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Questions tagged [greeks]

73 questions
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Are there any books about postmodernism being like sophism?

I still find myself relatively often surprised by how much of the spectrum of philosophic thought was already covered at the times of ancient Greece or ancient China (think Axial Age or think footnotes to Plato). Has any recent philosopher (or…
Drux
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Plato books for a philosophy newcomer

I watched a funny philosophy crash course on youtube, and I'm very curious about Plato. As a beginner, where should I start? Original work? Other author's books about his philosophy?
Alex Alonso
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Did a lot of Greek philosophers believe lying is impossible?

As I understand it, Parmenides and Heraclitus were two pre-Socratic Greek philosophers whose views could not be farther apart. Parmenides believed that all change is illusory, and that there is just one indivisible entity which exists in reality. …
Keshav Srinivasan
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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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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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Are there any ancient Greek philosophers with a 'complete' philosophy that never made it to prime time?

There are at least a couple-dozen Greek Philosophers (in my estimation) whose ideas were both popular and comprehensive enough that they were taught throughout antiquity. Pythagoras, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle and many others each crafted a…
Carduus
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Can I get more background on quote from Democritus?

The quote from philosopher Democritus is: [I would] rather discover one cause than gain the kingdom of Persia. or I would rather discover a single demonstration [in geometry] than become king of the Persians. I cannot find more information and…
Perf Lar
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Is there any Ancient Greek philosopher that we know came from an underprivileged background?

I heard the claim that Ancient Greek philosophers were generally rich guys who had too much free time on their hands and hence engaged in philosophy, while most people at the time lived very difficult lives and had to work hard in order to…
hb20007
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Book recommendation for Diogenes of Sinope

I'm curious what guys have to say when I ask of a book recommendation which surrounds Diogenes of Sinope. He seems to be a truly mystical character, but there has to be a canonical representation of who he was: biography, contemporary history, and…
Dominic Serpico
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What did the Greeks call the "trial and error" reasoning process?

What did the Greeks call the "trial and error" reasoning process? Bruce Aune's review of Wilson's Peirce's Empiricism: Its Roots and Its Originality claims "The name 'empirici' is in fact traceable to a Greek verb meaning 'to make trial of.'"
Geremia
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Is there a word in philosophical Greek with the meaning of "certainty" (e.g. as in Wittgenstein's "On Certainty")

It seems to me that in certain cases, the meaning of ἀλήθεια is closer to "certainty" than to "truth". Also γιγνώσκω / γίγνομαι may in certain cases mean "to be/to become certain" rather than "to know". If that were the case, it might even be that…
fi11222
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Pandora's Box: Is hope evil?

I know, most questions here are more sophisticated, but this question sparked in my mind some time ago: Is hope a bad thing? The reason I got to this idea is that I had a hard time with lots of bad luck the last years. And of all emotions and…
miep
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What does this excerpt from Plato's Republic mean?

This excerpt is from Book II, concerning Plato's reasoning for censoring a certain story of Hesiod's: The doings of Cronus, and the sufferings which in turn his son inflicted upon him, even if they were true, ought certainly not to be lightly told…
Judicaël
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Which ancient Greeks are known to have commentated on Zeno's Paradoxes?

The Stanford Encycl. of Philosophy mentions that we know of Zeno's work only through various secondary sources, "principally through Aristotle and his commentators." I was wondering, which other ancient Greek commentators on Zeno are known? I would…
Asker
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Did any Greek or Roman philosopher(s) say that "opposites attract"?

I know that Plato formulated the law, "like attracts like", using the Greek word philia for attraction. This is mentioned somewhere in the Republic, and is easy to verify with a Google search. But what about the law, "opposites attract"? We know…
ktm5124
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