Description
Book SynopsisQuestions the idealization of ancient Athens as the source of philosophy and democracy by placing the origins instead in Ionia, a set of Greek colonies located in present-day Turkey.
Trade Review"A work of historical importance, this book should be read by all who are interested in the innumerable conflicts that beset the contemporary world. Essential." -- J. A. Fischel * Choice *
"Karatani’s
Isonomia and the Origins of Philosophy is a deceptively complex work that offers numerous transdisciplinary insights for the philosophically initiated and uninitiated alike. And while its true value may be its intellectual historical angle – namely, its fascinating re-presentation of the history of Greek philosophy –
Isonomia is a very worthwhile part of Karatani’s broader effort to offer readers an illuminating systematic perspective from which to view our contemporary political and philosophical situation." -- Brendan Harvey * Marx & Philosophy Review of Books *
Table of ContentsTranslator's Note vii
Map viii
Author's Preface to the Japanese Edition ix
Introduction
Universal Religion 1
Ethical Prophets 5
Exemplary Prophets 7
1. Ionian Society and Thought
Athens and Ionia 11
Isonomia and Democracy 14
Athenian Democracy 17
State and Democracy 20
Colonization and Isonomia 22
Iceland and North America 26
Isonomia and Council 31
2, The Background of Ionian Natural Philosophy
Natural Philosophy and Ethics 35
Hippocrates 39
Herodotus 42
Homer 46
Hesiod 51
3. The Essential Points of Ionian Natural Philosophy
The Critique of Religion 56
Self-Moving Matter 58
Poiesis and Becoming 62
4. Post-Ionian Thought
Pythagoras 68
Heraclitus 80
Parmenides 87
Post-Eliatics 96
5. Socrates and Empire
The Athenian Empire and Democracy 103
Sophists and Rule by Rhetoric 107
The Trial of Socrates 110
The Riddle of Socrates 114
Daimon 118
The Socratic Method 121
Plato and Pythagoras 125
The Philosopher-King 127
Isonomia and the Philosopher-King 130
Appendix. From
Structure of World History to
Isonomia and the Origins of Philosophy 135
Timeline of the Ancient World 141
Notes 143
Bibliography 155
Index 159
