Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition (Clarendon Paperbacks)

An 'inclusive writing style' that adds just the right mix of 'purport' to the history of philosophical thought itself. Well done!!!

Live this type of book

Great background material

work to read but worth it

Exceptional piece of scholarship and a fascinating reading.

Peter Kingsley’s energies were certainly not wasted in producing this magnificent work on the enigmatic Empedocles. This studious reevaluation of Empedocles and ancient philosophical tradition introduces a new interpretation of Empedocles’ theory of elements through an astute philological analysis of his fragmentary works against such sources as, for example, the middle-Platonist Philo of Alexandria, Plutarch and Homer, to name a few. Also, Kingsley exposes modern academia’s tendency to too readily settle their case on Empedocles’ doctrines prima facia from the works of Aristotle. The alternative approach Kingsley implements seriously takes into account the validity of the neo-Platonic writers understanding of the philosophical traditions they inherited. The consequence of this is a general denial of the Aristotlelian critique on Empedoclean doctrine in favor of that of the neo-Platonic. Kingsley rather ingeniously suggests, on this basis, that what modern scholars call “neo-Platonism” is really in fact “proto-Platonism” and so claims that tradition reaches back, legitimately, to the world of the pre-Socratics, the very currents the fed the oceanic corpus of Plato. From this new approach to understanding Empedocles, not only do we discover a less enigmatic Empedocles but also a new perspective on the entire Greek philosophical tradition. Simply put, this book easily gets a five star rating as this work in truly original, creative, well-thought and well-written.

This book is important for several reasons. One of them is that Kingsley attempts to shake the ancient Greek scholarship by suggesting that Empedocles' Fragments need to be interpreted through language of the preclassical (~500 BC; ie, Empedocles') rather than classical (ie, Pericles) period. Here Kingsley is on firm ground, displaying an impressive familiarity with the Illiad and other preclassical literature. Bringing philology back on the map he continues the basic approach by Nietzsche and Heidegger.More importantly, PK brings philosophical inquiry into the domain of phenomenology of religion. if we wish to understand the presocratics we need primarily to understand their state of consciousness and their relationship to the spiritual sphere. While most classical scholars would argue that one can achieve such an understanding through deciphering the language, literature, history, art and economy of a society, the alternative view (championed by PK) is that attempts to explain Empedocles' philosophy in terms of ordinary social, political, etc. circumstance inevitably miss something that is not reducible to facts alone. It misses its essence, a foundation of Beingness where philosophy reflects the nature of human experience and its capacity to interact with the 'transpersonal' or numinous. A capacity that by no means is uniquely Greek.This is why classical scholarship addressing ancient (Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian etc) consciousness should not be entrusted to 'ordinary' scholarly nitpickers alone. The historian W. Brede once said: "When religion is the subject of our work, we grow religiously." Peter Kingsley is that rare scholar (an ex-Warburg fellow, no less) who appears to have been sucked into the ancient Pythagorean texts and magical practices they describe and emerged out of his studies a changed man.This book is a first step describing PKs beliefs about an inner meaning of Pythagoreanism (elegantly discussed in later books such as Reality) ...The book starts with a technical reinterpretation of the theory of 4 Elements ("the 4 Roots") for which Empedocles is mainly known; then continues with a critical evaluation of classical views of Empedocles; PK claims that Aristotle purposefully distorted E.s ideas whereas Plato actually appropriated many Pythagorean concepts following his visits to Pyth. communities in Southern Italy and Sicily. Appropriated and then pretended they were his own. To prove this, PK performs a detailed textual analysis of Phaedo.Egypt and ancient Greece shared a number of intellectual, philosophical and religious practices, from mathematics to the mysteries of death & rebirth (practiced in Eleusinian rituals) and the shamanic descent into the Underworld (seen in Orphic mysteries, Hermetic practices and 'funerary inscriptions' such as the Pyramid texts). Both Plato and Pythagoras spent a long time in Egypt and Empedocles, a direct heir of Pythagoras, would have been intimately aware of Egyptian religious beliefs. The circle was completed when Empedoclean texts returned to the Egyptian desert through Greek (gnostic, hermetic) communities living in the Egyptian desert. PK shows that certain Sufi texts from Egypt and even alchemical texts from the Middle Ages directly follow E.s writings and beliefs. There is a remarkable discussion of Pythagorean magic, initiatory rites, practice of 'incubation' and Orphic mysteries. The book is worth buying just for that third part."...I am a lover of learning, and trees and open country won't teach me anything, whereas men in the town do.", sez Socrates in Phaedrus, one of the most eloquent and lyrical dialogues by Plato. Kingsley's life work seems to be to show that the course our civilization took after Plato was in a sense a deviation, both from the Earth, the archetypal forces inhabiting it, and our own deepest nature. He argues a good case in this courageous work.

This is a very good book, solid scholarship, written before Kingley decided to market himself as a spiritual luminary. Essential for Parmenides.

This is a substantial book and deserves a substantial review. However, I don’t have the background to give such a review. I came to this book after reading Kinsgley’s ‘Reality’ and I’m writing this review for those in a similar position. This is an academic book and priced accordingly. Is it worth the time and expense for the ‘Reality’ reader?The books are written for two quite different audiences. My take on it is that ‘Reality’ is the book that Peter Kingsley has always wanted to write but before doing so he must put it on a strong academic foundation. ‘Reality’ has this but the academic side is largely hidden for the more direct message that Kinsgley wants to make. You won’t find any of ‘Reality’s directness in ‘Ancient Philosophy, Mystery and Magic’. What you will find though is a brilliant mind at work which takes us back through the centuries visiting puzzles, collecting clues and painting a vivid narrative of Empedocles and other Presocratics and Pythagorean culture in the Greek colonies of Sicily and the South of Italy two and a half millennia ago.En route he challenges the narrative of philosophical intellectualism that sees its seeds in the Presocratics shorn of the mythological, magical and ritual elements. It’s a narrative that begins with Aristotle and Kingsley sees this as a wilful distortion of Empedocles and his teachings and seeks to redress this.He also re-evaluates the role of Plato as an originator of myths and ideas and demonstrates how he was more of a transmitter of such. Some time is spent on his description of the Underworld in the Phaedo and Kingsley relates this to the geology and geography of Sicily and the surrounding area. The role of the Underworld is a key element in the spiritual journey of the initiate. Echoing Orpheus, Empedocles, Pythagoras and Parmenides also undertook such journeys with godhood being the intended outcome.Personally I found this a very rich book allowing me to feel a deeper connection with Empedocles and his significance – he is regarded as the Grand Sheikh in some Sufi orders. It’s a spiritual richness which lies at the heart of Western culture. There has been a long attempt to replace it with intellectualism but Kingsley’s work is a bold attempt at re-igniting it.If you’re a reader of ‘Reality’ then you are not going to find the same sort of material here. However, if you want to delve deeper into the background of the work and are okay with an academic read then this might be of interest.

Excellent

Combine Hercules and Sisyphus in one and you get a monumental but pointless labour. I ploughed through this book and read every footnote, always hoping to stumble across something that made the effort worthwhile. Alas, the engaging narrative promises much but delivers nothing. Two days after finishing this book, dismayed at its expense and disappointed by the content, I can remember nothing about it....Destined to gather dust in a classicist's library, I fear.