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Exclusive Satisfaction Rating: 100% Based on 5 reviews.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Search eBay for this item. Publication Date: March 14, 2007
Author: Luis E. Navia
Package Dimensions (in inches): 1.2 x 9 x 6.2
Package Weight: 1 pounds
Audio Tracks/Subtitles: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Other Details
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 183.2
EAN: 9781591025016
Edition: 1st edition,
Feature: ISBN13: 9781591025016, Condition: NEW, Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark., Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
ISBN: 159102501X
Label: Prometheus Books
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 291
Product Type Name: ABIS_BOOK
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Studio: Prometheus Books
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Editorial/Description:Product Description: One of the most influential thinkers in the history of the West was Socrates of Athens (469-399 BCE). Literally, thousands of books and other works of art have been devoted to him, yet his character and the tenets of his philosophy remain elusive. Even his contemporaries had very different impressions of him, and since he himself left no writings to posterity, we can only wonder: Who was this man really? What ideas and ideals can be truthfully associated with him? What is the basis for the extraordinary influence he has exerted throughout history? Philosopher Luis E. Navia presents a compelling portrayal of Socrates in this very readable and well-researched book, which is both a biography of the man and an exploration of his ideas. Through a critical and documented study of the major ancient sources about Socrates--in the writings of Aristophanes, Xenophon, Plato, and Aristotle--Navia reconstructs a surprisingly consistent portrait of this enigmatic philosopher. He links Socrates' conviction that the unexamined life is not worth living with Immanuel Kant's later concept of an innate moral imperative as the only meaningful purpose of human existence. He highlights Socrates' unrelenting search for the essence and value of the soul as that aspect of his philosophical journey that animated and structured all his activities. Navia also considers Socrates' relationship with the Sophists, his stance vis-à-vis the religious beliefs and practices of his time, his view of the relationship between legality and morality, and the function of language in human life. Finally, he eloquently captures the Socratic legacy, which, more than twenty-four centuries after his death, is still so urgently relevant today. Navia brings to life this perennially important philosopher, illuminating the relevance of his ideas for our modern world.
Customer Reviews:
Superb study of Socrates
(2 of 3 Found this Helpful)
November 16, 2009
Luis Navia has written a wonderful account and analysis of the available ancient sources on Socrates and his philosophy and has so thoroughly explored his subject that I think this book will be the definitive source on Socrates for some time to come. What is even more noteworthy is how engaging this book is to read and Navia manages to accomplish his task in 260 pages of text. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Socrates or Ancient Greek history.
Socrates: A Life Examined
(3 of 6 Found this Helpful)
January 14, 2008
This new book on Socrates is unique in many respects. It addresses in a clear and convincing way practically all the major issues related to Socrates' life and philosophy. It is an indispensable book for anyone who wants to learn from the example and ideas of the great Greek philosopher.
brilliant Socratic theopathy
(5 of 9 Found this Helpful)
January 9, 2008
Navia is sophisticated enough as a philosopher to make a walk with Socrates sound like reading Kant without sitting down. I was impressed that the last two chapters dealt with religion in a wilt two power way that blended quite well with my reading of The Accursed Share by Georges Bataille, in which the feudal values of aristocrats are most famous for squandering whatever opportunities anyone else ever had in life.
The chapter on comedy is like a roast of Hugh Hefner on "The Aristocrats" DVD. Religion in pre-industrial society was much more like witchcraft than the religions which are currently practiced. People know different jokes, and yearly comedy contests in ancient Athens featured the current round of comments about whoever was getting a wide stance reputation. The taste of hemlock was just the finishing touches on the way freedom empire's gulag deal with those who have an evil eye for prying into things that most people cover over lightly with euphemisms.
It was truly great for Socrates to cash in some religious chips at the end by remembering which god he was supposed to sacrifice a rooster to for whatever the hemlock cured Socrates of wishing for. I think 2008 should be a great year for people to read this book because it might inspire them to see leaders that are shuffling off into the sunset as going to join a long line of other devils who thought we never had it so good as when everybody was willing to lend us money. I hope future undulations of cyberpower fertilized by sea slime will not rock our boat as much as Socrates got the goat of Athens.
The result is a wider-ranging study than most
(6 of 8 Found this Helpful)
August 4, 2007
Philosopher Luis E. Navia provides a fine biography of Socrates and reviews his philosophy in a title perfect for either advanced high school grades entering into basic philosophy studies, or college-level collections. It provides a critical, documented study of the major ancient sources about Socrates, blends in new research and critical analysis of his ideas and concepts, and considers Socrates in light of his times, history and culture. The result is a wider-ranging study than most, combining the best elements of biography with philosophical analysis and review.
A Welcomed Book
(15 of 16 Found this Helpful)
July 20, 2007
In this remarkable and welcomed book on Socrates, Luis E. Navia gives us what is very likely his final assessment of the historical nature of the character and, more importantly, the real philosophical thinking of this most significant but enigmatic of ancient thinkers. The result of decades of research and reflection, this book become and will remain, I think, one of the standard and necessary works on the subject, not only for the philosophy of Socrates, but for the very powerful relevance that his presence has exerted on the modern world. It is this presence, this legacy, which is of real importance. In a world that values material things more than spiritual ones, that highly prizes the ordinary and glorifies the second-rate, Navia understands clearly that it is ultimately the search for the soul, as Socrates understood it, that matters most of all. It is this search, and the possible discoveries along the way, that is the substance of this work. Highly recommended it for everybody!
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