Because it is considered the foundations for most of our current culture and philosophy, we have been studying Greek philosophy for literally centuries. It is therefore to see this book come out with a somewhat different view of what the earlier Greek philosophers meant by the word phusis means.

Usually translated as nature, the author has come to the concusiion that the ancient philosophes used the word to mean 'origin, process and result.'

The author is clearly an expert on the ancient or classical Greek language, including some very obscure details of the grammer. He has used these to make his own translations of some of the earliest philosophical works. The differences in his translations are subtle, but they impact the meanings some of the earliest philosphers : Anazimander, Zenophanes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocies, Anaxagoras, Leucippus and Democritus when they were using the word. The meaning of the word, obviously, can change the meaning of the entire work.

This is not an introductory text on Greek philosophical, but provides an interesting insight into some of these points.