis that the dialogues represent an "early" Plato who later disavows his reliance on Socratic wisdom, and the thesis that Socratic ethics can best be expressed by the construct of eudaimonism or egoism.