C. D. C. Reeve

Este libro muestra c mo piensa Arist teles y ayuda a ver el universo y nuestro lugar en l de la manera en que Arist teles pensaba que ten an que ser vistos para ser cient ficamente entendidos. Como un retrato est compuesto de colores y formas que representan colectivamente a alguien, el trabajo de Arist teles se compone de argumentos que representan colectivamente la estructura casual del universo, desde las piedras, plantas y animales que los rodean hasta los cielos estrellados que est n por encima de ellos. El objetivo de esta breve inmersi n es guiarte a trav s de estos argumentos de una manera que permita comprender por uno mismo por qu proceden como proceden y terminan donde terminan.CR TICAS: Esta visi n integradora del conjunto de la producci n aristot lica es efectivamente una de las virtudes del libro. Trata sobre todo la f sica, la psicolog a, la biolog a, la meteorolog a, la metaf sica, y lo que casi podr amos llamar extensiones de stas, la tica y la pol tica. Siempre con la voluntad de explicar los puntos de vista de Arist teles en estas distintas materias en relaci n los unos con los otros, lo que implica entender las razones por las que Arist teles llega a esos puntos de vista. Porque sta es la finalidad ltima del libro: mostrar de un modo accesible c mo el sistema aristot lico pretende dar una imagen explicativa unificada de las cosas del mundo, con el ser humano en el centro. Xavier Riu, profesor titular de filolog a griega de la Universitat de Barcelona (UB) Este espl ndido libro ofrece un poderoso conjunto de conocimientos para adentrarse en la lectura de Arist teles de una manera hol stica, permitiendo que sus ideas emerjan de sus propios textos. La tenacidad, el rigor y la audacia interpretativa con la que Reeve analiza estos textos, y la claridad de su propia escritura hacen de esta una "inmersi n" ideal en Arist teles para los no expertos, pero los que s lo son tambi n tendr n que aprender de ella. Pavlos Kontos, catedr tico de filosof a, Universidad de Patras (Grecia)En esta monograf a compacta y elegantemente organizada, David Reeve ofrece una visi n completa -y extremadamente comprensible- del gran y diverso conjunto de obras de Arist teles en ciencia y filosof a. Quiz s porque la mayor a de sus trabajos aparentemente eran apuntes de clase, Arist teles siempre est listo para profundizar en los detalles oportunos y las complicaciones de los temas que discute para garantizar una comprensi n adecuada por parte de su audiencia. Como resultado, para comprenderlo no basta con conocer las posiciones filos ficas que adopta; uno tambi n debe, como en el libro de Reeve, entender c mo llega a ellos. Esta "inmersi n" ser un recurso invaluable como introducci n a Arist teles no solo para estudiantes, sino para cualquiera que se prepare para aprender sobre las contribuciones innovadoras de este pensador m s innovador e influyente en la tradici n intelectual occidental. Michael Ferejohn, catedr tico de filosof a, Universidad de Duke (EEUU)

Are the just happier than the unjust? In Plato' s Republic, Thrasymachus argues that they aren't, that justice is simply the advantage of the stronger. Though Socrates apparently refutes him, Plato's brothers, Glaucon and Adeimantus, take up his argument anew, challenging Socrates to show them that justice really does better further happiness than injustice. The nature of this renewed challenge and the reason for it are hotly debated problems. Equally problematic is the question of whether Socrates succeeds in meeting the challenge in the crucial case of the philosopher-kings, whom he claims are happiest of all. Central to his attempt is a complex tripartite psychology and the yet more complex the metaphysics and epistemology of transcendent Platonic forms. But just how these are to be understood or how knowledge of such forms could help the philosopher-kings with the practical business of governing a city also remain deeply problematic issues. Beginning with a discussion of Socrates in the Apology, and his portrait by Alcibiades in the Symposium, and proceeding to topics more directly within the Republic itself, Blindness and Reorientation develops not just powerful new solutions to these problems, but a new understanding of Plato's conception of philosophy, its relationship to craft-knowledge, and the roles of dialectic and experience within it. Written in a clear and vivid style, C. D. C. Reeve's new book will be accessible to any committed reader of Plato.

The notion of practical wisdom is one of Aristotle’s greatest inventions. It has inspired philosophers as diverse as Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Elizabeth Anscombe, Michael Thompson, and John McDowell. Now a leading scholar of ancient philosophy offers a challenge to received accounts of practical wisdom by situating it in the larger context of Aristotle’s views on knowledge and reality.That happiness is the end pursued by practical wisdom is commonly agreed. What is disputed is whether happiness is to be found in the practical life of political action, in which we exhibit courage, temperance, and other virtues of character, or in the contemplative life, where theoretical wisdom is the essential virtue. C. D. C. Reeve argues that the dichotomy is bogus, that these lives are in fact parts of a single life, which is the best human one. In support of this view, he develops innovative accounts of many of the central notions in Aristotle’s metaphysics, epistemology, and psychology, including matter and form, scientific knowledge, dialectic, educatedness, perception, understanding, political science, practical truth, deliberation, and deliberate choice. These accounts are based directly on freshly translated passages from many of Aristotle’s writings. Action, Contemplation, and Happiness is an accessible essay not just on practical wisdom but on Aristotle’s philosophy as a whole.

Love's confusions are legion. We promise to love, but we cannot love at will. Love God, we're commanded, but we cannot love on command. And given the vicissitudes of self-love, even if we could love our neighbors as we love ourselves, would it be a good thing to do so? These are a few of the paradoxes that typically lead philosophers to oversimplify love--and that draw C. D. C. Reeve to explore it in all its complexity, searching for the lessons to be found within love's confusions. Ranging from Plato, who wrote so eloquently on the subject, to writers as diverse as Shakespeare, Proust, Forster, Beckett, Huxley, Lawrence, and Larkin, Reeve brings the vast resources of Western literature and philosophy to bear on the question of love. As he explores the origins of Western thought on the subject, he also turns to the origins of individual experience--the relationship of mother and child, the template of all possible permutations of love--and to the views of such theorists as Freud, Melanie Klein, and Carol Gilligan. At the same time, he uses the story of the prototypical absent father, Odysseus, to demonstrate the importance of reconciling a desire for tenderness with a desire for strength if we are to make the most of love's potentials.Looking at love in light of the classical world and Christianity, and in its complex relationship with pornography, violence, sadomasochism, fantasy, sentimentality, and jealousy, Reeve invites us to think more broadly about love, and to find the confusions that inevitably result to be creative rather than disturbing.

Presents the Princeton University Press edition of 1988. This work provides an interpretation of Republic that makes a case for the coherence of Plato's argument.

Provides an interpretation of Republic that makes a case for the coherence of Plato's argument.

This edition, translated from the New Standard Greek Text by C. D. C. Reeve, includes an Introduction, select bibliography, a synopsis of each book, a glossary of terms, a glossary and index of names, and a general index

In this groundbreaking work, C. D. C. Reeve uses a fundamental problem--the Primacy Dilemma--to explore Aristotle's metaphysics, epistemology, dialectic, philosophy of mind, and theology in a new way. At a time when Aristotle is most often studied piecemeal, Reeve attempts to see him both in detail and as a whole, so that it is from detailed analysis of hundreds of particular passages, drawn from dozens of Aristotelian treatises, and translated in full that his overall picture of Aristotle emerges. Primarily a book for philosophers and advanced students with an interest in the fundamental problems with which Aristotle is grappling, Substantial Knowledge's clear, non-technical and engaging style will appeal to any reader eager to explore Aristotles difficult but extraordinarily rewarding thought.

In the early fourth century B.C., Plato founded his famous Athenian school, the Academy. Among the students who came to study there were two women, Axiothea of Phlius, who wore men's clothes, and Lasthenia of Mantinea. In five dialogues, inspired by those of Plato, C. D. C. Reeve imagines these women in conversation with one another, with Plato himself, and with their fellow Academician, Aristotle. The topics they discuss--women, art, justice, freedom, and the nature of reality--are all drawn from Plato's Republic. Their lively exchanges, which quickly engage the reader, are at once an exciting and accessible introduction to some of Republic's central themes and an exploration of some of the most controversial questions we face in trying to make sense of our complexly shared lives.

In the early fourth century B.C., Plato founded his famous Athenian school, the Academy. Among the students who came to study there were two women, Axiothea of Phlius, who wore men's clothes, and Lasthenia of Mantinea. In five dialogues, inspired by those of Plato, C. D. C. Reeve imagines these women in conversation with one another, with Plato himself, and with their fellow Academician, Aristotle. The topics they discuss--women, art, justice, freedom, and the nature of reality--are all drawn from Plato's Republic. Their lively exchanges, which quickly engage the reader, are at once an exciting and accessible introduction to some of Republic's central themes and an exploration of some of the most controversial questions we face in trying to make sense of our complexly shared lives.

C.D.C. Reeves uses the Primacy Dilemma to explore Aristotle's metaphysics, epistemology, dialectic, philosophy of mind and theology. The book's clear, non-technical format makes it suitable for both academic and general readers with an interest in Aristotle.

"It is. . . remarkable that Reeve's is the first new English translation since Fowler's Loeb edition of 1926. Fortunately, Reeve has done an excellent job. His version is not slavishly literal but is in general very accurate. It is also very clear and readable. Reeve is particularly to be congratulated for having produced versions of some of the more torturous passages, which are not only faithful to the text but also make good sense in English. The long and detailed introduction is worth reading in its own right." --R. F. Stalley, The Classical Review

Plato's "Cratylus" is about language, specifically about names (onomata), a category that includes proper names, common nouns, adjectives, participles and infinitives. As Plato's most focused discussion of language, the text should be useful for every student of his work.

Practices of Reason is an exploration of the epistemological, metaphysical, and psychological foundations of the Nicomachean Ethics. In a striking reversal of current orthodoxy, Professor Reeve argues that scientific-knowledge (episteme) is possible in ethics, that dialectic and understanding (nous) play essentially the same role in ethics as in an Aristotelian science, and that the distinctive role of practical wisdom (phronesis) is to use the knowledge of universals provided by science, dialectic, and understanding so as best to promote happiness (eudaimonia) in particular circumstances and to ensure a happy life. Turning to happiness itself, the author develops a new account of Aristotle's views on ends and functions, exposing their twofold nature. He argues that the activation of theoretical wisdom is primary happiness, and that the activation of practical wisdom - when it is for the sake of primary happiness - is happiness of a second kind. He concludes with an account of the virtues of character, external goods, and friends, and their place in the happy life. The book will be of interest to all those who have unanswered questions about the central arguments, concepts, and presuppositions of the Nicomachean Ethics.

'Reeve's book is an excellent companion to Plato's "Apology" and a valuable discussion of many of the main issues that arise in the early dialogues. Reeve is an extremely careful reader of texts, and his familiarity with the legal and cultural background of Socrates' trial allows him to correct many common misunderstandings of that event. In addition, he integrates his reading of the apology with a sophisticated discussion of Socrates' philosophy. The writing is clear and succinct, and the research is informed by a thorough acquaintance with the secondary literature. Reeve's book will be accessible to any serious undergraduate, but it is also a work that will have to be taken into account by every scholar doing advanced research on Socrates' - Richard Kraut, Northwestern University.

"Socrates in The Apology: An Essay on Plato's Apology of Socrates".