Western philosophy
Videos
Western philosophy refers to the philosophical thought, traditions, and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the a
Bust of Socrates, Roman copy after a Greek original from the 4th century BC
Aristotle in The School of Athens, by Raphael
Roman Epicurus bust
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Plato
Videos
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens who is most commonly considered the foundational thinker of the Western philosophical tradition. An innovator of the literary dialogue and di
Western philosophy
…He focused on issues of human life: eudaimonia, justice, beauty, truth, and virtue. Although Socrates wrote nothing himself, two of his disciples, Plato and Xenophon, wrote about some of his conversations, although Plato also deployed Socrates as a fictional character in some of his dialogues. These…
Plato was one of the devoted young followers of Socrates, whose bust is pictured above.
Heraclitus (1628) by Hendrick ter Brugghen. Heraclitus saw a world in flux, with everything always in conflict, constantly changing.
Bust of Parmenides from Velia. Parmenides saw the world as eternal and unchanging, that all change was an illusion.
The mathematical and mystical teachings of the followers of Pythagoras, pictured above, exerted a strong influence on Plato.