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 picked Book III: Plato. I found a lot of what he wrote to be very interesting. What I liked the most was when he talks about Plato's two primary causes or principles of all things. "God and matter, which he also calls mind, and the cause."
ReplyDelete-Alicyn Even
I read his account of Xenophon's life. I already knew that he was a great follower of Socrates. However, I did not know that Plato and Xenophon were at odds with one another. I find this interesting because they both admired Socrates, which one would think that would make them similar.
ReplyDelete- Robbi Kannas
Book V: Heraclides -Said to be quiet mannered and noble as well, and being that Heraclides was many things and Diogenes Laertius, and to be a man on law, justice, and ethical vaules which seems to be a more of a lawyer/political.
ReplyDeleteBook 2: Anaxagoras- Seems to be more a astronomer and scientist on how he talked about the sun and milk way, which got him in trouble with cleon when stating about the sun (of how it is made of iron), which cause him to lose his childern and Peracles to die for him because of it.
Diogenes is such an intriguing, strange philosopher, so I read some information about his life. It was interesting to learn that prior to becoming a renounced philosopher, he and his father were banished from their homeland of Sinope. Although there is some controversy on the specifics of this situation, Diogenes final location of residence was Athens. He seemed almost violent in his teachings, but apparently successful; I think his candid, harsh teachings could be overlooked by his lifestyle and humor. Diogenes was the first individual that the Athenians had seen who used his cloak for multiple purposes. Although this emphasis on simplicity is refreshing and amusing, it’s interesting to consider how potential impossible living as Diogenes did in today’s time would be.
ReplyDeleteI read from book III on Plato. I it was really interesting to see that he traveled so much during his life. Travels to Egypt and multiple travels to Sicily. I knew that Plato was a great philosopher but i never knew he was a traveler also. One of my favorite parts of this book is when Plato writes about sleep. He says "a man who sleeps accomplishes nothing." Also I though I read in this article that Plato took part in some military battles. Another strange fact is how far back Plato could trace his lineage, he traced it all the way back to Solon.
ReplyDeleteThe Second book I read was the Life of Zeno. One of the major story of Zeno trying to end the tyranny of Nearches. Zeno got himself arrested and named all the friends of the friends of the tyrant as his accomplices to make the tyrant feel alone. Then he wished to say something to the tyrant and when he was close he held onto the tyrant until he was stabbed.
Baker Haar
I read about Bion from book four. Bion seems to be an overall good person according to Diogenese, but of course a person with warts. Diogenese says that Bion was "truly a man of great versatility, and a very subtle philosopher, and a man who gave all who chose great opportunities of practising philosophy." although these are good qualities, he had a weakness of indulging in vanity.
ReplyDeleteHe also seems to be of course a homosexual, according to Diogenese "And he left behind him many memorials of himself in the way of writings, and also many apophthegms full of useful sentiments. As for instance, once when he was reproved for having failed to charm a young man, he replied, "You cannot possibly draw up cheese with a hook before it has got hard." therefore he took to long to act on his want for the young man.
he was also a man who enjoyed rich pleasures as well. "e was a man of very expensive habits, and on this account he used to go from city to city, and at times he would contrive the most amazing devices"
Joseph Adam
Thales was a very interesting man as he was knowledgeable in a number of fields. He wrote some books demonstrating his skill in writing. He was the first person to determine that the souls of men were immortal. He was also the first to theorize that the sun is much larger than the moon. He said that the sun is 720 times larger than the moon. So he was on the right track but he overshot it a little, nevertheless this showed his knowledge of astronomy. It was also determined that he learned geometry from the Egyptians and that he discovered how to find a right triangle in a circle.
ReplyDeleteSo I believe Thales was a very interesting man who had an abundant amount of knowledge in several different fields such as philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and writing.
R. Casey Oberle
Anaximander-I chose him because I hadn't heard of him before. From what I understand, a lot of what he believed in was very vague. He believed that infinity was the primary element of all things, but he never explained what he really meant by that. He also believed that part could change, but the whole of something was permanent. I just think that is really cool to think about.
ReplyDeleteArchytas-I thought it was interesting that he was responsible for saving the life of Plato by writing a letter. Also, he was the first to apply mathematics to mechanics. We're so used to that idea now that it's really cool that a Greek came up with it first.
-Brianna Hamil
I read on plato and one thing i thought was very interesting is how much of an athilet he was. that he was involved in wreastling and gymnastics. when i think of plato i do no think of a man that is involved in sports. i also felt it was interesting that he was engaged in military activity.
ReplyDeleteOther than the strange characteristics of Aristotle having a lisp and being obsessed with how his hair looked, his intellect is legendary. Even something as seemingly simple as friendship he divided up into three categories depending on the quality of interactions with that person. He divided philosophy (amongst many other categories) into two folds (practical and theoretical) which these then branched out even further to set down rock-solid principles, many of which are still used as foundations today, much the same way Plato's Republic is still studied in law schools.
ReplyDeleteAnother fascinating character was Thales. I find it impressive that he accurately calculated the size of the pyramids using their shadows. Diogenes speaks of Thales' belief of the soul being immortal, but Aristotle and Hippias wrote of his belief of the soul to be closer to a magnet and 'lifeless', but maybe immortality and life aren't mutually exclusive. These are characteristics less well known than his contributions to geometry (i.e. triangle within a circle, etc.). It's strange that he labeled the end of each month as 'the thirtieth'...pretty impressive and great insight.
- Jefferson Gunderson
I read on Thales and I loved the fact that he was a strong naval influence, having written Naval Astronomy that my uncle read being a sailor in the US Navy. I remember the name from childhood on his account. I like Callimachus' quote of him as well.
ReplyDelete"And, he, 'tis said, did first compute the stars
Which beam in Charles's wain, and guide the bark
Of the Phoenician sailor o'er the sea."
I also found it refreshing to see that Thales saw nature and spirit in everything in life. It's very uncommon for most philosophers that I've read. It's also a nice break from rhetoric.
Jen Mellette
The first one I read on was Plato. I found it interesting that he was an athlete when he was in school and that he had a weak speaking voice. I was also intrigued by how many divisions he made for things like friendship, the soul, virtue, and many others. The sheer amount of thought that would have gone into those is baffling.
ReplyDeleteSecond one I read on was Diogenes of Apollonia. I chose him at random and was pleasantly surprised by his theories. He discussed how material can only come from other material or that material cannot be destroyed. This is what I learned from all those chemistry courses I took. It's interesting to think that someone was thinking this all of those years ago.
Finding out Aristotle had a bit of a lisp was interesting information to know. Also the fact that he dressed nicely makes it seem like he was very proud of what he wore, sort of like a businessman but not because of what he was studying. Also finding out that he bathed in oil was a bit weird but that must have been his thing, to each their own.
ReplyDeleteThe second person I read up on was Socrates. Apparently there were a couple of plagues that hit Athens during that time period and somehow be missed them both, did not catch what everybody else caught. With an immune system like that, people must have thought that he was had super powers or something, although there were a good amount of other people in the city that survived those plagues as well.
Finding out what a good amount of philosophers' lives were like and what they did is interesting because otherwise people would be making a lot of random assumptions about him and that would be stupid. These two philosophers contributed a good amount of ideas and other talents for people then and for later generations like ours.