Before and After Socrates by F. M. Cornford

ISBN: 9780521091138

Cambridge University Press | 3 January 1932

Paperback | 124 pages

In Before and After Socrates, F. M. Cornford explains why the life and work of Socrates stand out as marking a turning‑point in the history of thought. He shows how Socrates revolutionized the concept of philosophy, shifting it from the study of Nature to the study of the human soul, the meaning of right and wrong, and the ends for which we ought to live. This narrative covers the creative period of Greek philosophy — from the Ionian science of early thinkers before Socrates, through Socrates himself, and then to his chief followers, Plato and Aristotle — and illustrates how within three centuries the Greek intellectual tradition grew to maturity and profound philosophical influence.