The Lives And Opinions Of Eminent Philosophers

These brief biographies of more than eighty philosophers of ancient Greece were assembled by Diogenes Laërtius in the early third century. He based these on a variety of sources that have since been lost. Because of this, his biographies have become an invaluable source of information on the development of ancient Greek philosophy, and on ancient Greek culture in general. Most of what we know about the lives and otherwise lost doctrines of Zeno the Stoic and Diogenes the Cynic, for example, come from what Diogenes Laërtius preserved in this book. Mourning what else we have lost, Montaigne wrote: “I am very sorry we have not a dozen Laërtii.” Steamy romance, barbed humor, wicked cattiness, tender acts of humanity, jealous feuds, terrible puns, sophistical paradoxes, deathbed deceptions, forgery, and political intrigue ... while the philosophers of ancient Greece were developing their remarkable and penetrating philosophies, they were also leading strange and varied lives—at times living out their principles in practice, at other times seeming to defy all principle. Diogenes Laërtius collected as much biographical information as he could find about these ancient sages, and tried to sift through the sometimes contradictory accounts to find the true story. He shares with us anecdotes and witty remarks and biographical details that reveal the people behind the philosophies, and frequently adds a brief poem of his own construction that comments sardonically on how each philosopher died.

This is the second of a new two-volume edition of the works of Descartes in Penguin Classics. This volume is designed for students who approach Descartes from the point of view of his philosophy of science. Includes DISCOURSE ON METHOD, the most accessible and well-known of his discussions of scientific method; the first seven chapters of the earlier, unpublished work, THE WORLD; as well as a selection of Descartes' correspondence and his replies to his critics.

"The translation is based on the most authoritative edition of the Greek text. 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers' is a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins of philosophy in ancient Greece. Accompanied by dozens of artworks and newly commissioned essays that shed light on Diogenes' context and influence, this new, complete translation provides a revealing glimpse into the philosophers of Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lyceum, and Epicurus' Garden."--Provided by publisher.

The Stoics provides fascinating insight into the private lives of the Greek Stoics, giving a voice to those early trailblazers whose influential works have long since been lost: Zeno of Citium Ariston of Chios Herillus of Carthage Dionysius the Renegade Cleanthes of Assos Sphaerus of Bosphorus Chrysippus of Soli

Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is collection of biographies of the Greek philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, written in Greek, probably in the first half of the third century AD. The book professes to give an account of the lives and sayings of the Greek philosophers. Laërtius treats his subject in two divisions which he describes as the Ionian and the Italian schools. The biographies of the former begin with Anaximander, and end with Clitomachus, Theophrastus and Chrysippus; the latter begins with Pythagoras, and ends with Epicurus. The Socratic school, with its various branches, is classed with the Ionic; while the Eleatics and sceptics are treated under the Italic. He also includes his own poetic verse, albeit pedestrian, about the philosophers he discusses.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1901 Edition.