History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Thinking Socratically: Critical Thinking About Everyday Issues (2nd Edition)

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no books received as yet for review
Doctoral Level Effectiveness

Thinking Socratically: Critical Thinking About Everyday Issues (2nd Edition)
Sharon Schwarze , and Harvey Lape
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130281638

Customer Reviews:

no books received as yet for review.......2007-08-24

I have not yet received the books so I cannot respond to the review. Kindly let me have a new set of the copies be sent to me as soon as possible. i am willing to pay for the express service.

Doctoral Level Effectiveness.......2007-05-09

This book was used at a residency for a doctoral degree program. It provided revelant insight into areas that were gray for some of the academic discipines. The use of the term "everyday" is right on time because the nuances within the book were explained in layman's terms. A very excellent resource for all learners.

Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy

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Okay...
Using "reason" as a key to life.
The cafes have some unexamined chinks
cool read
likeable philosophy

Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy
Christopher Phillips
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393049566

Amazon.com

For Christopher Phillips, philosophy is a passion: it is not so much a discipline to be learned as an experience to be lived. Taking his cue from Socrates, the inaugurator of the Western philosophical tradition, Phillips embarks on a search for truth and meaning through a series of conversations that is at once refreshing, humorous, troubling, confusing, encouraging, depressing, and provocative. What makes Plato's Socratic dialogues so enduring--and Phillips's book so intriguing--is that for both Plato and Phillips, philosophy is not something you read or study. It is something you do. Plato wrote in Parmenides that "without wandering around and examining everything in detail one is unable to secure understanding." Phillips takes this approach--the Socratic approach--to heart. In the course of Socrates Café, he travels around asking questions of everyone who's interested. Just like the real Socrates, who did not confine himself to the Athenian ivory tower, Phillips searches out public conversations--what he calls Socrates cafés--with children, seniors, psychiatrists, prisoners, ex-academics, students, lawyers, and everyday people. In a sense, the book is a series of short, modern-day Socratic dialogues interspersed with meditations on the nature of philosophical inquiry.

Phillips seizes upon what the Greeks called "elenchus," a method of inquiry that helps people see their own beliefs and opinions more clearly. In the course of the numerous Socrates cafés highlighted in this book, Phillips persistently reminds us that we ought to ask questions simply because the process is good for us. In each of the cafés, the participants vary as widely as the questions, and the dialogues are by turns candid, insightful, muddled, intelligent, bland, and piquant. The real meaning of Socrates Café lies in the contentious and wonderful space of human interaction. --Eric de Place

Book Description

A modern-day Socrates takes to the road to bring philosophy back to the people. Journalist-turned-philosopher Christopher Phillips is on a mission: to revive the love of questions that Socrates once inspired in ancient Athens. With great charisma and optimism, he travels around the country, gathering people to participate in Socrates cafes in bookstores, senior centers, elementary schools and universities, and prisons. In this accessible, lively account, Phillips recalls what led him to start his itinerant program and recreates some of the most invigorating sessions. Harvard psychiatrist Robert Coles praises the "morally energetic and introspective exchanges with children and adults from all walks of life," which come to reveal sometimes surprising, often profound reflections on the meaning of love, friendship, work, growing old, and other large questions of life. Phillips also draws from his own academic background to introduce us to the thought of philosophers through the ages. Socrates Cafe is an engaging blend of philosophy and storytelling.

Customer Reviews:

Okay..........2007-04-21

I really enjoyed this book when I read it for the first time in tenth grade. Looking back on it, however, I see it now as a bit...well, a bit childish. The world of thoughts and opinions is much deeper than the bottom of a coffee cup.
It seems now, even then as I was reading the book in tenth grade, that Phillips has oversimplified complex matters. His whole philosophy, as put forth in this book, could be summarized easily in one sentence: "Let's all be happy because philosophy is cool." This is a gigantic simplification of the real issues at stake; namely: What is being? Who are we? Why are we here?
He leaves out the actual history too; historical mentions are scanty and not worth noting. He idealizes Socrates and his contemporaries; in his book they are very "Americanized" versions of what the actual men were probably like, their real likenesses adapted to fit the cultural norms of contemporary North America--when in fact they were part of a totally different culture which he didn't even mention (As one who studies anthropology, this really irked me).
And, on top of this, he never really says anything. Somewhere near the end of the book, he asks why we should philosophize, and answers it by saying "to be better people" or something like that. But then, why should we "be better people"? Instead of exploring these real issues, he kind of vaguely says that they exist--and then recounts a meeting at a cafe (or a prison or school, the locations vary) where, once again, people with very "American" mindsets talk about their experiences and try to delve into the issue.
One other problem is the length and difficulty level. It's just too short and too easy of a read to answer, or even attempt to begin to answer, the problems Phillips claims he is devoted to. For example, in one of the dialogs someone remarks that Phillips' wife has just "crossed the language barrier." There are two problems with this: First, the "language barrier" is never defined and like many other issues, just another abstract concept, now given a "philosophical" dimension.
Secondly, the barrier that is "crossed" in his book is between Spanish and English. Guess what people, those two languages are not very different. I am a budding linguist and nearly fluent in Spanish, Japanese, Arabic (Modern standard with a specialty in Saudi and Iraqi dialects), and am familiar with many other languages (one of which is ancient Greek, the language of Socrates). The "barrier" between Spanish and English just isn't very big. If a language barrier does exist between two given languages, it 1) is more related to culture and 2) can be crossed once the new "culture" is learned.
And lastly, there is one other problem, which is the biggest of all.
HE NEVER ACTUALLY CITES PLATO. You know, he could have written the book completely on what he's read about Plato and Socrates rather than what he actually did read of Plato's works. I couldn't believe that Plato's works weren't cited in the references section. He does mention a few, but they are relatively unimportant works like Gorgias and Euthyphro--I think there is only ONE mention of the Republic, without which Plato would have been an obscure philosopher, like Heraclitus. This is like talking about J.K. Rowling but never mentioning Harry Potter. When other philosophers are discussed, their views are oversimplified.
Looking back, this book poses serious problems historically, linguistically and anthropologically.
It was okay when I read it, a few years ago. I've grown up since then.

Using "reason" as a key to life........2007-01-12

Christopher Phillips, in the true tradition established by Socrates himself, has provided a road map to passing on the process of "reason". I enjoyed the book and have recommended it to others following the same philosophy.

The cafes have some unexamined chinks.......2006-10-12

Where does "everyman" go in this world for reasoned, open, and enlightened conversation outside an academic setting? The filtered, abbreviated, and sanitized output of the media and Internet sites hardly serves as a replacement. Into this vacuum stepped the author, a former journalist, enamored of philosophers and philosophizing, who decided to facilitate Socratic discussions in all manner of locations, but mostly cafes and bookstores. Of course, Socrates, an Athenian of the 5th century BC, was known for his penetrating questioning of the assumptions of the leading citizens of Athens, a habit which little endeared him to them. This book consists of a rather meandering look at the author's hesitant start up of this enterprise, simplified re-creations of several actual question and answer sessions at a variety of locations, and various pertinent philosophical points from philosophers of the past and from the author.

The questioning process at these discussions is pretty much ad hoc with honesty being the only requirement for asking or answering. Among the questions asked were "What is here?"; "What is home?"; "What is silence?"; "What is a friend?"; or "Why is what?". It is simply assumed that a group of near strangers who meet for two hours once a week, or less, benefits from kicking around these various, often vague or obscure, subjects. He doesn't address the impact of the disparity in backgrounds that such an assemblage is likely to have. The discussions can deteriorate into an endless series of not necessarily connected questions with limited results.

It is striking that virtually none of the topics presented for discussion in the book are controversial. Does the author suggest that politics, religion, economics, media, justice, war, etc are of no interest to people who attend his cafes. If these subjects were broached, how would that affect the functioning of the groups? The author asks "What is a church?" in one group. What if he had asked, "What is the basis of religious belief"? One suspects that Socrates would have gone right to that. There is not the sense that the author is after the truth in quite the unrestrained manner as a Socrates.

The author notes that ideas and conversation are essential to a democracy, however, neighborhood gathering places located in the midst of our sterile, zoned housing tracts are virtually non existent. These Socratic cafes could easily be seen as inadequate, artificial alternatives to real community gathering places. It's hard to imagine the people in "The Great Good Places" by Ray Oldenburg devoting much time to "Why is what" when so many real world issues having community impacts need to be addressed.

The author disappoints in another way. Many authors have web sites, and he is no exception. In this case it is for his institution, the Society for Philosophical Inquiry, which supposedly supports 300 dialogue groups. But one can find no evidence of these groups anywhere on the entire web site - very strange. From reading his book, one would think they would be front and center on the site. Perhaps there are legal issues. Instead those who access the site are given several means of buying goods or joining the SPI for a fee. It's disheartening to find an emphasis on the Socratic Café name as a brand for sale. [Note: It turns out that the list of local cafes is for sale also. Socrates is rolling over in his grave.]

At first glance, Socratic cafes seem to be an unqualified good - and they are as far as they go. But there is a certain amount of doubt as to whether that model can play a relevant and important role in public discourse in this era of isolation and spin. The book is unwilling to address any shortcomings of the concept, which is rather ironic given the author's insistence that he is "seeking Socrates." The autobiographical elements of the book are interesting, but there is an element of self promotion that lingers.

cool read.......2006-05-02

i can't speak for experts but for a firsttime philosophizer like me who wanted to get his feet wet in the field and know about Western philosophy, reading this book was a great experience, giving me just the taste of philosophy i hoped for without lots of intimidating jargon. Best for me was that it didn't just summarize the history of western philosophy but it brought it back to life in the modern world

likeable philosophy.......2006-03-14

i run a (dead)philosophy club, and couple of people recommended the book to me, so i was obligated to read it. i usually don't care for Socrates. He gets on my nervs. Not that he is a crafty sophist, but perhaps his optimistic intellectualism and loaded questions goest against my philosphical sensibilities. But I was pleasnatly surprised. It was not bad at all. Philips is a good philosopher. He knows how to run a show. And I know, running a philosophy club is harder than he makes it appear. If you want to be involved with philosophy in some serious ways; but you don't care for the academic type, maybe this will give you a heretic stand.

Average customer rating:

a must-have
This is the business!
CD-ROM not the Cooper & Hutchinson edition
Recommended, but use with care
This is it

Plato Complete Works
Plato
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0872203492

Customer Reviews:

a must-have .......2007-10-04

Highly recommended for any reader or thinker. The complete work of Plato, with helpful footnotes on translations and culture. Easy to navigate through, considering the size, and the margins leave enough space for highlighed scribbles and your own notes. Great price for even greater product, one that you will surely refrence multiple times.

This is the business! .......2007-08-30

This is the edition of Plato that you would have as required reading on an English medium Greek philosophy course. All the texts are translated and annotated by the relevant experts. In an ideal world you would have some kind of interlinear translation provided from the original Greek on the page facing the Greek translation, rather like the Interlinear New Testament as well as the translation into English prose. But then it would be incredibly expensive and very big I suppose.

Anyway if you like Plato, this is the one! Though it is very large. If you were interested in a particular text, e.g. The Republic, and were planning to read it on the train, you might be better off with buying the Penguin or Wordsworth el cheapo editions that you can carry around with you. This one is quite big.

CD-ROM not the Cooper & Hutchinson edition.......2007-08-05

Note that the CD-ROM linked to this edition does not reflect the Cooper & Hutchinson selections and notes, but is comprised of pdf files of the Jowett translations.

Recommended, but use with care.......2007-06-30

If you are at all inclined to get all of Plato in one volume then you are well advised to get this volume, for lack of viable alternatives.

The translations are a mixed bag. Cooper had little choice except to take over Grube's translations which inaugurated Hackett editions of Plato. While Grube delivers idiomatic English, he's inaccurate on so many key points that he will simply lead you into dead corners. (Instructurs should seriously avoid him in classroom use. There are worthwhile Penguin volumes of "Euthyphro" and "Republic".)

That said, there are real gems in this collection: Burnyeat's "Theaetetus", Frede's "Philebus", Gill's "Parmenides", Zeyl's "Timaeus", Reeve's "Cratylus", Rowe's "Stateman". But if you are a real fan of (any of) those, you should seriously consider getting the individual volumes (also by Hackett) with their substantial introductions (all of them highly recommended) woefully if understandably omitted from this volume. (Why can't there by a Norton Plato? 3000 pages with all of the individual Hackett's... I know, the market.)

Apart from this alternative (or complementation), you should also consider getting or borrowing items of the Clarendon Plato series: Gallop's "Phaedo", McDowell's "Theaetetus", Irwin's "Gorgias", and Taylor's "Protagoras" - philosophical commentaries and translations which have no superior (not so happy on Gallop, but you'll have to avoid Grube's "Phaedo" anyway).

A final comment. If you are new to Plato, Cooper's volume can be a pleasure to start with. Begin with the first "Alcibiades" and the "Symposium" (both beautifully translated here) and then read Cooper's wonderful introduction to the volume. I very much doubt you'll ever live life without Plato afterwards.

This is it.......2007-05-29

This is the edition I used in college. It is the most thorough reference on Plato that I think exists and helped me get through a number of courses. Plus for all who are interested in philosophy it is an excellent introduction without being intimidating. I highly recommend this version to all.

The Trial and Death of Socrates (3rd Edition)

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The Trial and Death of Socrates (3rd Edition) by Plato, John M. Cooper
Expensive
In the name of Iran
The Trial and Death of Socrates
The Trial and Death of Socrates

The Trial and Death of Socrates (3rd Edition)
Plato
Manufacturer: Hackett Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0872205541

Book Description

The third edition of The Trial and Death of Socrates presents G. M. A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato, Complete Works. A number of new or expanded footnotes are also included along with a Select Bibliography.

Download Description

Includes Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo. The speeches and teachings of Socrates at the time of his trial, and the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

Customer Reviews:

The Trial and Death of Socrates (3rd Edition) by Plato, John M. Cooper .......2007-10-07

This purchase saved me a lot of money compared to the price in the campus bookstore.

Expensive.......2007-06-08

Of the eight books I bought, it was the most expensive (cost per page) for all that I received. Although it was in great condition, so were some of the others.

In the name of Iran.......2006-04-04

This book was pleseant to read because Socrates was accused of corrupting of young Greek people's mind. Socrates made mockery of his trial. Eventually, he was convicted and was order to drink poison to die.

The Trial and Death of Socrates.......2006-03-21

I was totally pleased with the entire process. The book arrived surprisingly quickly and was in perfect condition.

The Trial and Death of Socrates.......2006-03-09

This is a must for anyone who is interested in the writings of Plato and what little we know about Socrates. The footnotes provide excellent refrences to phrases, gods and place names that the average reader may not be familiar with.

The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond

Average customer rating:

Repetition is bequeathed; the legacy repeated...
The first time is still best
Hungry Hungry Hippos
A book which can only be read among *other* books.
A book which can only be read among *other* books.

The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond
Jacques Derrida
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0226143228

Book Description

17 November 1979

You were reading a somewhat retro loveletter, the last in history. But you have not yet received it. Yes, its lack or excess of address prepares it to fall into all hands: a post card, an open letter in which the secret appears, but indecipherably.

What does a post card want to say to you? On what conditions is it possible? Its destination traverses you, you no longer know who you are. At the very instant when from its address it interpellates, you, uniquely you, instead of reaching you it divides you or sets you aside, occasionally overlooks you. And you love and you do not love, it makes of you what you wish, it takes you, it leaves you, it gives you.

On the other side of the card, look, a proposition is made to you, S and p, Socrates and plato. For once the former seems to write, and with his other hand he is even scratching. But what is Plato doing with his outstretched finger in his back? While you occupy yourself with turning it around in every direction, it is the picture that turns you around like a letter, in advance it deciphers you, it preoccupies space, it procures your words and gestures, all the bodies that you believe you invent in order to determine its outline. You find yourself, you, yourself, on its path.

The thick support of the card, a book heavy and light, is also the specter of this scene, the analysis between Socrates and Plato, on the program of several others. Like the soothsayer, a "fortune-telling book" watches over and speculates on that-which-must-happen, on what it indeed might mean to happen, to arrive, to have to happen or arrive, to let or to make happen or arrive, to destine, to address, to send, to legate, to inherit, etc., if it all still signifies, between here and there, the near and the far, da und fort, the one or the other.

You situate the subject of the book: between the posts and the analytic movement, the pleasure principle and the history of telecommunications, the post card and the purloined letter, in a word the transference from Socrates to Freud, and beyond. This satire of epistolary literature had to be farci, stuffed with addresses, postal codes, crypted missives, anonymous letters, all of it confided to so many modes, genres, and tones. In it I also abuse dates, signatures, titles or references, language itself.

J. D.

"With The Post Card, as with Glas, Derrida appears more as writer than as philosopher. Or we could say that here, in what is in part a mock epistolary novel (the long section is called "Envois," roughly, "dispatches" ), he stages his writing more overtly than in the scholarly works. . . . The Post Card also contains a series of self-reflective essays, largely focused on Freud, in which Derrida is beautifully lucid and direct."—Alexander Gelley, Library Journal

Customer Reviews:

Repetition is bequeathed; the legacy repeated..........2007-02-13

Contrary to the reviews thus far reported in regards to this "work in the traditions of Finnegans Wake," i would reccomend reading this book to all who are interested in Derrida's philosophy of ethics. Herein we may find ephemerally expounded glimpses at Postmodernism's notions of continuity and of the legacy of ideas: a gift which we neccessarely both receive and reinscribe - "What is tragic is not the possibility but the neccessity of repetition" (Writing and Difference). Many Derrida readers have shied away from this text because of its disparate and fragmented stuttering...Don't if you have patience to listen read this treasure. It is a pastiche, a montage and a rebus. An exquisite rendition on tradition and inheritance, on presence and absence. A reminder to never stop giving and giving and giving because the most ethical one can be is through the dissemination of ideas, the transformation of the recurring within which each becomes a relative of all and none. Finnegans Wake approximates the same themes with Vico's philosophy of history as an addendum. By the way Vico was an avid reader of the Cabbala...Only Walter Benjamin can better inspire the re-visions that we need for a tragic becoming tragic. This book is extremely personal and one of Richard Rorty's favorites I might add...he was not very fond of the early Derrida...Rorty understands Derrida as only Caputo and Bennington have...This is our modern day Novalis, we may dream of dreaming our dreams!

The first time is still best.......2003-06-01

It took me a long time to crack the Derrida nut. But when I did, I did it with this book. Thus it will always be my favorite philosophical novel by Derrida. When I finished this book I picked up Badiou's book on Deleuze and he said I got everything right, only he said it better than I would have.

So far, all the other readers seem to have missed the point. First, this book is not about anything so feminine and smacking of vulgar Christianity as love and cushy feelings. Derrida says it's a poison pen letter. It's about hate. It may be "between lovers," but it's published for the whole world to admire and appraise, a radically different context than the relationship of husband and wife. Which the careful Derrida-phile will note was handled very carefully, almost cynically, in the Derrida "documentary." (Has there ever been a greater and more hilarious take on oral sex?)

One wag commented that the book is only good for beach-reading. But that misses the serious side of Derrida, which is also the point. Rhetoric can be philosophy. Derrida is one hundred percent hilarious. But he's always pushing the philosophical envelope with his puns. To resort to a distinction that has a pragmatic value even though it utterly lacks any philosophical foundation, the use-mention distinction, when Derrida uses the word 'this,' he also means _that_. (Why does the use-mention distinction make no sense? Because when you say 'horse,' a _horse_ comes out of your mouth. As per Wittgenstein and the Stoics.) It's up to us lesser mortals to tease out the strands and levels until we can produce something as thoroughly competent. And simultaneously beautiful and ugly. Like orgasm.

Which brings us to Lacan. Some say he's a charlatan. And you have to be suspicious of anyone who declares that they're not interested in truth, but falsity. But when the postmodernists say this what they mean is that the truth, which can potentially be known, is in being aware that you actually don't know. The idea goes back to Plato and his early Socratic dialogues. Stated like that, it isn't too far from Kant, who also believed that we can't actually know much, other than that there are stars above and some sort of moral rules within. (Nobody has ever agreed with him on his rules, including his great heir John Rawls.) Derrida doesn't differ much from Lacan. He abandons Oedipus for the same reasons as Deleuze (it's a self-fulfilling prophecy and alienated from real life). But the argument on the postal system only looks different from Lacan's account because Derrida says it is. That he got Lacan to agree with him says something about Derrida's prestige, so there must be something there. (Though Lacan's submission looks suspiciously like he doesn't submit--republishing the Ecrits in an edited down version where the offensive passages have been actively forgotten.) But when Lacan says that a letter always gets to its destination he means that it always misses its destination, because the person it's intended for is going to sometime pass away. ("The living is a species of the dead." Nietzsche.) Which is also Derrida's point. I haven't read Derrida's latest writings on Lacan but apparently there's a whole lot of a rapprochement. In his interviews with Roudinescu, A Quoi Demain, he considers his style to be Lacanian and a lot of his conclusions to be similarly disposed.

Here's hoping the most consistently amusing of the post-Heideggerians remains a liberal individualist. Though it's probably going to be tough for him, given that the Straussists of the Whitehouse talk a similar talk and walk a similar walk. ("Jewgreek is Greekjew.") I believe the fact that Derrida is explicitly against the death penalty is the deciding difference. QED.

Hungry Hungry Hippos.......2002-12-10

I like this book better than the game hungry hungry hippos. Catch all the marbles as fast as you can, beat your opponents with a slight of the hand!

A book which can only be read among *other* books........2000-12-27

Derrida has stated that one of the main purposes of his decontructive readings, writing, and ruthless re-contextualization of various philosophical ideas is to minimize the "violence" of various philosophical practices- those ways of speaking, writing, which silently privilege various terms, and ideas and, perhaps unknowingly repress others. Given the other "esoteric" reviews here, its my duty to minimize the "violence" for those people who really want to know about the book, and not about namedropping, three lines of praise.

The Postcard is a "collection" of various love-letters, supposedly burned in a fire, which has left pieces of text missing. Derrida has also included a few essays which he believes continues the analysis begun in the loveletters [envois]. The content of the loveletters covers a broad range of philosophical and personal questions - from philosophy of language - to the relation b/w Socrates and Plato - to personal encounters in (I suppose) Derrida's life as a philosopher. But the over all effect of this - this "re-contextualization" or in other words, this casting of philosophical questions in a format not usually considered "serious" -> love letters... the profundity, the importance, the dissemination of the questions take on a wholly different feel and effect. The feel and effect, of course, is hard to describe, but it is a way of playing with "philosophical sensibilities" -- what is "real" philosophy? What is "serious" philosophy? And what is the meaning of such questions in the most private of all communications - love letters between two intimate lovers.

Of course, in typical Derridean style, he puns, and jokes his way, throwing punchlines out of every page. The envois are not an easy read. They can be tough, and confusing, especially with the 'missing text" which link ideas. The other essays included in The Postcard are equally a tough read, with a very interesting, but treacherous deconstruction of Lacan's analysis of Poe's "The Purloined Letter".

The Postcard can only be understood as continuation of previously examined (Of Grammatology), argued (Limited Inc.), and illustrated (Glas) philosophical strategies employed by Derrida. And yes, Richard Rorty (an american post-enlightenment philosopher) totally misses the boat on this one. While, i believe Derrida is attempting to "play" with various aspects of the philosophical tradition (Derrida is by far the funniest philosopher, since, Nietzsche), The Postcard is merely an new way of asserting those same ideas Derrida laid out in Limited Inc and other books, that conceptual meaning is not fixed but disseminated and deferred [differance] to all possible contextual usages and instantiations.

A book which can only be read among *other* books........2000-12-27

I know, this is merely one small aspect of Derrida's enterprise. But it is, I believe, the main purpose of The Postcard: to see how the meaning of philosophical questions regarding language, history, and the sequence of events, take on new meanings in the context of lost love lettes-- the same way a Post Card, which never reaches its destination-- takes on new meanings for the unintended third reader.

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The Journeys of Socrates

incredible close to an exceptional trilogy

A spiritual reading

The story comes full circle

Your lucky!

The Journeys of Socrates: An Adventure
Dan Millman
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060833025
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Book Description

The Way Begins . . .

Sergei was three when the soldiers took him. At fifteen he fled into the wilderness, with nothing to cling to but the memories of a grandfather who called him Socrates and the promise of a gift buried near St. Petersburg. Thus begins The Journeys of Socrates -- an odyssey that forged the character of Sergei Ivanov, whose story would one day change the lives of millions of readers worldwide. This saga of courage and faith, of love and loss, reveals the arts of war and the path to peace. Ultimately, it speaks to the quest we all share for a meaningful life in a challenging world.

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In nineteenth-century Tsarist Russia an orphaned child born of Jewish and Cossack blood grows up in a land of wealthy aristocrats, struggling peasants, and growing discontent. Sent to an elite military academy at the tender age of four, Sergei Ivanov (Socrates) comes of age training to protect a way of life he doesn't understand. When a sudden death forces Sergei to flee, he escapes into the wilderness.

With nothing to cling to but a memory of his grandfather and the promise of a gift buried near St. Petersburg, Sergei journeys across a harsh land to seek his place in the world. The adventure that unfolds is not about the revolutions of history, but about the revolution in one man's heart. A stirring story of tragedy and triumph emerges as Sergei encounters mentors and masters who reveal secrets about the arts of war and, ultimately, the path to peace. From the heights of love to the depths of despair, from the threat of a mortal enemy to the search for a child he has never met, Sergei Ivanov's odyssey unlocks hidden wisdom at the heart of life. He could never have imagined that from the moment of his birth he was destined to become the peaceful warrior who would change the lives of millions worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

The Journeys of Socrates.......2007-06-19

AWESOME!!!

The story was amazingly told and so enjoyable to read. I could hardly put the book down. Not only was the story a pleasure to read I found myself constantly reflecting on my own life. The possibility for real life learning is found inside an entertaining and enjoyable story, I wish all of my college text books had been written so. :)

Mark J.

incredible close to an exceptional trilogy.......2007-06-07

This book is extremely compelling, you'll be in suspense most of the time and it will all come to one final incredible conclusion that'll blow your mind.

A spiritual reading.......2007-03-09

This book was very moving in its spiritual and emotional growth experience that Socrates goes through. I think that anyone who has had even one tenth of the things happen to them that happened to him and can grow and develop like he does is an awesome accomplishment. This book is an excellent story with a moral for any age reader.

The story comes full circle.......2007-02-09

I have been a Dan Millman fan since the late 80's and this book is just as good as his others. Not quite "way of the peaceful warrior" but good never the less. It also completes the story so it makes more sense. The last part of the book describing, I beleive, a true story from Mr Millman's personal life about who socrates was and his influences on him was the best part of the book.

Your lucky!.......2007-01-16

If you havent read this book yet, your lucky. Know why? Because you get to read it for the first time. Yes its that good. really. Hope you dont have too much going on when you first open that cover, cause you aint gonna put it down. no sir.

The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics)

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The Last Days of Socrates
let's not argue
W.J. Knapp is quite ignorant!
great book
The Masterpiece of Plato

The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics)
Plato
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140449280
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Customer Reviews:

The Last Days of Socrates.......2007-06-16

In this simply-organized compilation of Socratic Dialogues, I would offer that the way Penguin Classics presents them cannot be outdone. The playfully loquacious dialogues are pure-gold bricks of logic, and should therefore be cherished greatly. This book is easy to understand because there are endnotes on every page. Spanning the entirety of over 200 juicy pages, Harold Tarrant and Hugh Tredennick present The Last Days of Socrates to the reader in an easy to follow pattern of notes. These final works of Plato should not be thought of as poor entertainment, but rather highly intense and compelling Greek discussions. It is very well-done and should be read over and over again.

Although every Socratic dialogue is absolutely riddled with complacent people for Socrates to question, this collection actually reveals the largest variety of listeners. From crazy commoners to cynical and court-goers, a critical criminal and the crowd of conflicting friends, Socrates caught every category and class of character off guard. At first, the evidence that hints at Socrates' trial is a mere conviction and nothing more. He had been free then. He had boldly questioned commoners at the very steps to the courthouse that he would defend himself in later. This penniless philosopher inquired of many people during his spare time.

In this collection, the second and third dialogues are the ones that depict the powerful defense of Socrates using logic to its full extent. In brilliantly defending himself, Socrates caressed, persuaded, and rallied only just under half of the jury. Unfortunately, he had failed to win the jury over completely, but he had come so close. Sleeping in the cell that was later constructed for him, Socrates was aroused by Crito, a man who had been a believer in Socrates. The extent of the discussion is contained in the third dialogue titled Crito. Anyhow, the general public hated Socrates so much that only death would avenge their flaming lust for revenge. The second and third dialogues depict Socrates' infamous apologetics and must be read. That is not all, however.

In Phaedo, Socrates calmly awaited his own death by hemlock, in a full chamber of the courthouse. He first addressed his followers and comrades alike concerning the meaning of life. He wanted to reassure them that there was indeed life after death, and that he would be going to a better place. Before he drank the poison, however, Socrates spurred a discussion of the soul and its immortality, or at least as logic had presented it to him. (Of course he had to argue it.) When two of his followers timidly provided Socrates with their opposing views, he only smiled and destroyed each argument consecutively. This he did because he wanted to share his hopes with his friends and did not want them to doubt his reincarnation. Nobody could fight back tears as he took the poison and perished. Socrates' legend now carries from there on. In Phaedo, the philosopher convinced his pals that his soul had not been dying, but had rather been transcending.

I love how Penguin has organized these significant conversations. Socrates is much easier to comprehend because of this book. Socrates had been last heard saying, "Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. (This is because Asclepius had been the god of pleasure.) See to it and don't forget." Buy this book. See to it and do not forget. When I purchased this book, which was in a used condition, it only cost two cents and has not disappointed me. Since it is known that Socrates is always welcome to thinkers, the price feels reduced even further for those who love logic. You will deprive yourself if you miss out on this intellectual classic of the Father of Greek philosophy.

let's not argue.......2005-01-21

First, let me commend this book on it's ability to maintain relevance over the course of hundreds, even thousands of years. It is a necessity to any "rooty" student of philosophy.

Secondly, let me acknowledge that Socrates was a seemingly unhuman grace to the acomplishments of the human race. However, as he encouraged us to face rational facts as opposed to common beliefs, you must face the reality that in fact Socrates had sex with young boys, as was the norm for that era in Greek history. There are no questions. Most of the great minds did, though I am both a devotee to their teachings and wise to the ugliness of those actions.

If Aristotle killed a stranger would that make his work of lesser importance?

Let me stress that dignity in experiences (your 4 years of study) should not extend to close the mind but to expand it. We are reading passionate works of a man who shaped our world.

To argue irrationally on the topic of Socrates is to hit a man who disrespects Gandhi.

W.J. Knapp is quite ignorant!.......2004-12-02

Just like the other person who said that W.J. Knapp's review is, essentially, incredible and ridiculous, I, too, think that he knows nothing of Socrates. I have studied ancient philosophy for the last 4 years, specifically Socrates and Plato!, and this "Baptist Minister" is quite ignorant of Socrates and his ostensible love affairs with young men. There is NO evidence for any claim that says that Socrates slept with young men. He even resisted Alcibiades when Alcibiades wanted to sleep with him (read Alcibiades, by Plato)! He also died for a cause; he did not die for nothing! Besides Jesus, and possibly the apostle Paul, Socrates was the best man who had ever lived--and I am a devout Christian saying this! HE WAS A MARTYR! HE DID NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE GREEKS OF HIS TIME BELIEVED AS REGARDS GOD! In sum, do not pay heed to what W.J. Knapp says; he is obviously ignorant about the TRUTH! And you, W.J. Knapp, call yourself a Baptist! Besides bashing Knapp's comment, I would like to say that this book is great; an excellent read, and it stimulates one's mind, challenging one to consider things anew. It is also a wonderful story about the most influential philosopher who died for what he belived in: the TRUTH! I hope that each one of you finds this book as enjoyable as I do each time I read it! God Bless!

The following is a reply to Eric's recent comment (January 20, 2005)

It seems as if Eric does not know what he is talking about, for his logic is both fallacious and implausible. Just because many male Greeks in that era had sex with young boys, this does not necessarily prove that Socrates did. Not everyone in that era had sex with young boys; now did they, Eric?! His argument would not be right even if, say, 999,999 male Greeks out of 1,000,000 did have sex with young boys. If anyone was the exception, it would be Socrates. Moreover, as a philosophy professor (who is knowledgable specifically in the ancient philosophy period), I have studied this man quite in depth, and his character and daimon would certainly proscribe such immoral conduct. For, even if it was not deemed heinous or immoral in that era, that does not mean that Socrates deemed it moral. Lastly, perhaps you have not read many of the Platonic dialogues, but in one of them Socrates even had a chance to sleep with the finest young boy in Greece (Alcibiades); but he refused! Socrates did not have sex with young boys. There are no questions! Let us hope that this argument has eliminated any difficulties you, or anyone else for that matter, are struggling with. All in all, the book is wonderful, and I recommend it to anyone, even if he thinks Socrates did have sex with young boys!

great book.......2004-08-17

The only "sad case" is for the critic below, who while being an independant baptist minister, is so blinded by his prejudice as to ingore the universal truths in this book. The archetypal death of a martyr is described here in all its glory. Great Book!

The Masterpiece of Plato.......1998-05-07

I wondered that why there isn't any church putting Jacque Louis-David's painting the Death of Socrates on the wall. If you hear the story of Socrates' sarcrifice, you would understand why this old man is worth of the worship from millions. Imagine you are in the situation of Socrates. Assume that you are a patriotic citizen of a country. For all the years of your life, you try to make your fellow citizen smart and do them goods by spending all your time making speeches on the streets, defending justice and teaching the students without any charges. Assume that you have annoyed the ruling class of this country and they prosecute you on the court for corrupting the youths of your country-they could not prove that though. Assume your fellow citizen vote and put you to death on the court for you are too poor to pay a satisfactory fine and reject to proclaiming justice in exchange for your release. Assume that your best friend asks you to escape from jail since it is unjust for you to accept this unreasonable condemnation, and he guarantees that all the financial problems would be taken care of and your friends who help you escape would not be suffered, so that you can live in the countries that you prefer and raise your children by yourselves. Is anybody there would refuse to escape? However, Socrates does. He launches three arugements. 1. We should never injury others on any circumstances. Escape from jail and breaks the laws is certainly an act that would put the Laws of Athens on the blink of destruction. 2. You should respect your country's command as if you respect your parents. Since a person's birth, his country provides the protections, regulates the supply of food and enriches him with education. Thus, a person shouls respect his country like or more than he respects his parents. 3. There is a contract between the government and the people. If a person does not like the Laws of a country, he can choose to leave it. If he chooses to stay, that means he signs the contract with government of not ! breaking the laws. If he does not break the laws, the government can't do anything on him. If he does, the government reserves the rights to punish him or even execute him.

This book comprises the last part of Socrates' life: Euthyphro, the cause of his accusation, The Apology ,his cross-interrogation at the court, Crito, his refusal to escape from jail, and Phaedo, his Sarcrifice. There are the most important chapters in Plato. The weight of Socrates' sarcrifice is like the cruxifiction of Christ; if he does not die, he is not the Messiah. So, if you don't have too much time to read the Complete Works of Plato, this book undoubtedly would be the best choice for you to understand Plato.

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Hadot's key

Rescuing philosophy

Rescuing philosophy

Not Philosophy

Brilliant look at the historicity of philosophy

Philosophy As a Way of Life: Spriritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault
Pierre Hadot
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
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Binding: Paperback

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<i>Meditations</i> of Marcus Aurelius The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

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ASIN: 0631180338

Book Description

Pierre Hadot is arguably one of the most influential and wide-ranging historians of ancient philosophy writing today. As well as having an important influence on the work of Michel Foucault, Hadot's work has been pivotal in the development of contemporary French philosophy. His work is currently concerned with a redefinition of modern philosophy through a study of ancient life and ancient philosophical texts. This book presents a history of spiritual exercises from Socrates to early Christianity, an account of their decline in modern philosophy, and a discussion of the different conceptions of philosophy that have accompanied the trajectory and fate of the theory and practice of spiritual exercises. Hadot's book demonstrates the extent to which philosophy has been, and still is, above all else a way of seeing and of being in the world.

Customer Reviews:

Hadot's key.......2004-03-30

This collection of Hadot's essays is readable and useful. Michael Chase's translation of Hadot's French is clear and elegant and completely unobtrusive. The introduction by Arnold I. Davidson--while longer than some of the essays in the book--is indespensible. Hadot provides a key to reading some ancient authors, and this key enables us to see their writings as a form of philosophical practice, as spirital exercises. Hadot offers practical advice on how to read the Stoics, for example. Try reading the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius after Hadot and be the richer for it. Hadot also illuminates and critiques some modern thinkers as well.

The book has an index, a good bibliography, and each essay includes numerous notes. There is also an interesting interview [by Michael Chase, the translator] with Hadot in the postscript.

Rescuing philosophy.......2002-09-19

This book is a great achievement. Hadot, a recognized scholar of classical philosophy, shows us what the classical philosophers were really after. Hadot shows that classical philosophy was primarily about teaching people how to live, and not about creating grandiose systems! This book will fascinate you. (No, I am not related.)

Rescuing philosophy.......2002-09-19

Not Philosophy.......2001-06-22

Although Hadot does know his stuff, me mostly talks about other people's view on philosophy. I found this book to be quite a tease. Hadot rairly gave a good description or analysis of ancient texts. I was always interested in philosophy, but this book did me no good exept lure me to read Plato: The Republic, which I had read before in college. Plato: The Republic gets to the heart of ancient philosophy by giving a great translation of the ancient Greek texts. Making it feel like you were there when Socrates and Thrasymachus engage in one of the greatest battles of intellect and reason. And their topic of interest; 'what is justice and injustice?' a question that is still debated. Even though these dialoges date back to 380 B.C., their reasoning can still be applied today.

Brilliant look at the historicity of philosophy.......2000-05-24

While I don't think that everyone should read this book in its entirety, I definitely think that some of the essays contained within this volume help readers and, more importantly, practitioners of philosophy to understand the historical context through which what we now consider philosophy emerged. I found the chapter on the figure of Socrates to be especially enlightening as it sketched a different way to read Plato's dialogues than we are currently accustomed. Philosophy is not a purely theoretical enterprise. I think, with the decline in the popularity of philosophy in recent years, that a book reminding us of the practical uses of philosphy can help us both in making philosophers leave the ivory tower that is all-too-often a place of refuge, and in making people aware of just how important philosophy can be, even to those who aren't accustomed to the theoretical rhetoric sometimes employed.

Dreams: A Study of the Dreams of Jung, Descartes, Socrates, and Other Historical Figures (C.G. Jung Foundation Book)

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Dreams: A Study of the Dreams of Jung, Descartes, Socrates, and Other Historical Figures (C.G. Jung Foundation Book)
Marie-Louise Von Franz
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1570620350
Release Date: 1998-02-03

Book Description

These collected essays by the distinguished psychoanalyst Marie-Louise von Franz offer fascinating insights into the study of dreams, not only psychologically, but also from historical, religious, and philosophical points of view. In the first two chapters, the author offers general explanations of the nature of dreams and their use in analysis. She examines how dreams can be used in the development of self-knowledge and describes how C. G. Jung worked with his own dreams, and the fateful ways in which they were entwined with the course of his life. The rest of the book records and interprets dreams of historical personages: Socrates, Descartes, Themistocles and Hannibal, and the mothers of Saint Augustine, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Dominic. Connections are revealed between the personal and family histories of the dreamers and individual and collective mores of their times. Dreams includes writings long out of print or never before available in English translation.

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