The philosopher : a history in six types

287 Pages·2016·9.071 MB·English

by  Smith, Justin E H;

THE
PHILOSOPHER

THE
PHILOSOPHER
A HISTORY IN SIX TYPES
JUSTIN E. H. SMI TH
Princeton University Press
Princeton and oxford
Copyright © 2016 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
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press.princeton.edu
Jacket art, from the top: Fig. 1: Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of
Newcastle. Print Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art,
Prints, and Photographs. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and
Tilden Foundations, Fig. 2. Buddha Sakyamuni, courtesy of Carlton
Rochell, Fig. 3. The Death of Socrates, 1787, oil on canvas, by Jacques-Louis
David, Fig. 4. Baruch de Spinoza, oil painting, c. 1665; in the Herzog-
August Bibliothek, Wolfenbuttel, Fig. 5. Portrait of a Chinese Mandarin, oil
on canvas, c. 1825–1852, by George Chinnery. Bequeathed by Claude D.
Rotch, Fig. 6. The Money Changer and his Wife, 1539, oil on panel, by
Marinus van Reymerswaele, Museo del Prado, Madrid
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Smith, Justin E. H.
Title: The philosopher : a history in six types / Justin E. H. Smith.
Description: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 2016. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015034074 |
ISBN 978-0-691-16327-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Philosophy. | Philosophers.
Classification: LCC BD21 .S57 2016 | DDC 100—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015034074
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Linux Libertine O
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
•
This book is dedicated to the memory of
BUd Korg (1938– 2015)

Now he who wonders and is perplexed feels that he
is ignorant (thus the myth- lover is in a sense a phi-
losopher, since myths are composed of wonders).
— aristotle, Metaphysics, BooK i
Let the fish philosophise the ice away from the Riv-
ers in winter time.
— John Keats, Letters (1819)
. . . these unwholsome vapours, that distempered
the Aer, to the very raising of Storms and tempests;
upon which a Philosopher might amply discourse.
— John evelyn,
Fumifugium; or, the Inconveniencie of the Aer
and Smoak of London Dissipated (1661)

contents
Acknowledgments xi
introdUction 1
1 singUlar things and timeless trUths
Featuring the Curiosa 21
2 PhilosoPhy and PhilosoPhia
Featuring the Sage 54
3 inside and oUt
Featuring the Gadfly 120
4 Body and soUl
Featuring the Ascetic 159
5 moUntains and valleys
Featuring the Mandarin 190
6 money and love
Featuring the Courtier 223
conclUsion 237
Notes 241
Bibliography 253
Index 263