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The Golden Chain: An Anthology of Pythagorean and Platonic Philosophy Paperback – September 22, 2004
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWorld Wisdom
- Publication dateSeptember 22, 2004
- Dimensions6.08 x 1.01 x 8.96 inches
- ISBN-100941532615
- ISBN-13978-0941532617
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The decline of philosophy, from sacred knowledge of the Eternals to individualistic opinion and virtuoso speculation, is one of the -- Mark Perry
There is a uniquely Western spiritual tradition that has been lost to postmodern culture. And, to our delight, we find -- M. A. B. Mineo
From the Publisher
From the Back Cover
"This Anthology will be very precious for the serious scholars and students of philosophy, because it comprises in one volume rare Platonic, Neo-Platonic, Pythagorean and Neo-Pythagorean texts, which constitute a truly golden chain of philosophic wisdom. There was a time when Plato and Platonism were considered as synonymous with Hellenic philosophia, understood as the love of wisdom, which was expressed in theoria and, especially, in praxis, as a way of perfecting the human soul and its noetic life. Pythagoras and Socrates were acknowledged as predecessors of Plato, while succeeding generations of philosophers, including Aristotle, were seen as precious links in this continuous golden chain of wisdom.
This concatenation lasted for more than a millennium, until fanaticism broke it in 529 B.C., when Justinian closed down the philosophical schools in Athens. Since that time Hellenic philosophy was forced to lead an atrophic existence and to serve successively such alien masters as dogmatic theology, scientific technology and political ideology. As a result of this long enslavement, the "philosophy" of our times, especially in the West, has become a false homonym, that is an amorphous, confused, disoriented and petty sophistry. Of course, it is not what it used to be, a path to lead the philosopher s soul and mind to their divine perfection.
There is hope, then, that the present Anthology will help some serious and curious students of philosophy to rediscover, reconnect with, and revive the lost spirit of Platonic philosophy as a way of taking care of and perfecting the human soul in the Socratic manner. With the re-emergence of religious fanaticism and its concomitant terrorism, this Hellenic wisdom of reason and tolerance will be needed more than ever before.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Several comparatively late accounts devoted to the life and teachings of Pythagoras have survived. They are based on much earlier sources and reflect, at the very least, the universally accepted and partly idealized views regarding this legendary hero, who not only "established science" (i.e., brought it from the East), but promoted the distinctive Pythagorean way of life (bios Puthagorikos). According to the Hellenic tradition, Pythagoras restricted the use of the word wisdom (sophia) so as to make it refer only to the science of immaterial realities treated as true Being, against the fluid material world of becoming whose very flow imitates the archetypes of true Being and derives from them. Before him wise men in Greece called themselves sages (sophoi, tantamount to those "exceeding in wisdom" who bear the attributes of the god Ea in Mesopotamia), but Pythagoras was the first among the Greeks to call himself a lover of wisdom, philosophos. He regarded philosophia as a form of purification, a way of life aimed at assimilation to God and the gaining of immortality.
Product details
- Publisher : World Wisdom (September 22, 2004)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0941532615
- ISBN-13 : 978-0941532617
- Item Weight : 0.035 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.08 x 1.01 x 8.96 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,023,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,171 in Eastern Philosophy (Books)
- #14,698 in European History (Books)
- #238,875 in Religion & Spirituality (Books)
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My first foray into the wonderful work of the late Algis Uzdavinys.