This book presents us a collection of essays on Aristotle and Plato, having no particular thematic unity. Two immediate questions arise: Why is it relevant to publish a book on Aristotle and Plato in 2014? Does such a book only interest scholars, particularly ancient philosophy scholars, or is it able to grasp a more general audience?

In his Introduction, Aryeh Kosman (John Whitehead Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus at Haverford College/ US), states that what all essays have in common is the intent of exploring “modes of human thought” (p.1). Though to start with, it may seem an abstract goal, he continues, highlighting the importance of reading Aristotle and Plato in order to understand Descartes’ ‘cogito’, Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, or to clarify the puzzling concept of ‘consciousness’ — and much more, I would add. Ancient philosophy is actually the key to understand contemporary philosophy and if anyone who attempts to do a serious study on contemporary philosophy knows this, Kosman’s essays for sure confirm it. Husserl, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Sartre, Ricoeur, and Deleuze, frequently come to mind. Particularly Husserl’s phenomenology (and also Heidegger), have unequivocally set his roots on ancient philosophy and reading Kosman’s essays, that explore in detail Aristotle and Plato’s works and concepts, become that very clear (though they’re seldom referred to).

         In that sense, Kosman’s book is relevant, not only for those who take interest in ancient philosophy, but also, for those who take interest in understanding the roots of most contemporary philosophy. Therefore, the first question we posed, finds its answer: a book featuring essays on Plato and Aristotle is significant in 2014 and to scholars in general. All the more so, because it is a very good book. 

         The book features a total of fifteen essays, eight of them on Aristotle and the others, either on Plato or on particular concepts. Still, on each of the essays, a reference both on Aristotle and Plato always ends up taking place, in order to compare them or deepen the interpretation. Though it is so, in my view, Kosman is at its best when he works on Aristotle and Aristotle is hard to read, “his prose is elliptical and cramped, and it requires patience and perseverance to see clearly the ultimate sanity of his generous and open naturalism”. (p.4) But when Kosman approaches him, Aristotle’s thinking comes across as clear as water. And that for sure is the result of a lot of work and perseverance on Kosman’s behalf. Not only that (and that also shines through) his writing is very clear and simple, without never selling the subject short, becoming clear that many years of teaching experience are behind it. The pace is very coherent and extremely pedagogical without sounding condescending. It is clear that many years of enthusiastic research are behind each essay and that constitutes a very significant aspect contributing to make us feel also enthusiastic, heightening our attention and ability to grasp what is at stake.

         Briefly outlined, Chapters 1, 5, 7 and 8, focus on the meaning of scientific understanding (‘epistemé’, ‘nous’, ‘archai’), being particularly useful for those who question the possibility of a Baconian realist science or, for example, to better understand on which grounds Husserl questions the understanding of science of his time (that is still our time). Chapters 2 and 12 focus particularly on Plato, the first one on love (Symposium) and the second one on the role of temperance, in order to understand the motto “Know yourself”, creating a bridge between self-knowledge and self-control, being Kosman’s best approach on Plato of the book. Chapters 3, 13 and 14, deal with translation and interpretation issues and why they are highly relevant not only philologically but also philosophically, awakening our critical spirit, constituting a real treat, even for those who tend to consider these to be ancient philosophy scholar-only relevant issues. Chapters 6, 9 and 11 are on ‘mimesis’ and ‘praxis’ (reflecting also on “what is an image”); consciousness and awareness and; gender related issues, useful for those who take interest on gender studies and are looking for more information on Aristotle’s perspective. Chapters 4, 10 and 15, approach Aristotle’s ethics: ‘praxis’ (action) and ‘pathos’ (passion); the importance of virtue for moral philosophy theories; and the virtues of thought, on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics that reminds of the benefits and joys of thinking.

         Kosman’s approach, and writing, bring ancient philosophy alive, making its themes and concepts, timeless. He his aware of the hardships of reading Plato and Aristotle and ploughs through successfully, open-mindedly and not hiding the difficulties but instead pointing at them and facing them head on, discussing interpretations of other scholars and translation issues. Each essay can be used to be given to students, at any level, so they can grasp the main implications of a certain theme or concept better. His essays are not only relevant to continue to keep ancient philosophy accessible and alive (both to a scholarly audience and to the general public — and this definitely answers to our second initial question), as they confirm the significance of its’ themes to contemporary philosophy. I could not, therefore, recommend it enough, considering it a breath of fresh air that does remind us of the benefits and joys of thinking.

© 2014 Diana Soeiro

Diana Soeiro. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Philosophy at NOVA Institute of Philosophy /IFILNOVA at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal). Updated information: www.linkedin.com/in/DianaSoeiro