Ancient Philosophy

If metaphysics is all Greek to you, review this list of terms related to ancient philosophy. You'll learn about ethics, logic, and the most important philosophical schools of thought, as well as classical philosophers from Aristotle to Zeno.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. academy
    a learned establishment for the advancement of knowledge
  2. aesthetics
    the branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and taste
  3. allegory
    a short moral story
  4. Anaxagoras
    a presocratic Athenian philosopher who maintained that everything is composed of very small particles that were arranged by some eternal intelligence (500-428 BC)
  5. Anaximander
    a presocratic Greek philosopher and student of Thales who believed the universal substance to be infinity rather than something resembling ordinary objects (611-547 BC)
  6. Anaximenes
    a presocratic Greek philosopher and associate of Anaximander who believed that all things are made of air in different degrees of density (6th century BC)
  7. a posteriori
    involving reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes
  8. a priori
    reasoned from a general principle to a necessary effect
  9. Aristotelianism
    (philosophy) the philosophy of Aristotle that deals with logic and metaphysics and ethics and poetics and politics and natural science
  10. Aristotle
    one of the greatest of the ancient Athenian philosophers
  11. Boethius
    a Roman who was an early Christian philosopher and statesman who was executed for treason; Boethius had a decisive influence on medieval logic (circa 480-524)
  12. Cicero
    a Roman statesman and orator remembered for his mastery of Latin prose (106-43 BC)
  13. classical
    of the study of literary works of ancient Greece and Rome
  14. Cleanthes
    ancient Greek philosopher who succeeded Zeno of Citium as the leader of the Stoic school (300-232 BC)
  15. commentary
    a written explanation or criticism or illustration
  16. cosmology
    the study of the evolution and structure of the universe
  17. cosmos
    the universe considered as a whole
  18. Cynic
    a member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who advocated the doctrine that virtue is the only good and that the essence of virtue is self-control
  19. Democritus
    Greek philosopher who developed an atomistic theory of matter (460-370 BC)
  20. dialectic
    arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments
  21. dialogue
    a literary composition in the form of a conversation
  22. Diogenes
    an ancient Greek philosopher and Cynic who rejected social conventions (circa 400-325 BC)
  23. dualism
    doctrine that reality consists of two opposing elements
  24. eclecticism
    making decisions on the basis of what seems best instead of following some single doctrine or style
  25. element
    substance thought in ancient times to make up the universe
  26. Empedocles
    Greek philosopher who taught that all matter is composed of particles of fire and water and air and earth (fifth century BC)
  27. empiricism
    the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience
  28. Epictetus
    Greek philosopher who was a Stoic (circa 50-130)
  29. epicureanism
    doctrine promoting intellectual pleasure and avoiding pain
  30. Epicurus
    Greek philosopher who believed that the world is a random combination of atoms and that pleasure is the highest good (341-270 BC)
  31. epistemology
    the philosophical theory of knowledge
  32. ethics
    the philosophical study of moral values and rules
  33. eudaimonia
    a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous
  34. golden mean
    the middle between extremes
  35. Hellenistic
    relating to or characteristic of the classical Greek civilization
  36. hemlock
    branching biennial herb with large leaves and white flowers
  37. Heraclitus
    a presocratic Greek philosopher who said that fire is the origin of all things and that permanence is an illusion as all things are in perpetual flux (circa 500 BC)
  38. Hypatia
    Greek philosopher and astronomer; she invented the astrolabe
  39. logic
    the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference
  40. Lucretius
    Roman philosopher and poet
  41. Marcus Aurelius
    Emperor of Rome
  42. materialism
    the philosophical theory that matter is the only reality
  43. metaphysics
    the philosophical study of being and knowing
  44. monism
    the doctrine that reality consists of a single basic substance or element
  45. Neoplatonism
    a system of philosophical and theological doctrines composed of elements of Platonism and Aristotelianism and oriental mysticism; its most distinctive doctrine holds that the first principle and source of reality transcends being and thought and is naturally unknowable
  46. nominalism
    (philosophy) the doctrine that the various objects labeled by the same term have nothing in common but their name
  47. ontology
    the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence
  48. Origen
    Greek philosopher and theologian who reinterpreted Christian doctrine through the philosophy of Neoplatonism; his work was later condemned as unorthodox (185-254)
  49. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  50. Parmenides
    a presocratic Greek philosopher born in Italy
  51. Peripatetic
    a follower of Aristotle or an adherent of Aristotelianism
  52. phenomenon
    any state or process known through the senses
  53. philosophy
    the rational investigation of existence and knowledge
  54. Plato
    ancient Athenian philosopher
  55. Platonic
    of or relating to or characteristic of Plato or his philosophy
  56. Platonism
    (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that abstract concepts exist independent of their names
  57. Plotinus
    Roman philosopher (born in Egypt) who was the leading representative of Neoplatonism (205-270)
  58. Plutarch
    Greek biographer who wrote Parallel Lives (46?-120 AD)
  59. presocratic
    before the time of Socrates
  60. Pythagoras
    Greek philosopher and mathematician who proved the Pythagorean theorem; considered to be the first true mathematician (circa 580-500 BC)
  61. rationalism
    the doctrine that reason is the basis for regulating conduct
  62. reason
    the capacity for rational thought
  63. rhetoric
    study of the technique for using language effectively
  64. Seneca
    Roman statesman and philosopher who was an advisor to Nero
  65. skepticism
    the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge
  66. Socrates
    ancient Athenian philosopher; teacher of Plato and Xenophon
  67. sophistry
    a deliberately invalid argument in the hope of deceiving
  68. Stoic
    a member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy
  69. teleology
    a doctrine explaining phenomena by their ends or purposes
  70. Thales of Miletus
    a presocratic Greek philosopher and astronomer (who predicted an eclipse in 585 BC) who was said by Aristotle to be the founder of physical science; he held that all things originated in water (624-546 BC)
  71. Theophrastus
    Greek philosopher who was a student of Aristotle and who succeeded Aristotle as the leader of the Peripatetics (371-287 BC)
  72. treatise
    a formal text that treats a particular topic systematically
  73. virtue
    the quality of doing what is right
  74. Xenophanes
    Greek philosopher (560-478 BC)
  75. Zeno of Citium
    ancient Greek philosopher who founded the Stoic school
  76. Zeno of Elea
    ancient Greek philosopher who formulated paradoxes that defended the belief that motion and change are illusory (circa 495-430 BC)
Created on Thu Jan 05 12:28:08 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:24:35 EDT 2017)

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