From Religion to Philosophy

Francis Macdonald Cornford was an early 20th century English classical scholar and poet. From Religion to Philosophy: A Study in the Origins of Western Speculation (1912) sought out the deep religious and social categories and concepts that encompassed the achievements of the early Greek philosophers. He returned to this theme in Principium Sapientiae: The Origins of Greek Philosophical Thought. Comford combines in depth classical scholarship with anthropological and sociological insights into the mythic precursors of metaphysical concepts. Topics included are destiny, God, the soul, substance, nature, and immortality.