Description
Book SynopsisNearly twenty-five hundred years ago the Greek thinker Heraclitus supposedly uttered the cryptic words “Phusis kruptesthai philei.” How the aphorism, usually translated as “Nature loves to hide,” has haunted Western culture ever since is the subject of this engaging study by Pierre Hadot.
Trade ReviewThe Veil of Isis is profoundly original in design. Pierre Hadot is both an eminent historian of philosophy and a philosopher himself. Both sides of his interest are evident in this outstanding study, in which the argument develops historically and analytically. -- Brian Stock, Professor of History and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto
In
The Veil of Isis Pierre Hadot, an eminent authority on Neoplatonic philosophy, addresses the exploration of nature in Western thought across more than two millennia. His mastery of a wide range of literature, philosophy, iconography, and technology from antiquity to the present reveals unsuspected links of thought and image throughout the long process of uncovering the secrets of nature. In a brilliant finale Hadot brings the whole evolution into conjunction with the many-breasted Artemis of Ephesus, the Egyptian goddess Isis, and the Freemasons. The book is a dizzying tour de force that would be the envy of a modern Plotinus. -- G. W. Bowersock, author of
Mosaics as HistoryDecidedly, with this new book of a rare richness and clarity, about which he says he has been thinking for more than forty years, the philosopher... gives evidence of an tireless spirit of exploration. -- Roger-Pol Droit
Le Monde des LivresPierre Hadot's
The Veil of Isis is an extremely ambitious work, giving us an account of the evolution of man's attitude towards, and understanding of, nature from antiquity down to the present day. It is a very significant contribution to our understanding of this important topic-and it makes for good reading. -- Michael Frede, Professor Emeritus of the History of Philosophy, Keble College, Oxford
[Hadot] is an extraordinary guide to the history of the idea of nature from Heraclitus to now. You will find yourself in the company of a wise Greek, a pagan, a philosopher who believes that a role of philosophy is to teach us how to live. -- Ian Hacking * London Review of Books *
Again and again sparks fly as Hadot reveals the enduring fascination of nature's mystery. -- Tom D'Evelyn * Providence Journal *
This very learned book displays an enormous scholarship and yet is a fascinating read. -- Robert J. Dostal * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
[Hadot] has written a remarkably insightful book on the theme of the secrets of nature and their significance for the history of science and ideas about nature. First published in 2004 by Editions Gallimard, it is now available in English through Michael Chase’s adept and eloquent translation...Of particular interest to historians of science will be Hadot’s conception of the Promethean attitude and the mechanization of nature...Hadot’s analysis is significant for its focus on Nature as female both in reality and as metaphor during the Renaissance and early modern era...[W]hatever view the reader may hold of the rise of science or of the consequences of the Promethean attitude,
The Veil of Isis is a rewarding voyage through a multitude of texts, illustrations and historical figures that brings a set of complex and often contradictory ideas into a clear and compelling argument. -- Carolyn Merchant * British Journal for the History of Science *
Pierre Hadot, professor emeritus of the Collège de France, has written a remarkably insightful book on the theme of secrets of nature and their significance for the history of science and ideas about nature. First published in 2004 by Editions Gallimard, it is now available in English through Michael Chase’s adept and eloquent translation...Of particular interest to historians of science will be Hadot’s conception of the Promethean attitude and the mechanization of nature...
The Veil of Isis is a rewarding voyage through a multitude of texts, illustrations and historical figures that brings a set of complex and often contradictory ideas into a clear and compelling argument. -- Carolyn Merchant * British Journal for the History of Science *
Table of ContentsPreface Prologue at Ephesus: An Enigmatic Saying Part I: The Veil of Death 1. Heraclitus' Aphorism: "What Is Born Tends to Disappear" Part II: The Veil of Nature 2. From Phusis to Nature 3. Secrets of the Gods and Secrets of Nature Part III: "Nature Loves to Hide" 4. Heraclitus' Aphorism and Allegorical Exegesis 5. "Nature Loves to Wrap Herself Up": Mythical Forms and Corporeal Forms 6. Calypso, or "Imagination with the Flowing Veil" 7. The Genius of Paganism 8. The "Gods of Greece": Pagan Myths in a Christian World Part IV: Unveiling Nature's Secrets 9. Prometheus and Orpheus Part V: The Promethean Attitude: Unveiling Secrets through Technology 10. Mechanics and Magic from Antiquity to the Renaissance 11. Experimental Science and the Mechanization of Nature 12. Criticism of the Promethean Attitude Part VI: The Orphic Attitude: Unveiling Secrets through Discourse, Poetry, and Art 13. Physics as a Conjectural Science 14. Truth as the Daughter of Time 15. The Study of Nature as a Spiritual Exercise 16. Nature's Behavior: Thrifty, Joyful, or Spendthrift? 17. The Poetic Model 18. Aesthetic Perception and the Genesis of Forms Part VII: The Veil of Isis 19. Artemis and Isis Part VIII: From the Secret of Nature to the Mystery of Existence: Terror and Wonder 20. Isis Has No Veils 21. The Sacred Shudder 22. Nature as Sphinx 23. From the Secret of Nature to the Mystery of Being Conclusion Notes Index
