My new book about Acheloios and Thales should be available soon. Not many people realize that philosophy (traditionally understood) and coinage emerged in nearly the same place at the same time, and that the two enterprises share an intimate bond--according to some commentators (not me), coinage literally caused philosophy. If you are interested in the intersection of philosophy and numismatics you'll love this book, I guarantee it! I'll post links when it is available!
Sounds fascinating, but likely way beyond my ability to comprehend. Is there a difference between a Marxian and a Marxist?
Congratulations Nicholas! I am curious to have a look once it's out. I haven't heard much about these proposed links between coinage and philosophy.
Congratulations -- this sounds fascinating! Whatever the relationship between coinage and philosophy (or absence of relationship), I'm looking forward to seeing what you send others have said about it. As a collector it is easy to get lost in the coins themselves, so I'm always grateful for any discussion that reminds me of and makes me think about the broader material and ideological context.
Not really, though I usually use Marxist in the political sense and Marxian in the philosophical sense.
This sounds very intriguing as I'm currently reading Matt Ridley's The Rational Optimist - How Prosperity Evolves. In short, Ridley puts forward, very convincingly, that free trade and the benefits of commerce, technology, and innovation actually fueled philosophy and moral theory, etc. He analyzes a great deal of ancient economic history and shows how commerce was not just an element of cultural evolution but the very foundation of it. Unfortunately Ridley does not deal with money in any great depth, other than to say that it was a critical invention in the history of commerce (as we all know) because it greased the wheels of trade. I'll be very interested in reading this new book.
I’ll post the preview to my academia page soon where folks can see the abstract, contents, and essentials of the argument.
Sounds like an interesting book. Does this also pertain to the Hellenistic period, or is it mainly before?
The argument concerns the origin of philosophy and coinage, 7th to 6th century BC, but to understand Thales there were many later thinkers I studied, a few of them Hellenistic (especially Aristotle and Theophrastus). If you mean Hellenistic coinage, no, I do not discuss Hellenistic coinage in its relation to the philosophical movements of the time.
Hello friends, The sampler is here, which includes an abstract, TOC, introduction (covering the entire argument) and bibliography: https://www.academia.edu/77177755/A..._of_Philosophy_A_Response_to_the_Neo_Marxians Thanks for your interest. Nick
I appreciate your support. I wish I could give them away but unfortunately the publisher wouldn’t like that
I ordered about 50 presentation copies and I may have some left over at a discounted rate that I'd make available here and at Forvm, but I won't know until I've finalized my list. The sticker price is 60 GBP for hardcover. I don't pay that and I can pass savings on to those who are really interested. But I have to make sure I have enough, first.
Hi Nick, I'm interested in buying one of your copies at a discounted rate. Should I message you directly?
I won’t know for certain if I have extra for a couple week when I have a chance to go through everything—but yes PM and I’ll reserve one for you.
The book is now available! https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270869 US customers I may have a few extra copies at a slightly discounted rate--PM if interested. Nick
Books have arrived. I will have about 20 extra. $50 shipped (retail is $75 not including shipping). PM to order.
Hello Friends, I have about 10 copies of my new book about Acheloios and Thales left—yours at a discounted price of $50 shipped (US only). If you like philosophy, classics, and numismatics, I promise you will love it. Details about the book here: https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270869 Nick