Diogenes Laertius' Lives of the Philosophers is filled with fascinating stories and sayings from the lives of the great men whose lives and ideas he describes. Read his account of any of the philosophers you would like to know more about. Comment here on what you thought the most interesting thing Diogenes Laertius had to say about that man.For additional extra credit, read another of the selections in Diogenes Laertius and add a comment on what you found interesting in this new section.
You might find especially interesting the lives of Thales, Anaxagoras, and Diogenes. You might find even more interesting the lives of some of those philosophers who weren't discussed in class--and who often don't make it into the history books at all. If you read, for instance, the life of Bion, you'll perhaps be covering material that even Dr. Blanchard hasn't read.
(N.B., Do not confuse Diogenes Laertius with the Diogenes I discuss in class. A different man!)
I read about Protagoras. Diogenes Laertius (DL) points out that Protagoras was the "first" for many things. For example, he says that Protagoras was the, "first to maintain that there are two sides to every question, opposed to each other, and he even argued in this fashion, being the first to do so." DL also says that Protagoras "introduced the method of discussion which is called Socratic." Other things that are attributed to Protagoras include, "...the first to distinguish the tenses of verbs, to emphasize the importance of seizing the right moment, to institute contests in debating..." Protagoras seems to have been a more innovative thinker during his time.
ReplyDeleteProtagoras struggled in Athens. In one of his book introductions, he wrote, "As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or that they do not exist. For many are the obstacles that impede knowledge, both the obscurity of the question and the shortness of human life.” According to DL, the Athenians "expelled him...and burnt his works in the marketplace." Wow!
I read about Anaxagoras. One of the most interesting aspects of Diogenes Laertius' account of his life was Anaxagoras' views on astronomy. Diogenes Laertius says, "He declared the sun to be a mass of red-hot metal and to be larger than the Peloponnesus, though others ascribe this view to Tantalus; he declared that there were dwellings on the moon, and moreover hills and ravines."
ReplyDeleteIn particular I find Anaxagoras' ideas about the moon to be the most interesting. I wonder what methods he used to come to his conclusions. Diogenes Laertius claims he believed there was life on the moon, but what made Anaxagoras think this? Without much of the technology we have today, it's hard to understand what made Anaxagoras think this. Maybe other thoughts on this issue the same during this this time and that's what made Anaxagoras think this?
I've spent a lot of time reading philosophy, and while Thales and while anything in early philosophy has been added on or modified a million fold into the better ideas of today, there is still a lot to learn - and certainly if we remove ourselves from our sort of "modern chauvinism" we can see their brilliance. Thales is generally regarded as the first Western philosopher. I think it's key to note that he got his education in Egypt, who by this time were already proficient in geometry and astronomy. He thought that all things had a soul, which sounds dumb, but when you read it you can see he uses soul as we would understand motion or energy today - it's animated but not necessarily by actual life. He was a truly brilliant person who would set the foundations for both Greece's philosophy and by extension the Western world.
ReplyDeleteI read about chilon, and really liked the quote, "Do not use threats to any one; for that is womanish. " I just thought that that was super interesting because its not women who are usually threatening people, that is typically a thing men do. It makes me wonder what kind of people he hung out with. I also think that if a woman is making threats you should probably be scared because women are sneaky.
ReplyDeleteAbbigail Patton.
I read about Thales. The most interesting aspect I found about Thales according to Diogenes Laertius that "he was the first to maintain the immortality of the soul. He was the first to determine the sun’s course from solstice to solstice, and according to some the first to declare the size of the sun to be one seven hundred and twentieth part of the solar circle, and the size of the moon to be the same fraction of the lunar circle. He was the first to give the last day of the month the name of Thirtieth, and the first, some say, to discuss physical problems." I found these few aspects of Thales to be quite interesting because it showed how incredible his skills were in astronomy but also in how he was in the search for the fundamental source of all things. In my opinion he is the "father of philosophy" especially with all these "firsts" that Diogenes claims that Thales did.
ReplyDeleteI also read about Xenophon. The most interesting aspect that I found according to Diogenes Laertius was about the story of how Socrates and Xenophon met. Just a simple question from Socrates left Xenophon so intrigued enough to follow this man to figure out this question. And because of Xenophon following Socrates, he was able to be the first to write a history of philosophers.
ReplyDeleteI found the life of Diogenes to be particularly interesting. His early life was filled with setbacks as he was banished from his home (from either the sins of the father or his own the accounts vary), he tried seeking the approval of a philosopher who didn't want students, and for the most of his life he was poor.
ReplyDeleteStill, he chose adaptability over comfort, and often shied away from the extremities of materiel value. He did enjoy criticizing the masses of Athens, and was arguably one of the most cynical men to have ever existed. He was also a constant thorn in the side of Plato, whom Diogenes felt to be very pretentious and egotistical.
I chose Cleobulus. Some say that he traced his decent back to Heracles. In this reading there is a riddle and the answer is "They year". I looks like many of his song titles were the beliefs and philosophy he lived by. Cleobulus does at the ripe age of 70.
ReplyDeleteI think Diogenes' live to be very interesting and when you first talk about him I have found him to be an interesting person. He just continued to do his thing even though he was very poor which i think is interesting. Especially because when he did have things it would be more for comfort or usefulness rather than something fancy.
ReplyDeleteI also did some reading on Xenophon it was interesting that Socrates was able to intrigue Xenophon with just a question and that was enough for Xenophon to start following Socrates.