If you’ve ever asked someone, “What are the 7 great philosophers?” you might expect a vague answer like “the seven greatest philosophers of all time.” The best answer, of course, would be the best of the seven, but how do you connect these great minds? Philosophers, by their nature, are uncomfortable with reflection, but the question makes it interesting nonetheless. In the UK, the answer to this question would be Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. In France, Modern Philosophy is heavily weighted towards Cartesian rationalism.
Democritus
One of the Seven Philosophers of the Ancient World is Democritus. His philosophy of sense perception suggests that life is meaningless. Human flesh, bones and bodily fluids are natural. The brain and human consciousness are organized matter. Democritus believed that a person is composed entirely of matter. Hence, his philosophy was based on the principle that nothing exists in a vacuum. However, little is known about his mathematics.
According to Democritus, human beings are composed of atoms that are held together by the body. Outside the body, atoms are interpreted by the soul. When atoms are combined in one form, they are interpreted as a book or a tree. It is important to understand that atoms are not separate but one and that they are all One. The same thing applies to all other objects in the universe.
Among the Seven Philosophers, Democritus is most often associated with science and philosophy. He developed a theory that described how the universe is made of atoms. He argued that atoms are the basis of everything and that the Universe is made up of countless amounts of them. In fact, Democritus was one of the first philosophers to attempt to explain colour. He also distinguished between color and shape.
Anaxagoras
Many of the philosophical problems that humans face today are based on the theories of Anaxagoras. He wrote on many subjects, including the origin of the Milky Way and the formation of comets. He predicted the location of a meteorite that fell to earth, and was credited with the event. He also maintained that the Earth is flat, echoing the views of Anaximenes.
The philosopher Aristotle also gave an account of Anaxagoras’s two-level metaphysics. He argued that natural constructs, such as light, have their own innate properties. Theophrastus further asserted that all objects, including a planet, are real, and that they are a function of natural processes, not of teleological determination.
According to Diogenes Laertius, Anaxagoras began philosophizing at the age of twenty, when he served as archon Callias’ secretary. Anaxagoras is one of the 7 philosophers, and he is one of the first philosophers of Athens. Although we have not noticed much about Anaxagoras’ philosophical thinking, it is worth noting that he was one of the first philosophers of the city.
He also attributed godhood to all heavenly bodies. His aim was to explain how the universe works and how we can best understand it. He held the belief that all natural ingredients were in the original mixture. This theory, along with the Eleatic ban on coming-to-be and passing-away, facilitated the development of modern science. The seven philosophers are a great example of ancient philosophy, and they all have important contributions to offer us.
Heraclitus
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is often considered the father of pragmatism. His work deals with the nature of things, and how they are constituted. According to Heraclitus, all objects have a cause and move in the same way. As a result, Heraclitus believed that objects and their actions are contingent, not irreducible. The Platonic view of things is more ambiguous.
Heraclitus is known as the first philosopher to write an ethical treatise, which is essentially an extended collection of his writings. Its style is reminiscent of the works of Theophrastus, who once said that Heraclitus’ book seemed incomplete. However, Diogenes Laertius claims that it was divided into three sections, each dealing with different aspects of life. Heraclitus also discusses politics, ethics, and theology. As a result of his philosophical endeavors, Heraclitus seems to have seen deep connections between all of these fields.
Heraclitus was a highly influential Greek philosopher in the sixth century BCE. Although he did not discuss his political views in detail, it seems to reflect an aristocratic disdain for the common people and their needs and wants. He advocated for the rule of a few wise men, even recommending citizens hang themselves when a powerful leader is banished. His work is included in the Diels-Kranz collection of Presocratic sources.
Parmenides
Parmenides, one of the 7 philosophers of the Ancient World, wrote a poem called the Proem, which is not extant in its entirety. This poem is quoted by Plato, Aristotle, Sextus Empiricus, and Simplicius, but is not known to be complete. Despite its short length, the poem contains a long consecutive passage of over sixty lines that may be an example of a philosophical argument.
In the same way that Aristotle’s ideas reached the opposite ends of the Greek world, Parmenides argued that there is no distinction within being. There is only one thing and it is infinite. His arguments illustrate the cyclical circulation of ideas in the Mediterranean during the historical period. The Way of Truth and the Way of Seeming are two distinct ways to understand existence. Aristotle, however, took Parmenides’ account of the phenomenal world as a concession and held that there was only one being for reason and more than one for sense perception.
The journey of Parmenides may be a metaphor for progress from ignorance to knowledge. His text also utilizes epic verse, a literary form that indicates heroic context. While earlier philosophers wrote in prose, Parmenides is thought to have preferred this form for a symbolic meaning. Moreover, his journey may recall the story of Odysseus’ journey to Hades in search of directions from the god Teiresias.
Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher who lived and died in 430 B.C.E. He was born in the city-state of Elea, now known as Velia on the west coast of southern Italy. His friend Parmenides was also an Elean and 25 years older than Zeno. While Zeno was not a mathematician, he drew inspiration from the work of his friend.
Aristotle viewed Zeno as a master of paradox, calling him an inventor of dialectic. His arguments forced other philosophers to rethink concepts in natural science. Aristotle’s view of Zeno is consistent with Plato’s account of him as a master of contradiction. The work is regarded as a classic example of antilogic. It was written in Greek, and has been cited as a classic example of ancient philosophy.
Socrates accuses Zeno of conspiring with Parmenides, a fellow philosopher. Barnes argues that this is a misunderstanding of the context of the discussion, and that Zeno’s logoi were meant to shock, amaze, and discombobulate, rather than support Eleatic monism. This interpretation is consistent with the view of Plato, who envisioned historical Zeno in a dialectical context.
Similarly, Zeno argues that a body in motion is the same size as a body in motion. Therefore, a body proceeding at a constant speed will pass by identical-sized bodies in the same amount of time. Hence, the leading B will travel twice as far as the leading C. The same holds true for the other Cs. Then, there will be an equal number of doubles, and so forth.
Aristotle
Aristotle’s philosophy is difficult to summarize, and his writings have long been interpreted and appropriated by many philosophers and philosophical traditions. The entry on this site is organized into three parts: a general introduction to Aristotle’s philosophical activities; a more detailed introduction to his specific philosophical topics; and an in-depth examination of his broader thought. We’ll discuss these in turn.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle was born in Stagira in 384 B.C. He studied at Plato’s Academy when he was 17, and he was later tutored by Alexander the Great. Later, he founded the Lyceum in Athens, where he taught for about two years before founding the University of Athens. Aristotle wrote many books, including the Nichomachean Ethics, Politics, Metaphysics, Poetics, and Prior Analytics.
Aristotle argues for hylomorphism, which is the middle ground between Platonic dualism and Presocratic materialism. Interestingly, while he gives credit to the Presocratics for their work on identifying the formal and material causes of life, he criticizes Plato for failing to acknowledge the material basis of life. Ultimately, he believes that the soul is independent of material basis.
Aristotle’s view of the soul demonstrates how he viewed the human body. According to Aristotle, a human being has a soul that is the first actuality of the natural organic body. The soul is a potential life that Aristotle sees as the most important aspect of a human being. In this view, the body is just a tool and not the final cause.