The Greeks and the Irrational: Amazon.ca: E. R. Dodds: Books

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An event in modern Greek scholarship . . . thoughtful, well- documented, and beautifully written. -- Classical Outlook

An exciting and fundamental subject . . . illuminated by imaginative insight. . . . A book which it would be difficult to overpraise. -- Oxford Magazine

Book Description

In this philosophy classic, which was first published in 1951, E. R. Dodds takes on the traditional view of Greek culture as a triumph of rationalism. Using the analytical tools of modern anthropology and psychology, Dodds asks, "Why should we attribute to the ancient Greeks an immunity from 'primitive' modes of thought which we do not find in any society open to our direct observation?" Praised by reviewers as "an event in modern Greek scholarship" and "a book which it would be difficult to over-praise," The Greeks and the Irrational was Volume 25 of the Sather Classical Lectures series. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
SOME YEARS ago I was in the British Museum looking at the Parthenon sculptures when a young man came up to me and said with a worried air, "I know it's an awful thing to confess, but this Greek stuff doesn't move me one bit." Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

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4.7 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Stimulating, despite a questionable agenda, Dec 13 2003

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"mythologue" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greeks and the Irrational (Paperback)

It is not uncommon for major figures of Ancient Greek thought to be deemed 'rationalists', a word often tainted by modern science in its implications. E.R. Dodds' book is fairly difficult to gauge on this. On one hand, it reconsiders the 'rationalist overview' by tracing back various guises of irrationalism that permeated Greek culture - a belief in daimons, the conception of a useful mania, theurgy, astrology, mystery cults. Writing about these elements, Dodds surveys a wide variety of authors and themes and provides a lively compendium. On the other hand, his methodology has shortcomings. The reader soon realizes that the ambivalence of Greek thought between the power of reason and its limitations is not a virtue according to Dodds. This is a legitimate point of view, but it has important consequences on the book's agenda. It is unabashedly teleological: irruptions of irrationalism are usually seen as 'symptoms', as setbacks from Dodds' ideal of positivistic rationalism. This is emphasized by his characterization of 5th century BC as Greece's Aufklarung. The chapter on theurgy is equally representative: while it is well-researched and in-depth, it is also filled with simplifications (the equation 'theurgy = magic', frequent in 1950s and 1960s scolarship, is stated repeatedly) and shows little sympathy for either theurgy or its theorists; this section would color many subsequent studies on the spirituality of late Neoplatonism, until scholars such as H.-D. Saffrey (a pupil of Dodds) favored an approach which was more open-minded and receptive. In spite of this, Dodds' book remains extremely stimulating and should be read by all those who are fascinated by the blurred line between reason and what is out of its reach; but it should not be considered as the last word on its objects of study.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Greek Enlightenments, Feb 29 2004

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John C. Landon "nemonemini" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greeks and the Irrational (Paperback)

Surprised to see this old classic still in print, one can certainly recommend it, though with a list of debating points. Written in the Age of Freud the viewpoint is a trifle dated, yet not so, and wears well, despite the slight 'Greek on the couch' tone. It should not surprise us that the Age of Reason coursing through the Greeks should coexist with a great deal of Hyperborean tribal lore among some quite rude and saucy fellows, with their epic tales, animal sacrifices, Olympian divinities and iron weapons. Further, we overselect the 'Ionian Enlightenment' from a world far richer in content, one where Pythagoras sounds echoes of Indian religion, reincarnation was associated with the classic cultic mysteries, and the polytheism denatured by later monotheism flowered for the last time as the first version of the 'aesthetic state' so doted upon by Hegel, Wagner, and Nietzsche. The latter, after all, blames Euripides for 'rationalizing' the rich masterchords of the world of Greek tragedy. Dodds worries along with Gilbert Murray over this aspect of the Greek 'irrational' but we seldom realize that Indian culture and Greek culture in the Axial Age resembled each other more than we think.

But more than that, it is our own conception of rationality that might be at fault. After all, between the high Enlightenment, Kant and Hegel on reason in history, then the instrumental reason critiqued by Adorno, we have no good stable definition of what rationality we are talking about. Homer's nod! What is the boundary of the 'irrational'? In an age of scientism, that boundary is miscast, and the Greeks remain to be discovered as a people with a balance we may well have lost! Always a fascinating piece of work.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Those Crazy Greeks, Nov 5 2002

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Big Dave (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greeks and the Irrational (Paperback)

Dodds introduces his material with an anecdote of a young man he met in the British Museum who confessed his inability to get excited about the Elgin Marbles, because, after all, the Greeks were so "terribly rational." Dodds then poses the question, "[w]ere the Greeks in fact quite so blind to the importance of nonrational factors in man's experience and behaviour as is commonly assumed both by their apologists and by their critics?" In answering his own question (the answer is, of course, "no"), Dodds writes an interesting book.

Dodds's chapters (originally lectures) are roughly chronological and thematic, starting (as one must) with Homer's use of "ate" and working down through the increasing rationality of classical Greece to the Hellenistic Return to Irrationality. En route, he deals with perceived shamanistic influences, the notion of divine inspiration, the question of whether man has a soul, etc.

_The Greeks and the Irrational_ is great in itself and may have value, as Dodds indicates in his closing chapter, to moderns seeking to understand their own relationship with Irrationality. It is also enlightening background reading for any student of the classics generally, in particular providing useful commentary on Homer, Plato (lots on Plato) and the tragedians. Because each chapter was originally a lecture, Dodds' style is eloquent and also readable. Each chapter is buttressed with an impressive clump of endnotes (about a quarter of the book must be notes) for further research.

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Most recent customer reviews

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This book covers the importance of the irrational and primitive 'petri dish' of Greek culture that is of necessity. Read more

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Published in 1951 but still in print, this is one of those books that you read slowly, not because it's difficult, but because each sentence is so well-turned, and so larded with... Read more

Published on Jan 15 2002 by Douglas Harper