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7 reviews for:
Classical Philosophy: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Volume 1
Peter Adamson
4.28 AVERAGE
7 reviews for:
Classical Philosophy: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Volume 1
Peter Adamson
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
THIS is the kind of book on philosophy that I've been looking for. This is absolutely fantastic.
Faithful to the source material but also includes a lot of highly educated interpretations that I wouldn't be able to make on my own. Genuinely made me laugh out loud multiple times. Entertaining, even for someone who was absolute ass at history in school and hated it fiercely, especially ancient history.
I loved this book. I 100% intend to read more in this series and I'll probably pick up the podcast at some point too. The author is fantastic, if a little too forgiving of Aristotle and Plato in particular at times. The section on ancient women philosophers was extremely well done and thoughtfully written. I really appreciated the further reading section at the back and I will definitely be returning to that list.
Highly, highly recommend.
Faithful to the source material but also includes a lot of highly educated interpretations that I wouldn't be able to make on my own. Genuinely made me laugh out loud multiple times. Entertaining, even for someone who was absolute ass at history in school and hated it fiercely, especially ancient history.
I loved this book. I 100% intend to read more in this series and I'll probably pick up the podcast at some point too. The author is fantastic, if a little too forgiving of Aristotle and Plato in particular at times. The section on ancient women philosophers was extremely well done and thoughtfully written. I really appreciated the further reading section at the back and I will definitely be returning to that list.
Highly, highly recommend.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Frequently boring, and took me forever to get through. However, there were plenty of fascinating characters and ideas, and Adamson is always clear/understandable and occasionally funny. I like the running giraffe gag.
Antik Felsefe ile ilgili toplu ve sıkmadan okutan bir felsefe tarihi kitabı olduğu için keyifle okudum. Elbette böyle bir kitap okumak için ya bölüm öğrencisi olunmalı ya da dönemin felsefe yaklaşımlarını etraflıca öğrenme gibi bir şiarın olması gerekir. Eğer böyle bir durumdaysanız bu kitap ile klasik dönem filozoflarının fikirlerini keyiflice okuyarak anlayabilirsiniz.
I do think this book is quite excellent for its level of detail, and also it’s accessibility and readability. It was great to fill in the gaps of my knowledge about the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle. Some of the chapters felt a bit like “nothing” chapters, though I suppose that is inevitable in a history of philosophy that is endeavouring to avoid any gaps. I also have to say I preferred this medium to the podcast version. Somehow (strangely), his tone is conveyed much more effectively and enjoyably in his writing than in his voice. I loved the sense of humour throughout, and that seemed to come across much better in the book than the podcast, in my opinion.
4.5 out of 5 stars
This is a fun and easy to follow introduction to Classical Philosophy for those with a new-found interest in the field. Peter Adamson's cheeky giraffe references will have you chuckling while he explains concepts that range from Ethics to Metaphysics. Plato took forever to get through which is understandable if you don't like the guy, like me.
Happy reading!
P.S. I'm a big fan of the podcast too. You shoud definitely check t out. You can find it here.
This is a fun and easy to follow introduction to Classical Philosophy for those with a new-found interest in the field. Peter Adamson's cheeky giraffe references will have you chuckling while he explains concepts that range from Ethics to Metaphysics. Plato took forever to get through which is understandable if you don't like the guy, like me.
Happy reading!
P.S. I'm a big fan of the podcast too. You shoud definitely check t out. You can find it here.
I suppose you wouldn't even know this book existed unless you were the kind of person who hangs out in the philosophy section of the bookstore (which I do). And "the history of philosophy" may sound impressive to the point of being off-putting, and the book is from Oxford University Press, which adds to the whole why-would-you-read-this-unless-it-was-assigned-in-class feeling. Well, it's a lot more readable—and enjoyable—than that sounds. It's based on a series of podcasts, so it's written in a casual style, almost conversational. Each chapter is fairly short and self-contained, probably because of its podcast ancestry. But Adamson does an excellent job of linking each chapter to earlier ones so that you get the sense that this really is a continual, gap-less history.
Okay, minor quibble here: I would have liked a pronunciation guide for the unfamiliar Greek names that pepper this book. I'm not that familiar with this period in philosophic history beyond the big names of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and a pronunciation guide—obviously not needed with the original podcasts!—and maybe a short list of the lesser-known philosophers would have been helpful. But overall, I'd highly recommend this as a readable introduction to early philosophy, at least for readers who'd be interested in philosophy in the first place.
Okay, minor quibble here: I would have liked a pronunciation guide for the unfamiliar Greek names that pepper this book. I'm not that familiar with this period in philosophic history beyond the big names of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and a pronunciation guide—obviously not needed with the original podcasts!—and maybe a short list of the lesser-known philosophers would have been helpful. But overall, I'd highly recommend this as a readable introduction to early philosophy, at least for readers who'd be interested in philosophy in the first place.