The first part of the book covers the theories of the emotions of Plato and Aristotle and later ancient views from Stoicism to Neoplatonism (Ch. 1) and their reception and transformation by early Christian thinkers from Clement and Origen to Gregory of Nyssa, Cassian and Augustine (Ch. 2). The basic ancient alternatives were the compositional theories of Plato and Aristotle and their followers and the Stoic judgement theory. These were associated with different conceptions of philosophical therapy. Ancient theories were employed in early Christian discussions of sin, Christian love, mystical union, and other forms of spiritual experience. The most influential theological themes were the monastic idea of supernaturally caused feelings and Augustine's analysis of the relations between the emotions and the will. The first part of Ch. 3 deals with the twelfth-century reception of ancient themes through monastic, theological, medical, and philosophical literature. The subject of the second part is the theory of emotions in Avicenna's faculty psychology, which, to a great extent, dominated the philosophical discussion of emotions in early thirteenth century. This approach was combined with Aristotelian ideas in later thirteenth century, particularly in Thomas Aquinas' extensive taxonomical theory. The increasing interest in psychological voluntarism led many Franciscan authors to abandon the traditional view that emotions belong only to the lower psychosomatic level. John Duns Scotus, William Ockham and their followers argued that there are also emotions of the will. Chapter 4 is about these new issues introduced in early fourteenth-century discussions, with some remarks on their influence on early modern thought.

This text provides an introduction to Socrates—both the charismatic, controversial historical figure and the essential Socratic philosophy. Written at a beginning level but incorporating recent scholarship, The Philosophy of Socrates offers numerous translations of pertinent passages. As they present these passages, Nicholas Smith and Thomas Brickhouse demonstrate why these passages are problematic, survey the interpretive and philosophical options, and conclude with brief defenses of their own proposed solutions. Throughout, the authors rely on standard translations to parallel accompanying assigned primary source readers. Each chapter concludes with an annotated bibliography of suggested readings.

This is a new release of the original 1926 edition.

One can see farther when standing on the shoulders of giants. The great philosophers of antiquity are truly the intellectual giants bridging the abyss between the past and the present. Unfortunately, the thoughts of the earlier thinkers were often conflicting and occasionally incorrect. Nevertheless, we can often learn from the errors of these great minds. There is a lot of truth to be learned from a significant error. Great minds produce great thoughts, and great thoughts are worth thinking again. Our mind is enriched by following in the intellectual footsteps of those that have gone before us. Philosophy provides a basis of thought in virtually every other discipline. For example, one cannot truly know science without understanding the philosophy of science. Nor can one know theology without understanding the philosophical principles that it is built upon. The study of the history of thought is a worthy and rewarding enterprise all within itself. You could not spend your intellectual efforts more profitably than in the study of the unfolding of the history of great ideas. We do not live in a vacuum, thus, we must not think in a vacuum. With the preparation of the thoughts of those that have gone before us, we can influence the thoughts of those that come after us.

This history is designed to present a dynamic approach to the study of ancient and medieval philosophy. It correlates ancient, medieval, and modern ideas and shows the perennial significance of the contributions of ancient thinkers.

Excerpt from A History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Perhaps no period in civilization has ever been so rich in specula tive, boldness and penetrating cosmic insight __as the great per_iod of Greek philosophy. It appears that the Greeks were naturally curious and inquisitive about the nature of life and the structure of the uni verse; consequently philosophers like Democritus, Aristotle, and Plato observed all aspects of existence and were occupied with problems which not merely dealt with ethical ideals but also gave a synthesis of human knowledge. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.