Before and after Socrates

This book explains why the life and work of Socrates revolutionized the history of thought.

Frances Macdonald Cornford (Author)

9780521091138, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 January 1932

124 pages
18.2 x 10.9 x 1 cm, 0.106 kg

'Professor Cornford's small book is not only a masterly piece of condensation, nor only a delightful introduction of further reading; it is more, and it claims the attention of every serious student of the subject … full of suggestive ideas and arresting phrases ... refreshing and stimulating'. Journal of Hellenic Studies

In this book, F.M. Cornford explains why the life and work of Socrates stand out as marking a turning-point in the history of thought. He shows how Socrates revolutionized the concept of philosophy, converting it from the study of Nature to the study of the human soul, the meaning of right and wrong, and the ends for which we ought to live. This is, in fact, the story of the whole creative period of Greek philosophy - the Ionian nature of science before Socrates, Socrates himself, and his chief followers, Plato and his pupil Aristotle. It tells of the different contributions each made, and shows how within three centuries the Greek tradition grew to maturity and the fullness of intellectual power.

Preface
1. Ionian science before Socrates
2. Socrates
3. Plato
4. Aristotle
Index.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA]