Ancient Philosophy

Created: Aug 8, 2022

Introduction

All western thought is based upon ancient authors. Unfortunately, classical education is neglected nowadays, so I had to learn it myself.

I think it’s important to understand ancient philosophy in context. For example, see my notes on the history of ancient Greece.

All in all, I hope these notes will help you see the world with fresh eyes, as the ancients saw it.

Notes

Ancient Greece

The history of ancient Greek philosophy by convention starts in 585 BC (Thales predicted the solar eclipse of that year) and ends in 529 AD (Roman emperor Justinian prohibited pagans from teaching in schools)

  • Presocratics
    • Includes: the Milesians (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes), Pythagoras, the Eleatics (Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno of Elea), Heraclitus, Empedocles, Democritus
  • Socratics
    • Includes: the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

TODO

Ancient Rome

TODO

Sources

In choosing my study material, I found this guide very useful.

Primary

Secondary