Showing titles in Greek & Roman

Dabei sind die den Dialog beherrschenden zwei Fragen noch recht leicht zu fassen: «Was ist, wenn das Eins ist?» und «Was ist, wenn das Eins nicht ist?» Was in der Untersuchung dieser Fragen sich dann entwickelt, ist eine weit ausgreifende und schwer nachzuvollziehende Reflexion des begrifflichen Verhältnisses von Einheit und Vielheit, Ähnlichkeit und Unähnlichkeit, Gleichheit und Verschiedenheit, Sein und Nicht-Sein. Das hier vorliegende Hörbuch gibt den Parmenides in vollständiger Lesung in der Übersetzung von Otto Apelt wieder und stellt den 21.

Written by the medieval Indian Buddhist monk Shantideva, The Bodhicaryavatara is one of the most beloved and frequently taught works in Buddhism and a favorite of the Dalai Lama. An inspiring and powerful poem that uses a gripping, first-person, confessional voice, it is the most systematic work of ethical thought in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition. And its invaluable insights, exhortations, and encouragements about how we can relieve suffering by becoming more caring and compassionate are universal.

"Vom Zorn" (De ira) ist einer der bekanntesten philosophischen Texte von Lucius Annaeus Seneca, einem der bedeutendsten Denker der römischen Stoa. Das Werk gehört zu seinen berühmten "Dialogen" und richtet sich gegen eines der zerstörerischsten Gefühle der menschlichen Seele: den Zorn. In scharfer Analyse beschreibt Seneca die Ursachen, Folgen und die zerstörerische Kraft der Wut – sowohl im privaten als auch im politischen Leben. Gleichzeitig bietet er eine klare Anleitung zur Selbstbeherrschung, zur kühlen Vernunft und zur stoischen Gelassenheit.

We live in an era rife with cultural conflict. The 21st century is by no means free of wars, terrorism, riots, famine, nor epidemics. We may attempt to solve the challenges of our times by uniting the humanistic disciplines of philosophy, science, and technology. Our modern reality requires a fundamental understanding of the problems beleaguering our existence. Science and literature are key tools for gaining this insight. The wisdom accumulated throughout the centuries by scientists, philosophers, and writers is a solid foundation on which modern man can build the future.

Gorgias of Leontini, a famous teacher of rhetoric, has come to Athens to recruit students, promising to teach them how to become leaders in politics and business. A group has gathered at Callicles' house to hear Gorgias demonstrate the power of his art. This dialogue blends comic and serious discussion of the best life, providing a penetrating examination of ethics. Is it better to suffer evil or to do evil? Is it better to do something wrong and avoid being caught or to be caught and punished? Is pleasure the same as goodness?

Socrates is on trial for his life. He is charged with impiety and corrupting young people. He presents his own defense, explaining why he has devoted his life to challenging the most powerful and important people in the Greek world. The reason is that rich and famous politicians, priests, poets, and a host of others pretend to know what is good, true, holy, and beautiful, but when Socrates questions them they are shown to be foolish rather than wise.

Socrates is in prison, sentenced to die when the sun sets. In this final conversation, he asks what will become of him once he drinks the poison prescribed for his execution. Socrates and his friends examine several arguments designed to prove that the soul is immortal. This quest leads him to the broader topic of the nature of mind and its connection not only to human existence but also to the cosmos itself. What could be a better way to pass the time between now and the sunset? Plato lived in Athens, Greece.

Plato’s dialogues frequently cover several topics and show their connection to each other. The "Phaedrus" is a model of that skill because of its seamless progression from examples of speeches about the nature of love to mythical visions of human nature and destiny to the essence of beauty and, finally, to a penetrating discussion of speaking and writing. It ends with an examination of the love of wisdom as a dialectical activity in the human mind.

Aristotle's Poetics (335 BCE) is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first surviving philosophical treatise on dramatic or literary theory. The work begins with a preliminary discourse on tragedy, epic poetry, and comedy as the chief forms of imitative poetry. By "imitative", Aristotle means the imitation of action in words as a creative process. He distinguishes comedy, tragedy, the satyr play, lyric poetry, and epic poetry by their differences in musical rhythm, harmony, meter, melody, nature of the characters, and the manner in which the narrative is presented.

The greatest philosopher who ever lived. A dissolute tyrant in need of an education. What could possibly go wrong? Plato was the most brilliant thinker of his age. Head of the Academy in Athens, friend of the best minds of his generation, his philosophy was famous across the Greek world. But would he ever get the chance to try his ideas out?

The Trial and Death of Socrates presents the trial and subsequent execution of Socrates in 399 BCE. Socrates was tried on the basis of two ambiguous charges: corrupting the youth and impiety. “Euthyphro”, one of Plato's early dialogues, takes place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial. “Apology” is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being a man "who corrupted the young, refused to worship the gods, and created new deities".

The "Republic" poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, which ones should be fostered, and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing? Several characters in the dialogue present a variety of tempting answers to those questions. Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus, and Glaucon all offer definitions of justice.

Perception, memory, truth, and knowledge all play major roles in this dialogue. What is remarkable about Plato's treatment of those ideas is how contemporary are both the questions and the answers he puts in the mouths of his characters. Socrates is adamant in asserting that he does not know the answers but that his function is simply to help formulate and critically examine the doctrines presented by others.

If recent history has taught us anything, it's that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative example. But that insight is hardly new. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Suetonius wrote Lives of the Caesars, perhaps the greatest negative leadership book of all time. In How to Be a Bad Emperor, Josiah Osgood provides crisp new translations of Suetonius's briskly paced, darkly comic biographies of the Roman emperors Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero. Entertaining and shocking, these ancient anti-role models show how power inflames leaders' worst tendencies.

The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.

There are times when we've all felt that we haven't been treated as we deserve—that we've been misjudged, shortchanged, or given a raw deal. And, at one time or another, other people have probably felt that we've treated them just as unfairly. How to Do the Right Thing draws on the principles of ancient Stoicism as articulated by the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca to help listeners better navigate one of the most important practical questions of daily life—how to do right by others.

The book is one of the most influential ethical treatises of all time. Written in 350 BC, it identifies happiness as life's goal. How do we achieve this goal? Not through the satisfactions that come from pleasure, wealth, or fame. According to Aristotle, the true path to happiness lies in contemplation of philosophic truth. This is the only action through which humans can exercise their distinctively unique trait: the ability to reason.

This famous work by Lucretius is a masterpiece of didactic poetry, and it still stands today as the finest exposition of Epicurean philosophy ever written. The poem was produced in the middle of first century B.C., a period that was to witness a flowering of Latin literature unequaled for beauty and intellectual power in subsequent ages. The Latin title, De Rerum Natura, translates literally to On the Nature of Things and is meant to impress the reader with the breadth and depth of Epicurean philosophy.

These five very different Socratic Dialogues date from Plato's later period, when he was revisiting his early thoughts and conclusions and showing a willingness for revision. In Timaeus (mainly a monologue read by David Timson in the title role), Plato considers cosmology in terms of the nature and structure of the universe, the ever-changing physical world and the unchanging eternal world. And he proposes a demiurge as a benevolent creator God.

In the first century BC, Marcus Tullius Cicero, orator, statesman and defender of republican values, created these philosophical treatises on such diverse topics as friendship, religion, death, fate and scientific inquiry. A pragmatist at heart, Cicero's philosophies were frequently personal and ethical, drawn not from abstract reasoning but through careful observation of the world. The resulting works remind us of the importance of social ties, the questions of free will and the justification of any creative endeavour.