Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge

This reference text, containing contributions from over sixty outstanding scholars in the field, is a very welcome new offering indeed. The focus of the book is ancient Greek thought as a whole, rather than simply the ideas and lives of the Greek philosophers. This is reflected in the five sections into which the book is divided: ‘Philosophy’, ‘Politics’, ‘The Pursuit of Knowledge’, ‘Major Figures’, and ‘Currents of Thought’. Thus, in addition to articles on classical logic, rhetoric, ethics and epistemology, Greek Thought contains pieces on the views of the ancient Greeks on astronomy, physics, harmonics, medicine, mathematics and the nature of research (to list but a few). According to the editors, the justification for this broader treatment is that one needs to look beyond the works of the philosophers and instead consider the achievements and outlook of Greek thought in general in order to appreciate the distinctiveness of Greek civilisation. The consensus of the collection appears to be that the distinctive feature of the ancient Greeks was the self-reflexivity of their thinking. Unlike the earlier Egyptian civilisation and the subsequent Roman empire, the Greeks were interested in second order questions about the nature of thinking itself. Whilst the authors do not provide a causal story for why this might be so, it is nonetheless an interesting hypothesis and one which would bear further investigation.

The book is aimed at the general reader and would be a particularly helpful guide for the undergraduate taking courses in the area. It is handsomely presented and contains a number of useful appendices (maps, chronologies and so on). Whilst perhaps not of such use to the specialist, it would make an invaluable addition to any philosophical reference collection.