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The tradition of ancient philosophy is a long, rich and varied one, in which the notes of discussion and argument constantly resound. This book introduces ancient debates, engaging us with the ancient developments of their themes. Moving away from the presentation of ancient philosophy as a succession of great thinkers, the book gives readers a sense of the freshness and liveliness of ancient philosophy, and of its wide variety of themes and styles.
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Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction ‘This book, written by one of the best-known scholars in the subject, offers a fresh and original approach to introducing readers to ancient philosophy. . . . Annas explores six themes as a way of alerting modern readers to the interest and challenge of ancient philosophy. . . . the writing is lively and nontechnical, [and] Annas opens up a range of very important questions about ancient thought and about modern reception of antiquity.’ Christopher Gill, University of Exeter ‘A+ for Annas on Ancient Philosophy. This should be the first book any prospective student in philosophy reads. Annas’s renowned scholarship, combined with her engaging style, enable her to convey an astonishing amount about the ancient Greeks and still find room for many fascinating insights into how their thought relates to the way we think now and how it was interpreted in earlier centuries.’ Rosalind Hursthouse, The Open University Very Short Introductions are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts, and have been published in 13 languages worldwide. Very Short Introductions available from Oxford Paperbacks: ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes THE BIBLE John Riches BUDDHISM Damien Keown CLASSICS Mary Beard and John Henderson DESCARTES Tom Sorell EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITAIN Paul Langford HEIDEGGER Michael Inwood HINDUISM Kim Knott HISTORY John H. Arnold HUME A. J. Ayer ISLAM Malise Ruthven JUDAISM Norman Solomon THE KORAN Michael Cook LITERARY THEORY Jonathan Culler LOGIC Graham Priest MACHIAVELLI Quentin Skinner MARX Peter Singer MEDIEVAL BRITAIN John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths MUSIC Nicholas Cook NIETZSCHE Michael Tanner NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITAIN Christopher Harvie and H. C. G. Matthew POLITICS Kenneth Minogue Psychology Gillian Butler and Freda McManus ROMAN BRITAIN Peter Salway SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY John Monaghan and Peter Just SOCIOLOGY Steve Bruce Socrates C. C. W. Taylor STUART BRITAIN John Morrill THEOLOGY David F. Ford THE TUDORS John Guy TWENTIETH-CENTURY BRITAIN Kenneth O. Morgan Forthcoming Very Short Introductions: ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland BIOETHICS Helga Kuhse CHAOS Leonard Smith CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY Simon Critchley COSMOLOGY Peter Coles ECONOMICS Partha Dasgupta EMOTION Dylan Evans ETHICS Simon Blackburn THE EUROPEAN UNION John Pinder EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY Oliver Curry THE FIRST WORLD WAR Michael Howard FREE WILL Thomas Pink INDIAN PHILOSOPHY Sue Hamilton INTELLIGENCE Ian Deary MATHEMATICS Timothy Gowers OPERA Roger Parker PHILOSOPHY Edward Craig PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Jack Copeland and Diane Proudfoot Julia Annas Ancient Philosophy A Very Short Introduction 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford O X 2 6 D P Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw with associated com