Search Results: Pre-Socratic Philosophers

The Pre-Socratic Philosophers are defined as the Greek thinkers who developed independent and original schools of thought from the time of Thales of Miletus (l. c. 585 BCE) to that of Socrates of Athens (470/469-399 BCE). They are known as...

In this collection of 20 biographies of ancient Greek philosophers, we examine the thoughts and lives of some of the most important thinkers in history. We look at the pre-Socratic philosophers and the titan trio of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle...

Heraclitus of Ephesus (l. c. 500 BCE) was one of the early Pre-Socratic philosophers who, like the others, sought to identify the First Cause for the creation of the world. He rejected earlier theories such as air and water and claimed that...

Parmenides (l.c. 485 BCE) of Elea was a Greek philosopher from the colony of Elea in southern Italy. He is considered among the most important of the Pre-Socratic philosophers who initiated philosophic inquiry in Greece beginning with Thales...

Ancient Greek philosophy is a system of thought, first developed in the 6th century BCE, which was informed by a focus on the First Cause of observable phenomena. Prior to the development of this system by Thales of Miletus (l. c. 585 BCE...

Xenophanes of Colophon (l. c. 570 to c. 478 BCE) was a Greek philosopher born 50 miles north of Miletus, a city famed for the birth of philosophy and home to the first Western philosopher, Thales of Miletus (l. c. 585 BCE). He is considered...

Zeno of Elea (l. c.465 BCE) was a Greek philosopher of the Eleatic School and a student of the elder philosopher Parmenides (l.c. 485 BCE) whose work influenced the philosophy of Socrates (l. c. 470/469-399 BCE). Zeno and Parmenides are both...

Anaximenes of Miletus (l. c. 546 BCE) was a younger contemporary of Anaximander and generally regarded as his student. Known as the Third Philosopher of the Milesian School after Thales (l. c. 585 BCE) and Anaximander (l. c. 610 - c. 546...

Melissus of Samos (l. c. 5th century BCE) was a Greek philosopher of the Eleatic School, considered the third great proponent of that philosophy's claim that reality is One, after Parmenides (l. c. 485 BCE) and Zeno of Elea (l. c. 465 BCE...

Anaxagoras (l. c. 500-c. 428 BCE) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who claimed the First Cause of existence was Mind (nous) and all things were constituted of indestructible “seeds” (or “stuff”), originally a single mass, separated and...