The Greek Concept of NatureState University of New York Press, 1 feb 2012 - 265 pagine In The Greek Concept of Nature, Gerard Naddaf utilizes historical, mythological, and linguistic perspectives to reconstruct the origin and evolution of the Greek concept of phusis. Usually translated as nature, phusis has been decisive both for the early history of philosophy and for its subsequent development. However, there is a considerable amount of controversy on what the earliest philosophers—Anaximander, Xenophanes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus, and Democritus—actually had in mind when they spoke of phusis or nature. Naddaf demonstrates that the fundamental and etymological meaning of the word refers to the whole process of birth to maturity. He argues that the use of phusis in the famous expression Peri phuseos or historia peri phuseos refers to the origin and the growth of the universe from beginning to end. Naddaf's bold and original theory for the genesis of Greek philosophy demonstrates that archaic and mythological schemes were at the origin of the philosophical representations, but also that cosmogony, anthropogony, and politogony were never totally separated in early Greek philosophy. |
Sommario
1 | |
1 The Meaning of Peri Phuseos | 11 |
2 Cosmogonic Myth as an Antecedent to Peri Phuseos Writings | 37 |
3 Anaximanders Historia Peri Phuseos | 63 |
4 The Historia Peri Phuseos from Xenophanes to the Atomists | 113 |
Conclusion | 163 |
Notes | 167 |
Bibliography | 221 |
237 | |
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According Aetius alphabet analysis Anaxagoras Anaximander ancient animals apeiron appears arche argues Aristotle atomists atoms attributed beginning believed birth bodies Chaos clearly Commentary on Aristotle’s composed contends context cosmic cosmogonical myth cosmological model cosmos Democritus dike Diodorus Diogenes Laertius divine doxographies dunamis earth Egypt Egyptian elements Empedocles employed Enuma Elish explains fact famous fire fragment gods Greece Greek Guthrie Hahn Hecataeus Heidel Heraclitus Herodotus Hesiod Hesiod’s Theogony historia peri phuseos Homer human initial interpretation Ionian Kahn king Kirk kosmos Marduk meaning Metaphysics Milesian Miletus Moreover nature Nile Delta notes notion order of things origin Parmenides peri phuseos type Philolaus philosophers phusis physical Plato Plutarch poem political pre-Socratics present order primary primordial principle Pythagoras Pythagoreans reference ring scholars sense social society socio-political soul substance suggests Tartaros term phusis Thales Theogony theory tion treatise universe verb Vlastos word phusis Xenophanes Zeus