Categories: Anthologies (non-poetry) Western Philosophy: Ancient, To C 500 Philosophy: Metaphysics & Ontology


The Metaphysics - Penguin Classics
Aristotle, H. C. Lawson-Tancred
Paperback (29 Oct 1998)


Publishers Synopsis

Aristotles probing inquiry into some of the fundamental problems of philosophy, The Metaphysics is one of the classical Greek foundation stones of Western thought, translated from the with an introduction by Hugh Lawson-Tancred in Penguin Classics.

Metaphysics presents Aristotles mature rejection of both the Platonic theory that what we perceive is just a pale reflection of reality and the hard-headed view that all processes are ultimately material. He argued instead that the reality or substance of things lies in their concrete forms, and in so doing he probed some of the deepest questions of philosophy: What is existence? How is change possible? And are there certain things that must exist for anything else to exist at all? The seminal notions discussed in The Metaphysics - of substance and associated concepts of matter and form, essence and accident, potentiality and actuality - have had a profound and enduring influence, and laid the foundations for one of the central branches of Western philosophy.

Hugh Lawson-Tancreds lucid translation is accompanied by a stimulating introduction in which he highlights the central themes of one of philosophys supreme masterpieces.

Aristotle (384-22 BC) studied at the Academy of Plato for 20 years and then established his own school and research institute, The Lyceum. His writings, which were of extraordinary range, profoundly affected the whole course of ancient and medieval philosophy and are still eagerly studied and debated by philosophers today.

If you enjoyed The Metaphysics, you might like Aristotles The Nicomachean Ethics, also available in Penguin Classics.


Book information

ISBN: 9780140446197
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Pub date: 29 Oct 1998
DEWEY: 110
DEWEY edition: 21
Language: English
Number of pages: 459
Weight: 364g
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Spine width: 22mm