The Philosophy of A.W.H. Adkins: “Virtue” and “Goodness” in Ancient Greece

Michael Boylan · Arthur Adkins

Jan 2022 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this eBook

The fundamental issues that structure social and political philosophy revolve around the tensions between cooperative (ethical) values and competitive (self-interested) values. This book presents an in-depth examination of how society reacts to these as they move forward in the ancient Greek world. This model uses a methodology that is universal and can be applied to cultures at various historical epochs. The book advocates a “bottom-up” approach that employs a Wittgenstein-style methodology that is exactly detailed as it examines social usage as a sign of what is valued. These tensions are a part of every society that ever existed, and so these discussions are not only relevant from a historical perspective, but also speak to us today.

About the author

Michael Boylan, PhD, is an internationally recognized figure in philosophy who has written 24 books in philosophy, along with 135 published essays. He has been an invited speaker at some of the most prestigious universities in 15 countries on five continents. He has also been a part of national policy committees in the USA and a participant in national think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress. He has also been a part of an international public health initiative in South America. His publications include the books Natural Human Rights: A Theory, The Origins of Ancient Greek Science: Blood—A Philosophical Study, and Fictive Narrative Philosophy: How Fiction can Act as Philosophy.

Arthur Adkins, DPhil, is an internationally recognized figure in the analysis of Ancient Greek values. His work has been enormously influential since the publication of his book Merit and Responsibility (1960). He created a critical evaluation of linguistic usage that is based upon extant texts, largely literary and philosophical.