Deaths of Famous Philosophers
An Imaginative History of Ancient Greek Philosophy
- Philosophy
- Publisher: Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2024
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Publisher's Description
Deaths of Famous Philosophers is inspired by Diogenes Laertius's Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, a third-century CE anthology of biographical sketches of Greek philosophers. Each of its twenty-three chapters is a fictionalized depiction of the protagonists when they are near death and are taking stock of their lives. Written in contemporary vernacular, Deaths of Famous Philosophers will offer an overview of Greek philosophy--from Thales to Epicurus--in an engaging, sometimes humorous, but always instructive manner. While its stories will be enjoyable, its characters faithfully represent the philosophical positions their historical correlates actually held. The Ancient Greeks understood philosophy to be more than abstract theorizing or puzzle solving. For them, it had to be a way of life. Deaths of Famous Philosophers reflects this principle by bringing the philosophers back to life in fictional form. It is clearly written and accessible to general readers and students as well of interest to scholars.
Endorsements (4)
“This book provocatively toes the line between philosophy and fiction, not so much inviting but forcing us to reconsider the difference. Profound and silly, scholarly and untamed, it stands as a fierce and playful hybrid—a literary Minotaur. With inviable acumen and eloquence, Roochnik has given us a book as wonderful and as strange as anything Diogenes Laertius ever wrote and has challenged us to rethink the lives behind the ideas that founded Western philosophy.”
“There is something here for everyone—from those exploring classical Greek philosophy for the first time to experts who want a fresh perspective on familiar material. Roochnik treats well-known and lesser-known figures, even providing an imaginative window onto the lives and minds of women barely mentioned in ancient sources. Each vignette can stand alone, but they also speak to one another and form something of a narrative arc. Roochnik draws us in with wit, expertise, poignancy, and imagination.”
“Captivating, witty, and bursting with illuminating insights, David Roochnik’s Deaths of Famous Philosophers brings ancient Greek philosophy to life by blending scholarly erudition and creative writing. Whether treading familiar ground or encountering the great Greek philosophers for the first time, readers have much to learn from this enjoyable and thought-provoking work.”
“Deaths of Famous Philosophers informs while it entertains, weaving together the doctrines of ancient Greece’s most renowned thinkers with the quirky, often ribald accounts of their lives and deaths.”
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