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ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY FROM 600 BCE TO 500 CE The History of Philosophy ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY FROM 600 BCE TO 500 CE EDITED BY BRIAN DUIGNAN, SENIOR EDITOR, PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing (a trademark of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.) in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010. Copyright © 2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Rosen Educational Services materials copyright © 2011 Rosen Educational Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Distributed exclusively by Rosen Educational Services. For a listing of additional Britannica Educational Publishing titles, call toll free (800) 237-9932. First Edition Britannica Educational Publishing Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor J.E. Luebering: Senior Manager Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition Brian Duignan: Senior Editor, Philosophy and Religion Rosen Educational Services Alexandra Hanson-Harding: Editor Shalini Saxena: Editor Nelson Sá: Art Director Cindy Reiman: Photography Manager Matthew Cauli: Designer, Cover Design Introduction by Brian Duignan Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data Ancient philosophy: from 600 BCE to 500 CE / edited by Brian Duignan. p. cm.—(The history of philosophy) “In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61530243-7 (eBook) 1. Philosophy, Ancient. I. Duignan, Brian. B108.A53 2010 180—dc22 2009054263 Manufactured in the United States of America On the cover: Plato was one of the greatest philosophers ever to have lived. Fuelled by a desire to fully comprehend the nature of reality, Plato, along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, largely pioneered the development of Western philosophical thought. Today, everything from metaphysics to ethics to political philosophy owes much the work of Plato and his contemporaries. Hulton Archive/Getty Images On page 16: Thales, shown here, is the first known Greek philosopher and one of the Seven Wise Men of antiquity. His belief that water formed the basis of the universe marked a significant deviation from the more widespread myth-based explanations of the time. Hulton Archive/Getty Images CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1: Early Greek Philosophy: The Pre-Socratics Cosmology, Metaphysics, and Epistemology The Early Cosmologists Being and Becoming Appearance and Reality Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism Skepticism and Relativism: The Sophists Chapter 2: The Philosophy of Socrates His Life and Personality Why Was Socrates Hated? The Impression Created by Aristophanes The Human Resistance to Self-Reflection Socrates’ Criticism of Democracy The Legacy of Socrates Chapter 3: The Philosophy of Plato His Life Dialogue Form Happiness and Virtue The Theory of Forms Linguistic and Philosophical Background Forms as Perfect Exemplars Forms as Genera and Species The Dialogues of Plato Early Dialogues Middle Dialogues Late Dialogues Chapter 4: The Philosophy of Aristotle His Life The Academy Travels The Lyceum His Philosophy Logic Physics and Metaphysics Philosophy of Mind Ethics Political Theory Rhetoric and Poetics The Legacy of Aristotle

Description:

Supplanting mythical explanations with those based on observation, early Greeks and some of their contemporaries sought to comprehend worldly phenomena in terms of more universal truths. This book introduces readers to the figures instrumental in implementing this refined way of thinking, including