Summary
Title: Ancient Philosophy: A New History Of Western Philosophy
Author: Anthony Kenny
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198752733
Pro:
• Offers both chronological and thematic presentations
• Connects the ideas of various philosophers rather than isolating them
Con:
• None
Description:
• Historical analysis and description of ancient philosophy, up to the time of Augustine
• Critical engagement with the material rather than just a passive description
Book Review
An important feature of doing philosophy is learning about the history of philosophy — almost inevitably, involvement in one requires involvement with the other. You can’t do philosophy without some sense of what has come before, and you certainly can’t discuss the history of philosophical thinking without some competence in such thinking yourself.
This is why new books on the history of philosophy can be so interesting and helpful. A new book on the history of Greece doesn’t necessarily provide much that isn’t already contained in previous works, but a new book on the history of Greek philosophy is done from someone’s philosophical perspective and includes their take on what philosophy is and what it means. Because of this, no one history of philosophy is sufficient, and Sir Anthony Kenny’s Ancient Philosophy should become a welcome addition to many people’s libraries.
There are generally two ways to structure any historical review of philosophy: chronological and topical. The former takes people and schools one by one in chronological order while the second groups everything together under specific subjects or issues.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each, which may be why Kenny managed to find a way to do a bit of both. The first third of the book is a chronological review from Pythagoras through Augustine; the rest of the book is discusses various approaches to specific topics: logic, epistemology, ethics, God, etc. This is a slightly different way of going about things and I hope that future authors follow Kenny’s example.
Another area where future authors can learn something from Kenny is the manner in which he connects various philosophers and their ideas. Many histories of philosophy can readily devolve into descriptions of what this or that philosopher wrote without any sense of how they are connected to a larger whole. Kenny, however, writes in a way that helps readers understand where each stands in the ongoing philosophical conversations that cross culture, space, and time.
Hopefully a few snippets of text will help demonstrate how he accomplishes this:
- “Among the sayings attributed to the earliest Greek philosophers, many have a moral content.... But it is not until Democritus that we fine any sign of a philosopher with a moral system....”
- “Democritus did not explore, however, the most important concept of all for ancient ethics: that is, arete, or virtue.... It was Socrates who initiated systematic inquiry into the nature of virtue; he placed it in the center of moral philosophy, and indeed of philosophy as a whole.”
These sentences fit together almost as if they were part of a single passage, but in fact each comes from different passages spread out over several pages. I don’t know if Kenny carefully constructed his sections so that they would connect in such a manner or if he is such an experienced writer that this just comes naturally, but similar examples can be found throughout the book and really enable historically disparate figures come together in virtual conversation.
This, the first of a four-volume series, covers a thousand years of Greek, Roman, and early Christian philosophy. Kenny doesn’t just provide connected descriptions of what philosophers taught, but also critical analyses to help readers understand the various strengths and weaknesses of each system or philosopher. It’s detailed enough to be good for philosophy students, but written well enough for most average readers.
