Scan barcode
recoveryclap's review
3.0
how do you rate philosophy?
this book literally contains fragments of heraclitus. foreword weirdly kept on banging about how heraclitus was the first post-modernist which is....interesting i guess but what do i know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
this book literally contains fragments of heraclitus. foreword weirdly kept on banging about how heraclitus was the first post-modernist which is....interesting i guess but what do i know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
jetjaguar88's review
3.0
You get what you pay for with this. Literal fragments. What I find interesting though is that the original fragments (untranslated) on the left hand side and the current translation on the right side. Very very quick read, but can essentially find more in other books.
lnewton's review
4.0
In terms of the presocratics of whom we have fragments, these are among the best in terms of fleshing out the ideas of the philosopher and his system. He outlines a notion of dialectics within these which is primitive but have to considered within their context. Some fragments are from questionable sources such as Clement whose quotes appear to be straight up illogical in parts or not relevant to Heraclitus' system. As such this is an interesting and necessary reading experience for any philosopher but should not be taken entirely seriously, but much more of a historical piece.
johncrwarner's review
5.0
The fragments of Heraclitus are 130 quotations which range from one word (one is omitted also) to whole sentences - the text is bilingual (Greek on the left and English on the right).
The translation is done by Brooks Haxton a poet and the translations are in "free verse" - I have it in quotes because it is a term I am not sure of if it is a useful and definable term.
The translations remind me more of Lilian Lieber - who wrote several books on Mathematics and Physics in the 1940s which are fascinating texts. She wrote in one book as a preliminary note:
This is not intended to be
free verse.
Writing each phrase on a separate line
facilitates rapid reading,
and everyone
is in a hurry
nowadays.
It is a classic for what I call "toilet shelve" - books to take into the toilet for a long or short session.
The translation is done by Brooks Haxton a poet and the translations are in "free verse" - I have it in quotes because it is a term I am not sure of if it is a useful and definable term.
The translations remind me more of Lilian Lieber - who wrote several books on Mathematics and Physics in the 1940s which are fascinating texts. She wrote in one book as a preliminary note:
This is not intended to be
free verse.
Writing each phrase on a separate line
facilitates rapid reading,
and everyone
is in a hurry
nowadays.
It is a classic for what I call "toilet shelve" - books to take into the toilet for a long or short session.
italo_carlvino's review
5.0
Of all of the old philosophers, I really like Heraclitus because I can see echoes of many of his ideas in Stoicism and similarities with Daoism. I gotta learn how to listen to the Logos of the universe. (Sorry Parmenides)
chalicotherex's review
5.0
The soul is undiscovered
though explored forever
to a depth beyond report
I used to like reading essays comparing this to Ecclesiastes, which was probably written in the same century. I also like Kim Stanley Robinson's line about how you can read the entirety of Heraclitus in twelve minutes, but then spend the rest of your life thinking it over.
though explored forever
to a depth beyond report
I used to like reading essays comparing this to Ecclesiastes, which was probably written in the same century. I also like Kim Stanley Robinson's line about how you can read the entirety of Heraclitus in twelve minutes, but then spend the rest of your life thinking it over.
More...