Allegory in Early Greek Philosophy



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Allegory in Early Greek Philosophy
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About the book

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Allegory in Early Greek Philosophy examines the role that allegory plays in Greek thought, particularly in the transition from the mythic tradition of the archaic poets to the philosophical traditions of the Presocratics and Plato. It explores how a mode of speech that "says one thing, but means another" is integral to philosophy, which otherwise seeks to achieve clarity and precision in its discourse. By providing the early Greek thinkers with a way of defending and appropriating the poetic wisdom of their predecessors, allegory enables philosophy to locate and recover its own origins in the mythic tradition. Allegory allows philosophy simultaneously to move beyond mythos and express the whole in terms of logos, a rational account in which reality is represented in a more abstract and universal way than myth allows. 
The author

About the author

Jennifer Lobo Meeks, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Perimeter College of Georgia State University. She specializes in ancient Greek philosophy and in the history of modern European philosophy. 
Reviews

Reviews

"At a time when philosophical writing is dominated by literal-mindedness, on the one hand, and 'unmasking,' on the other hand, Jennifer Lobo Meeks takes us back to the poetic origins of philosophy, when allegory preserved the mysterious character of poetic wisdom for the ancient Greek philosophers. Only this preservation of mystery could allow the philosopher to perform the speculative task of articulating the Whole. Beginning with the Presocratics and tracing out the senses of a Presocratic 'poetics,' she takes up the 'ancient quarrel' between philosophy and poetry in Plato, illuminating the use of philosophical myth in the dialogues. This book is not only a reminder of the philosopher’s original task, it helps us to understand the poverty of the present condition of philosophy."—Ann Hartle, Professor Emeritus, Emory University

"Professor Meeks, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Perimeter College of Georgia State University, manifests writing mastery and loving expertise on the technicalities and history of her subject. I recognized a book I wanted to savor; anyone interested in the roots of philosophy in Homeric and Hesiodic myths would. […] Beginning with the first section of the first chapter, “A Concise History of Allegory,” who would have thought that the history of how allegory was understood and used over the last 3,000 years could be so interesting? And how wonderful that scholars like the author to have studied so thoughtfully its use in composition and interpretation?"—Morris Dean (Moristotle), moristotle.blogspot.com, 26.03.2021
Additional Information

Additional Information

Delivery time 2-3 Tage / 2-3 days
Author Jennifer Lobo Meeks
Editor Alexander Gungov, Donald Verene
Number of pages 120
Language English
Publication date Oct 20, 2020
Weight (kg) 0.1580
ISBN-13 9783838214252