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paulataua's review against another edition
3.0
I really respect Simon Critchley. I appreciate his work in the area of the philosophies of Heidegger and Levinas. I expected a lot and was excited by a glimpse of some central claim here about the possibility of a different approach to philosophy that reflects the moral ambiguity of tragedy. Sadly, I felt it never really delved deep enough into that possibility and the whole book remained a rambling introduction that covered a lot of area but did so only superficially.
zachhois's review against another edition
challenging
informative
3.0
This book is an absolute wealth of knowledge. Deep dive into Greek tragedies with hundreds of explicit references to reinforce his points. This factor was so enlightening to me, especially in reference to different interpretations of Socrates or Aristotle. I similarly enjoyed the references to philosophical GOATs Hegel, Nietzsche, Kant (ick but W). Incredibly smart dude. Also a bit of a mind F at times 😂 but it was perfect for my Greek itch atm
thombeckett's review against another edition
4.0
Critchley mentions in this epilogue that despite not being a classicist, he has an interest in ancient Greek theatre. This book is primarily a work of a philosopher, however. It looks at theatre ("the spectacle of politics looking at itself") from the perspective of Plato and Aristotle, but with multiple other views thrown in.
Plato chooses to reject theatre from his Republic, but Aristotle's Poetics goes into some detail on what theatre is, what effect it's supposed to have and its value.
Critchley takes all of these various perspectives and creates a work that skirts the ground between a full academic work and pop philosophy. It's entirely accessible, regardless of your knowledge of classics or philosophy, but Critchley doesn't shy away from pulling in views from Hegel or Nietzsche.
Each chapter explores an element of Greek theatre and each is challenging and provoking. It's probably not a great introduction to classics or Greek theatre but it's a great read.
Plato chooses to reject theatre from his Republic, but Aristotle's Poetics goes into some detail on what theatre is, what effect it's supposed to have and its value.
Critchley takes all of these various perspectives and creates a work that skirts the ground between a full academic work and pop philosophy. It's entirely accessible, regardless of your knowledge of classics or philosophy, but Critchley doesn't shy away from pulling in views from Hegel or Nietzsche.
Each chapter explores an element of Greek theatre and each is challenging and provoking. It's probably not a great introduction to classics or Greek theatre but it's a great read.
kyltra's review
4.0
Though criticised for being too general with Greek tragedy, there are some great, thought-provoking chapters in here, as well as allusions to other philosophers and writers, that have accompanied my thinking of tragedy and story over the past few months.
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