Science before Socrates by Daniel Graham
In Science before Socrates, Daniel Graham argues against the prevalent belief that the Presocratic philosophers did not produce any empirical science and that the first major Greek science, astronomy, did not develop until at least the time of Plato. Instead, Graham proposes that the advances made by Presocratic philosophers in the study of astronomy deserve to be considered as scientific contributions.Whereas philosophers of the sixth century BC treated astronomical phenomena as ephemeral events continuous with weather processes, those of the fifth century treated heavenly bodies as independent stony masses whirled in a cosmic vortex. Two historic events help to date and account for the change: a solar eclipse in 478 BC and a meteoroid that fell to earth around 466. Both events influenced Anaxagoras, who transformed insights from Parmenides into explanations of lunar and solar eclipses, meteors, and rainbows.Virtually all philosophers came to accept Anaxagoras' theory of lunar light and eclipses. Aristotle endorsed Anaxagoras' theory of eclipses as a paradigm of scientific explanation. Anaxagoras' theories launched a geometrical approach to astronomy and were accepted as foundational principles by all mathematical astronomers from Aristarchus to Ptolemy to Copernicus and Galileo - and to the present day.
Graham has written an intriguing book on a much neglected aspect of Presocratic thinking* Journal of the History of Philosophy *
Graham has produced a fascinating and enjoyable challenge to the standard narrative of scientific progress. The passion of his commitment to rehabilitating Parmenides and Anaxagoras as successful scientists is clear throughout. * Jenny Bryan, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
Graham has produced a fascinating and enjoyable challenge to the standard narrative of scientific progress. The passion of his commitment to rehabilitating Parmenides and Anaxagoras as successful scientists is clear throughout. * Jenny Bryan, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
Daniel W. Graham is Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University. He has written, translated, or edited seven volumes on ancient philosophy and has published numerous scholarly articles on Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, and the Presocratic philosophers. He does research in history of philosophy and history of science. He is president of the International Association for Presoratic Studies and a member of the editorial board of Apeiron.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780199959785 |
| ISBN 10 | 0199959781 |
| Title | Science before Socrates |
| Author | Daniel Graham |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Year published | 2013-08-01 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |