Classical Philosophy (A History of Philosophy without Any Gaps, Volume 1)

The first volume of Adamson's book series based on his podcast, A History of Philosophy without Any Gaps, which aims to cover the whole story of philosophy, including figures usually skipped. This volume covers Greek philosophy from its beginnings to Aristotle in dozens of short chapters, each roughly the length of a podcast episode. It opens with Thales and the Milesians, then treats Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Zeno, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and the atomists, along with the medical writers of the Hippocratic tradition and the Sophists. Next comes Socrates as portrayed by Aristophanes, Xenophon and Plato, and a long run of chapters on Plato's dialogues, from the Gorgias and Meno through the Phaedo, Republic and Theaetetus to the Timaeus and the erotic dialogues. The final part covers Aristotle's logic, theory of substance, natural philosophy, biology, ethics and politics, with closing chapters on women in ancient philosophy and on Plato's and Aristotle's successors. Adamson writes clearly and with humour, explaining arguments as well as doctrines and noting where scholars disagree.

It is an up-to-date, accessible guide to early Greek philosophy, and its short chapters make Plato and Aristotle easy to approach a step at a time.