<p><strong>P</strong>hilosopher means '<strong>lover of wisdom</strong>', and many philosophers were early scientists.</p><p>They held public discussions on questions such as 'What is a good man?'&nbsp;</p><p>The most famous Greek philosophers were <strong>Socrates</strong>, <strong>Aristotle</strong>, and <strong>Plato</strong>.</p>

Who were the Greek philosophers?

<p>Socrates and Plato are two famous Greek philosophers whose ideas still impact society today.</p><p>Anastasios71 / Shutterstock</p><figure><img src="https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/photos/957/798/480e8645-fc3f-48dc-b17a-e81038d3ee97.jpg" alt="<resource_carousel.datastructures.RCItem object at 0x7f4e93a166a0>" width="515" height="355"></figure><div role="tablist" dir="ltr">
        
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     </div><p dir="ltr">In ancient Greece, philosophers contemplated and theorized about many different ideas such as human nature, <a title="ethics" dir="ltr">ethics</a>, and moral dilemmas. Ancient Greek philosophers can be categorized into three groups: the Pre-Socratics, the Socratics, and the Post-Socratics.</p><p dir="ltr">Pre-Socratic philosophers mostly investigated natural <a title="phenomena" dir="ltr">phenomena</a>. They believed that humans originated from a single substance, which could be water, air, or an unlimited substance called “apeiron.” One well-known <a title="philosopher" dir="ltr">philosopher</a> from this group was Pythagoras, the <a title="mathematician" dir="ltr">mathematician</a> who created the Pythagorean Theorem.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">The Socratic philosophers in ancient Greece were <a title="Socrates" dir="ltr">Socrates</a>, <a title="Plato" dir="ltr">Plato</a>, and <a title="Aristotle" dir="ltr">Aristotle</a>. These are some of the most well-known of all Greek philosophers. Socrates (470/469–399 B.C.E.) is remembered for his teaching methods and for asking thought-provoking questions. Instead of lecturing his students, he asked them difficult questions in order to challenge their underlying assumptions—a method still used in modern-day law schools. Because Socrates wrote little about his life or work, much of what we know comes from his student Plato.</p><p dir="ltr">Plato (428/427–348/347 B.C.E.) studied ethics, virtue, <a title="justice" dir="ltr">justice</a>, and other ideas relating to human behavior. Following in Socrates’ footsteps, he became a teacher and inspired the work of the next great Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.), while also interested in ethics, studied different sciences like <a title="physics" dir="ltr">physics</a>, <a title="biology" dir="ltr">biology</a>, and <a title="astronomy" dir="ltr">astronomy</a>. He is often credited with developing the study of logic, as well as the foundation for modern-day <a title="zoology" dir="ltr">zoology</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">The Post-Socratic philosophers established four schools of philosophy: Cynicism, <a title="Skepticism" dir="ltr">Skepticism</a>, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. The Post-Socratic philosophers focused their attention on the individual rather than on <a title="communal" dir="ltr">communal</a> issues such as politics. For example, stoicism sought to understand and cultivate a certain way of life, based on one’s virtues, or wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Modern philosophers and educators still employ the patterns of thinking and exploration established by ancient Greek philosophers, such as the application of logic to questions of thought and engaging in debate to better convey philosophical ideas.</p><img src="https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/photos/957/798/480e8645-fc3f-48dc-b17a-e81038d3ee97_c111-0-1888-1333_r160x120.jpg?159cb01af584f4ec8233281309702b0ad2d07348" alt="Greek Philosophers" width="160" height="120"><p>Socrates and Plato are two famous Greek philosophers whose ideas still impact society today.</p><p itemprop="author">Anastasios71 / Shutterstock</p><UL><LI><h6>
          Ancient Greece
        </h6><div><b>150</b></div><p>Ancient Greek politics, philosophy, art and scientific achievements greatly influenced Western civilizations today. One example of their legacy is the Olympic Games. Use the videos, media, reference materials, and other resources in this collection to teach about ancient Greece, its role in modern-day democracy, and civic engagement.&nbsp;</p></LI><LI><h6>
          Macedonia
        </h6><div><b>61</b></div><p>Macedonia, a small kingdom in northern Greece, established a growing empire from 359 B.C. to 323 B.C. through the reign of several kings. With Alexander the Great, Macedonia would come to conquer many lands and usher in the Hellenistic age in the region.</p></LI><LI><h6>
          Beautiful Babylon: Jewel of the Ancient World
        </h6><div><b>85</b></div><p>Ruled by Hammurabi, restored by Nebuchadrezzar, conquered by Cyrus—this city in the heart of Mesopotamia was both desired and despised, placing it at the center stage of the dawn of history.</p></LI><LI><h6>
          Alexander the Great
        </h6><div><b>108</b></div><p>Alexander the Great,&nbsp;a Macedonian king,&nbsp;conquered&nbsp;the&nbsp;eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of Asia&nbsp;in a remarkably short period of time.&nbsp;His empire ushered in significant cultural&nbsp;changes&nbsp;in the lands he conquered and changed the course of the region’s history.&nbsp;</p></LI></UL>

The famous ancient Greek philosophers had a tremendous impact on the development of western philosophical thought.

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<p>Socrates and Plato are two famous Greek philosophers whose ideas still impact society today. </p>

<p dir="ltr">In ancient Greece, philosophers contemplated and theorized about many different ideas such as human nature, <a dir="ltr" title="ethics">ethics </a>, and moral dilemmas. Ancient Greek philosophers can be categorized into three groups: the Pre-Socratics, the Socratics, and the Post-Socratics. </p>

<p dir="ltr">Pre-Socratic philosophers mostly investigated natural <a dir="ltr" title="phenomena">phenomena </a>. They believed that humans originated from a single substance, which could be water, air, or an unlimited substance called “apeiron.” One well-known <a dir="ltr" title="philosopher">philosopher </a>from this group was Pythagoras, the <a dir="ltr" title="mathematician">mathematician </a>who created the Pythagorean Theorem.  </p>

<p dir="ltr">The Socratic philosophers in ancient Greece were <a dir="ltr" title="Socrates">Socrates </a>, <a dir="ltr" title="Plato">Plato </a>, and <a dir="ltr" title="Aristotle">Aristotle </a>. These are some of the most well-known of all Greek philosophers. Socrates (470/469–399 B.C.E.) is remembered for his teaching methods and for asking thought-provoking questions. Instead of lecturing his students, he asked them difficult questions in order to challenge their underlying assumptions—a method still used in modern-day law schools. Because Socrates wrote little about his life or work, much of what we know comes from his student Plato. </p>

<p dir="ltr">Plato (428/427–348/347 B.C.E.) studied ethics, virtue, <a dir="ltr" title="justice">justice </a>, and other ideas relating to human behavior. Following in Socrates’ footsteps, he became a teacher and inspired the work of the next great Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.), while also interested in ethics, studied different sciences like <a dir="ltr" title="physics">physics </a>, <a dir="ltr" title="biology">biology </a>, and <a dir="ltr" title="astronomy">astronomy </a>. He is often credited with developing the study of logic, as well as the foundation for modern-day <a dir="ltr" title="zoology">zoology </a>. </p>

<p dir="ltr">The Post-Socratic philosophers established four schools of philosophy: Cynicism, <a dir="ltr" title="Skepticism">Skepticism </a>, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. The Post-Socratic philosophers focused their attention on the individual rather than on <a dir="ltr" title="communal">communal </a>issues such as politics. For example, stoicism sought to understand and cultivate a certain way of life, based on one’s virtues, or wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Modern philosophers and educators still employ the patterns of thinking and exploration established by ancient Greek philosophers, such as the application of logic to questions of thought and engaging in debate to better convey philosophical ideas. </p>

<p itemprop="author">Anastasios71 / Shutterstock </p>

<ul><li><h6>Ancient Greece </h6><div><b>150 </b> </div><p>Ancient Greek politics, philosophy, art and scientific achievements greatly influenced Western civilizations today. One example of their legacy is the Olympic Games. Use the videos, media, reference materials, and other resources in this collection to teach about ancient Greece, its role in modern-day democracy, and civic engagement.  </p> </li><li><h6>Macedonia </h6><div><b>61 </b> </div><p>Macedonia, a small kingdom in northern Greece, established a growing empire from 359 B.C. to 323 B.C. through the reign of several kings. With Alexander the Great, Macedonia would come to conquer many lands and usher in the Hellenistic age in the region. </p> </li><li><h6>Beautiful Babylon: Jewel of the Ancient World </h6><div><b>85 </b> </div><p>Ruled by Hammurabi, restored by Nebuchadrezzar, conquered by Cyrus—this city in the heart of Mesopotamia was both desired and despised, placing it at the center stage of the dawn of history. </p> </li><li><h6>Alexander the Great </h6><div><b>108 </b> </div><p>Alexander the Great, a Macedonian king, conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of Asia in a remarkably short period of time. His empire ushered in significant cultural changes in the lands he conquered and changed the course of the region’s history.  </p> </li> </ul>

Greek Philosophers

Who were the Greek philosophers?

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