The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization - Paperback
$25.00
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"A sweeping intellectual history viewed through two ancient Greek lenses . . . breezy and enthusiastic but resting on a sturdy rock of research."--Kirkus Reviews "Examining mathematics, politics, theology, and architecture, the book demonstrates the continuing relevance of the ancient world."--Publishers Weekly
"A fabulous way to understand over two millennia of history, all in one book."--Library Journal
"Entertaining and often illuminating."--The Wall Street Journal
The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization - Paperback
$25.00
by Arthur Herman (Author)
The definitive sequel to New York Times bestseller How the Scots Invented the Modern World is a magisterial account of how the two greatest thinkers of the ancient world, Plato and Aristotle, laid the foundations of Western culture--and how their rivalry shaped the essential features of our culture down to the present day.
Plato came from a wealthy, connected Athenian family and lived a comfortable upper-class lifestyle until he met an odd little man named Socrates, who showed him a new world of ideas and ideals. Socrates taught Plato that a man must use reason to attain wisdom, and that the life of a lover of wisdom, a philosopher, was the pinnacle of achievement. Plato dedicated himself to living that ideal and went on to create a school, his famed Academy, to teach others the path to enlightenment through contemplation.
"A sweeping intellectual history viewed through two ancient Greek lenses . . . breezy and enthusiastic but resting on a sturdy rock of research."--Kirkus Reviews "Examining mathematics, politics, theology, and architecture, the book demonstrates the continuing relevance of the ancient world."--Publishers Weekly
"A fabulous way to understand over two millennia of history, all in one book."--Library Journal
"Entertaining and often illuminating."--The Wall Street Journal
Author Biography
Arthur Herman is the bestselling author of Freedom's Forge, How the Scots Invented the Modern World, The Idea of Decline in Western History, To Rule the Waves, and Gandhi & Churchill, which was a 2009 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Dr. Herman taught the Western Heritage Program at the Smithsonian's Campus on the Mall, and he has been a professor of history at Georgetown University, The Catholic University of America, George Mason University, and The University of the South at Sewanee.
Number of Pages: 704
Dimensions: 1.6 x 8 x 5.5 IN
Illustrated: Yes
Publication Date: June 03, 2014
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