Tragedy, the Greeks and Us

Review Engaging and thought-provoking without too much abstraction and with just enough detail to add flavour ... It has something of the chatty vigour of a successful seminar discussion ... infectiously enthusiastic ... . There issomething genuinely invigorating about Critchley's eager open-mindedness, his willingness to step back from modernity to the ancient world and from philosophy to literature -- Emily Wilson ― New StatesmanSimon Critchley beguiles as he illuminates -- David MitchellThoughtful, fascinating ― New Yorker Product Description We might think we are through with the past, but the past isn't through with us. Tragedy permits us to come face to face with the things we don't want to know about ourselves, but which still make us who we are. It articulates the conflicts and contradictions that we need to address in order to better understand the world we live in.A work honed from a decade's teaching at the New School, where 'Critchley on Tragedy' is one of the most popular courses, Tragedy, the Greeks and Us is a compelling examination of the history of tragedy. Simon Critchley demolishes our common misconceptions about the poets, dramatists and philosophers of Ancient Greece - then presents these writers to us in an unfamiliar and original light. Book Description A provocative and timely exploration into tragedy from the curator of The New York Times philosophy column About the Author Simon Critchley has published books on a wide expanse of ethical and philosophical subjects, including the bestselling The Book of Dead Philosophers, his cult novel Memory Theatre and his memoir-analysis of David Bowie - On Bowie (for Serpents Tail). He is Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, and series moderator of 'The Stone', a philosophy column in The New York Times. He comes from a Liverpool family and watches his team, devotedly, each weekend, 3306 miles away from Anfield.