Ancient philosophy consists, at least in the west, of the work by philosophers before around ~480 CE.
Ancient philosophy consists, at least in the west, of the work by philosophers before around ~480 CE.
Questions tagged [ancient-philosophy]
129 questions
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Was Socrates a fictional character invented by Plato?
I have read a lot of websites that suggest Socrates was a fictional character created by Plato (albeit without the citation of any corroborating evidence), but I have also read the opposite (and by "opposite" here I don't mean that Plato was created…
Garmen1778
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Why did Epicureanism become "the main opponent" of Stoicism?
I was reading about Epicureanism on Wikipedia, and there I saw that, apparently, Epicureanism was in conflict with Stoicism and Platonism. I then read up on those two philosophies, and well, they do not seem mutually exclusive at all! They are…
jcora
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Does Plato see tyranny as final?
Plato's Republic famously describes the decay of the regimes, a process by which a society decays from the best regime, that of aristocracy, to the lowest, that of tyranny. However, the purpose of this concept of regimes is to expand upon Plato's…
commando
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Are Hellenistic schools of philosophy also therapeutic regimes?
Martha C. Nussbaum argues in The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics that all three major Hellenistic schools (Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skeptics) shared a practical, therapeutic (as opposed to e.g. theoretic, metaphysical)…
Drux
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How do Neoplatonic interpretations differ from original Platonic ideas?
The Wikipedia entry on Neoplatonism says:
Neoplatonists would have considered themselves simply Platonists, and
the modern distinction is due to the perception that their philosophy
contained sufficiently unique interpretations of Plato to…
a_fan
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"There is no difference, if no difference can be detected"
As far as I remember there was an ancient philosopher who said something like "there is no difference (between two objects) if no difference can be detected", but I don't remember who was that and how exactly it was worded.
Could someone help me?
user626528
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Is virtue necessary to achieve eudaimonia?
Stoics believe that virtue (ἀρετή) is necessary and sufficient to achieve happiness (εὐδαιμονία). It was the "sufficient" portion that marked Stoics out from other ancient philosophy, but I suspect that modern philosophy finds problems even with the…
Jon 'links in bio' Ericson
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Was Socrates a monotheist?
I know my question seems weird, but in Plato's books Apology, Crito, and Phaedo (and probably in other books since I've read only these three and I am in the middle of the third one), when Socrates wants to swear in a god's name or talk about…
mil
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What triggered the philosophical movement in the ancient West?
The history of civilization in the West (i.e. Europe) goes back many thousands of years. Since well before 1000 BC there have been people living in what is now Turkey, Greece, and even Italy, in such cities as Miletus and Troy. For much of their…
commando
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Did Thales really argue this?
Neil deGrasse Tyson in “Deeper, Deeper, Deeper Still” (Cosmos) says something to the following effect.
The ancient Greek philosopher Thales argued that natural events such as weather patterns weren't the result of capricious gods intending to…
goblin GONE
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What was ancient Philosophy written on/with?
What did ancient philosophers, like Plato, use to write their works on/with, physically? (Tree bark, animal skin, types of writing utensils, etc)
fantom
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Why is Nietzsche so against Socrates?
Nietzsche recalls the story that Socrates says that 'he has been a long time sick', meaning that life itself is a sickness; Nietszche accuses him of being a sick man, a man against the instincts of life, and hence a 'monstro animo' (a monstrous…
Mozibur Ullah
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Why did Pythagoras prohibit eating beans?
The legend says the Pythagoreans never ate beans because they contained the spirits of dead people. My maths teacher told me this was known because a bean and an embryo are about the same size and shape. They both have two lobes that become the head…
Daron
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In greek philosophy, what is the difference between "gnosis" and "episteme"?
In greek philosophy, Plato especially, what is the difference between "gnosis" and "episteme" ?
Both apparently designate different types of knowledge, but I couldn't find any precise description of the differences between the two. Also, is there…
YeahPhil
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Did Greek philosophers know about Eastern philosophies?
Were the philosophers of Ancient Greece aware of Eastern Philosophies, such as Zoroastrianism or Buddhism? Is there any mention of them, either directly, or similar concepts in existing writings?
Arif Burhan
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