The Lives and Theories of Eminent Philosophers (eBook)

Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers, believed to have lived in the early 3rd century AD, though his exact lifespan remains unclear. An enigmatic figure, Diogenes Laertius penned one of the most influential works concerning the lives and teachings of the ancient philosophers, titled 'The Lives and Theories of Eminent Philosophers' (also known simply as 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers'). This compendium is a principal source for the history of Greek philosophy, invaluable for its plentiful, albeit at times inconsistent, accounts of the lives, philosophies, and sayings of eminent philosophers from the pre-Socratics to the Hellenistic period. The work is organized according to the philosophical schools, rather than chronology, and provides a unique blend of biography, doxography, and anecdote — though the veracity of some of the more anecdotal content has been the subject of scholarly debate. Nevertheless, Diogenes Laertius' contribution to the preservation of philosophical thought is undisputed, as his accounts often include references to otherwise lost works and traditions. His style is considered more colloquial and less formalistic than typical of scholarly works of his time, which helps illuminate the human aspects of these larger-than-life philosophical figures for posterity.