THE LOGIC OF STOICISM.--Stoicism existed as a germ in the Cynic philosophy (and also in Socrates) as did Epicureanism in Aristippus. Zeno was the pupil of Crates. In extreme youth he opened a school at Athens in the Poecile. The Poecile was a portico; portico in Greek is stoa, hence the name of Stoic. Zeno taught for about thirty years; then, on the approach of age, he died by his own hand. Zeno thought, as did Epicurus and Socrates, that philosophy should only be the science of life and that the science of life lay in wisdom.
THE LOGIC OF STOICISM.--Stoicism existed as a germ in the Cynic philosophy (and also in Socrates) as did Epicureanism in Aristippus. Zeno was the pupil of Crates. In extreme youth he opened a school at Athens in the Poecile. The Poecile was a portico; portico in Greek is stoa, hence the name of Stoic. Zeno taught for about thirty years; then, on the approach of age, he died by his own hand. Zeno thought, as did Epicurus and Socrates, that philosophy should only be the science of life and that the science of life lay in wisdom.
The author offers an introduction to Plato's thought aimed at realizing Plato's teaching about being a real philosopherNone who sees the WholeNwhile leaving the task of meditating on Plato's texts to the reader.
Initiation into Philosophy by Émile Faguet A fantastic look at the whole history of Philosophy from ancient times up to the beginnings of modern thinking. Covers all the major philosophers and philosophical theories, as well as the historical interplay between religion and philosophy.
For Socrates, philosophy is not like Christian conversion from error to truth, but rather it is like the pagan process whereby a young man is initiated into cult mysteries by a more experienced man - the mystagogos - who prepares him and leads him to the sacred precinct. In Greek cult religion, the mystagogos prepared the initiate for the esoteric mysteries revealed by the hierophant. Socrates treats traditional wisdom with scepticism, and this makes him appear ridiculous or dangerous in the eyes of cultural conservatives. Nevertheless, his scepticism is not radical: custom is not something on which we must turn our backs if we are to pursue the truth. Socrates assumes an epistemology and employs a method by which he induces his companions to begin the critical and self-critical process of philosophical inquiry, not ignoring conventional wisdom, but thinking through and reinterpreting it as they make constructive progress towards the truth. He provides conclusive and convincing arguments in support of controversial answers to some of the most important moral questions he poses.
This is a charming book in its masterfulness, in its clearness, in its perspective, and in its devotion to its own message. It is not a book for one who must read for personal achievement in any field other than philosophy, direct or indirect. The study of philosophy may be professional or amateurish, a vocation or an avocation, business or pleasure. This book will greatly help anyone who would like to know the junction points in the highway of philosophy. Few men have ever presented philosophy from this standpoint as effectively or entertainingly as has Emile Faguet. If an untraveled person wishes to go to the Pacific Coast for the first time and has only four or eight or twelve weeks in which to do it there is not much that he needs to know. He should seek someone who has been by every route, who knows the lines of interest and who will tell him his best route, what he will see on that route, where he better stop off, how long to stop off, and what to see when he stops off, and a wise adviser will not waste one minute in portraying the things he will not see on other routes if he goes by this route. This wise adviser will say, I should go via the Northwestern and Union Pacific, because you do not have to change cars, etc., etc., but it is too bad you will not see the Grand Canyon, because that is the biggest thing, etc. The chief beauty of "Initiation Into Philosophy" is that Emile Faguet advises one how to come from the antiquities of Heraclitus and Pythagoras to Schopenhauer. Spencer and Compte by a direct, comfortable and luxurious route without wasting his time or yours in telling what one might learn if he went off on sidelines from time to time. The Journal of Education, Vol. 79, No. 19 (1979) (MAY 7, 1914), p. 525
Initiation into Philosophy By Emile Faguet The aim of philosophy is to seek the explanation of all things: the quest is for the first causes of everything, and also how all things are, and finally why, with what design, with a view to what, things are. That is why, taking "principle" in all the senses of the word, it has been called the science of first principles. Philosophy has always existed. Religions--all religions--are philosophies. They are indeed the most complete. But, apart from religions, men have sought the causes and principles of everything and endeavoured to acquire general ideas. These researches apart from religious dogmas in pagan antiquity are the only ones with which we are here to be concerned. This volume, as indicated by the title, is designed to show the way to the beginner, to satisfy and more especially to excite his initial curiosity. It affords an adequate idea of the march of facts and of ideas. The reader is led, somewhat rapidly, from the remote origins to the most recent efforts of the human mind. It should be a convenient repertory to which the mind may revert in order to see broadly the general opinion of an epoch--and what connected it with those that followed or preceded it. It aims above all at being a frame in which can conveniently be inscribed, in the course of further studies, new conceptions more detailed and more thoroughly examined. It will have fulfilled its design should it incite to research and meditation, and if it prepares for them correctly. PART I. ANTIQUITY CHAPTER I. BEFORE SOCRATES CHAPTER II. THE SOPHISTS CHAPTER III. SOCRATES CHAPTER IV. PLATO CHAPTER V. ARISTOTLE CHAPTER VI. VARIOUS SCHOOLS CHAPTER VII. EPICUREANISM CHAPTER VIII. STOICISM CHAPTER IX. ECLECTICS AND SCEPTICS CHAPTER X. NEOPLATONISM CHAPTER XI. CHRISTIANITY PART II. IN THE MIDDLE AGES CHAPTER I. FROM THE FIFTH CENTURY TO THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER II. THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER III. THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES CHAPTER IV. THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY PART III. MODERN TIMES CHAPTER I. THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER II. CARTESIANS CHAPTER III. THE ENGLISH PHILOSOPHERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER IV. THE ENGLISH PHILOSOPHERS OF THE CHAPTER V. FRENCH PHILOSOPHERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER VI. KANT CHAPTER VII. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: GERMANY CHAPTER VIII. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: ENGLAND CHAPTER IX. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: FRANCE
In this early lecture series, the author of Being and Time develops his unique approach to understanding humanity’s relationship to the world. This volume presents a collection of Martin Heidegger’s lectures delivered at the University of Freiburg in the winter of 1921–1922. Preceding Being and Time, the work shows the young Heidegger introducing novel vocabulary as he searches for his genuine philosophical voice. In this course, Heidegger first takes up the role of the definition of philosophy and then elaborates a unique analysis of “factical life,” or human life as it is lived concretely in relation to the world, a relation he calls “caring.” Heidegger’s descriptions of the movement of life are original and striking. As he works out a phenomenology of factical life, Heidegger lays the groundwork for a phenomenological interpretation of Aristotle, whose influence on Heidegger’s philosophy was pivotal.
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
