The Greek Imaginary
From Homer to Heraclitus, Seminars 1982-1983
Cornelius Castoriadis
Translated by John Garner, María-Constanza Garrido Sierralta
- Includes renowned scholar Pierre Vidal-Naquet’s essay, "’Castoriadis and Ancient Greece’" (1999), which provides an introduction and memorial to Castoriadis’s research
- Includes Castoriadis’s previously untranslated, substantive essay, "’Political Thought’" (1979), which presages many of the key themes in the seminars
- Includes Castoriadis’s thematic reports on his teaching in the 1980-1984 seminars
- Includes an "Editors’ Introduction" plus extensive editorial commentary on the seminars and an Analytic Table of Contents provided by the academic editor of the French edition of the volume (from 2004)
- Includes a "Foreword" by the translator, which highlights key terms in the seminars
This book collects 12 previously untranslated lectures by Castoriadis from 1982 to 1983. Castoriadis focuses on the interconnection between philosophy and democracy and the way both emerge within a self-critical imaginary already in development in the work of early Greek poets and Presocratic philosophers.
Displaying both mastery of the relevant scholarship and original interpretation, he reveals the birth of a society that would place its highest value in calling itself and its institutions into question. He argues that this spirit would develop directly into the twin signatures of the Greek world, namely radical philosophy, on the one hand, and radical democratic practices, on the other.
Like no previous interpreter, Castoriadis allows us to feel the existential need, already present in the earliest Greek thinkers, to question the significance of human existence and to share in shaping its meaning. The Greeks not only did this, he argues, they also began the equally important work of establishing the institutions to support such a project.
Foreword to the English Translation by John V. Garner (2022)
Editors’ Introduction by Enrique Escobar, Myrto Gondicas, and Pascal Vernay (2004)
translated by María-Constanza Garrido Sierralta
Seminars 1982-1983 by Cornelius Castoriadis, translated by John V. Garner
I. Seminar from November 10, 1982
II. Seminar from November 17, 1982
III. Seminar from November 24, 1982
IV. Seminar from December 1, 1982
V. Seminar from December 15, 1982
VI. Seminar from January 5, 1983
VII. Seminar from January 12, 1983
VIII. Seminar from January 26, 1983
IX. Seminar from February 2, 1983 (lost)
X. Seminar from February 16, 1983
XI. Seminar from February 23, 1983
XII. Seminar from March 2, 1983
XIII. Seminar from March 9, 1983
Supplemental Materials (1979-1999) translated by María-Constanza Garrido Sierralta
Appendix A: Reports on Teaching by Cornelius Castoriadis (1980-82 and 1982-84)
Appendix B: Political Thinking by Cornelius Castoriadis (1979)
Appendix C: Castoriadis and Ancient Greece by Pierre Vidal-Naquet (1999)
Index of Key Terms
As with any philosophical piece, the translation of philosophical thought is a difficult endeavor. This translation seems to be complete; nothing having been omitted from the content of the original book. The terms used are accurate, and depict the true meaning of the original work, meaning there is consistency in the terminology, while the readability of the chapters remains intact, and the reader’s experience in reading the piece can be considered to have a natural flow, similar to the experience of a reader of the original piece.
Certainly, in this book we gain much to reflect on and to take further in our search for philosophy and thinking that might constitute a better humanity.[...] one would certainly find this book to be a ‘great work of thinking’.
The Greek Imaginary: From Homer to Heraclitus, Seminars 1982-1983 will certainly be of interest for those without French interested in this aspect of Castoriadis’ work. [...] The book’s formatting is convenient, and the typography is pleasing to eye. [...] I do find Castoriadis’ vision of Greece generally compelling and attractive. It will no doubt help orient some of us who are making our own sea-voyages on that vast and wonderous expanse.
These seminars showcase Castoriadis as a captivating and extremely learned interlocutor with a distinctive and original interpretation of what makes Greece.
Castoriadis’ insightful and provocative analysis of ancient Greek poetry, history, mythology, and philosophy seeks to elucidate the creation of the two main "social imaginary significations": democracy and philosophy as inseparable yet mutually presupposing each other. The book is indispensable for the understanding of the relevance of ancient philosophy for contemporary democratic practice.
