Divination and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Intuition in Classical Antiquity

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Divination and Human Nature casts a new perspective on the rich tradition of ancient divination--the reading of divine signs in oracles, omens, and dreams. Popular attitudes during classical antiquity saw these readings as signs from the gods while modern scholars have treated such beliefs as primitive superstitions. In this book, Peter Struck reve

Reviews

"The core of this beautifully researched and lucidly argued book is a study of the most important and influential philosophical analyses of divination from the ancient world."--Brad Inwood, Times Literary Supplement "An absorbing work of intellectual history, demonstrating a confident command of the philological and philosophical issues, and lucidly exploring Greek philosophical engagement with the epistemological and theological puzzles presented by divination. The book offers a fresh approach to the topic of divination by juxtaposing it with ancient and modern theories of cognition, and by moving past the debate over the (ir)rationality of the practice... I hope that this excellent study will stimulate further research into such questions."--Jennifer Larson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Author Bio

Peter T. Struck is the Evan C. Thompson Term Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Birth of the Symbol: Ancient Readers at the Limits of Their Texts (Princeton).