The Presocratics

This excellent study of the precursors of Greek philosophy and Western science begins with social connections. Relatively egalitarian oligarchies, ruling through discourse and law rather than by fiat, suited the rise of general ideas about man, politics, and the natural world. Drawing on his sensitive knowledge of ancient Greek and on an uncommonly astute and unpedantic appraisal of sources (many Presocratics have come to us only secondhand), Hussey, an Oxford lecturer, combines textual exposition with broad interpretation. The Presocratic search for a universal material key - water, air, etc. - is made intelligible to students who may previously have found it reductive. Hussey's treatment of Heraclitus shakes up both those who regard Heraclitus as a primitivistic sage and those who extend his ideas as grand metaphors. On Pythagoras the book is perhaps a bit pedestrian, failing to stress the conceptual innovation represented by the notion of "number." When discussing Parmenides there are brilliant recapitulations of the philosophical arguments themselves but perhaps too little emphasis on the fact that a new mode of argument had developed. The Sophists' dual tendency toward skepticism and positive humanism is cogently identified, but the scantiness of biobibliographical references must be lamented. The book is, notwithstanding certain weaknesses, an important survey, highly recommended. (Kirkus Reviews)