The Greek Philosophers (2024)

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by Mark Cartwright
published on 22 April 2021

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In this collection of 20 biographies of ancient Greek philosophers, we examine the thoughts and lives of some of the most important thinkers in history. We look at the pre-Socratic philosophers and the titan trio of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as the wizard of numbers Pythagoras, Heracl*tus, whose thoughts were so deep they called him the 'dark thinker', and Zeno who posed his enigmatic paradoxes. It wasn't all heavy thinking with Democritus known as the 'laughing philosopher' for his cheerfulness, Epicurus with his emphasis on pleasure and Diogenes who wandered through the streets of Athens with a lamp looking for an honest man. These thinkers puzzled over big questions like who are we, why are we here and where are we going? and they provided some of the most interesting, influential and inspiring answers ever made anywhere.

I will go back to what we have so often spoken of, and begin with the assumption that there exists an absolute beauty, and an absolute good, and an absolute greatness, and so on. If you grant me this, and agree that they exist, I hope to be able to show you what my cause is, and to discover that the soul is immortal.
See Also
Ancient Greek Philosophy | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Aristotle | Biography, Works, Quotes, Philosophy, Ethics, & Facts Aristotle | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Socrates, Plato's Phaedo, 100b)

Articles & Definitions

Definition AnaximanderAnaximander of Miletus (l. c. 610 - c. 546 BCE) was one of the early... Definition Thales of MiletusThales of Miletus (l. c. 585 BCE) is regarded as the first Western philosopher... Definition PythagorasPythagoras (l.c. 571 to c. 497 BCE) was a Greek philosopher whose teachings... Definition Xenophanes of ColophonXenophanes of Colophon (l. c. 570 to c. 478 BCE) was a Greek philosopher... Definition AnaximenesAnaximenes of Miletus (l. c. 546 BCE) was a younger contemporary of... Definition ParmenidesParmenides (l.c. 485 BCE) of Elea was a Greek philosopher from the colony... Definition Heracl*tus of EphesusHeracl*tus of Ephesus (l. c. 500 BCE) was one of the early Pre-Socratic... Definition ProtagorasProtagoras of Abdera (l. c. 485-415 BCE) is considered the greatest... Definition SocratesSocrates of Athens (l. c. 470/469-399 BCE) is among the most famous... Definition Zeno of EleaZeno of Elea (l. c.465 BCE) was a Greek philosopher of the Eleatic School... Definition Melissus of SamosMelissus of Samos (l. c. 5th century BCE) was a Greek philosopher of... Definition DemocritusDemocritus (l. c. 460 - c. 370 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and younger... Definition CritiasCritias (l. c. 460-403 BCE) was an Athenian politician, poet, and playwright... Definition Antisthenes of AthensAntisthenes of Athens (l. c. 445-365 BCE) was a Greek philosopher who... Definition Aristippus of CyreneAristippus of Cyrene (l. c. 435-356 BCE) was a hedonistic Greek philosopher... Definition PlatoPlato (l. 424/423 to 348/347 BCE) is the pre-eminent Greek philosopher... Definition Diogenes of SinopeDiogenes of Sinope (l. c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher... Definition AristotleAristotle of Stagira (l. 384-322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher who pioneered... Definition EpicurusEpicurus (341 BCE – 270 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher... Definition Zeno of CitiumZeno of Citium (l. c. 336-265 BCE) was the founder of the Stoic school...

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Plato's Allegory of the Cave - Alex Gendler

ted.com

What is Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox? - Colm Kelleher

ted.com

Aristotle: Biography of a Great Thinker

ted.com

In Our Time, Socrates

bbc.co.uk

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About the Author

Mark Cartwright

Mark is a full-time writer, researcher, historian, and editor. Special interests include art, architecture, and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the WHE Publishing Director.

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Uploaded by Mark Cartwright, published on 22 April 2021. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.