Time, Creation and the Continuum: Theories in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
Richard Sorabji here takes time as his central theme, exploring
fundamental questions about its nature: Is it real or an aspect of
consciousness? Did it begin along with the universe? Can anything
escape from it? Does it come in atomic chunks? In addressing these
and myriad other issues, Sorabji engages in an illuminating
discussion of early thought about time, ranging from Plato and
Aristotle to Islamic, Christian, and Jewish medieval thinkers.
Sorabji argues that the thought of these often negelected
philosophers about the subject is, in many cases, more complete
than that of their more recent counterparts.
"Splendid. . . . The canvas is vast, the picture animated, the
painter nonpareil. . . . Sorabji's work will encourage more
adventurers to follow him to this fascinating new-found
land."--Jonathan Barnes, "Times Literary Supplement
""One of the most important works in the history of
metaphysics to appear in English for a considerable time. No one
concerned with the problems with which it deals either as a
historian of ideas or as a philosopher can afford to neglect
it."--Donald MacKinnon, "Scottish Journal of
Theology"
"Unusually readable for such scholarly content, the book
provides in rich and cogent terms a lively and well-balanced
discussion of matters of concern to a wide academic
audience."--"Choice
Richard Sorabji is emeritus professor of philosophy at King's College, London, and fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He is the author of "Aristotle on Memory"; "Necessity, Cause and Blame"; "Matter, Space, and Motion"; "Animal Minds and Human Morals"; "Emotion and Peace of Mind," and "Self: Ancient and Modern Insights about Individuality, Life, and Death." He is also general editor of seventy volumes to date of "The Ancient Commentators on Aristotle," and coeditor of "The Ethics of War: Shared Problems in Different Traditions."
