Audiobooks Ancient Ancient Greek Philosopher-Scientists
Ancient Greek Philosopher-Scientists

Ancient Greek Philosopher-Scientists

by VARIOUS ( - )

The Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers, that is, the philosopher-scientists who lived before or contemporaneously to Socrates, were the first men in the Western world to establish a line of inquiry regarding the natural phenomena that rejected the traditional religious explanations and searched for rational explanations. Even though they do not form a school of thought, they can be considered the fathers of philosophy and many other sciences as we have them now. None of their works is extant, so, in this collection, we present the textual fragments, when existing, of ten Pre-Socratic philosopher-scientists, and quotations and testimonials about them left by later authors. (Summary by Leni)


Anaxagoras of Klazomenai (translated by John Burnet)

Anaximander of Miletos (translated by John Burnet)

Anaximenes of Miletos (translated by Arthur Fairbanks)

Empedocles of Agrigentum (translated by William Ellery Leonard)

Heraclitus of Ephesos (translated by G.T.W. Patrick)

Parmenides of Elea (translated by John Burnet)

Pythagoras of Samos and the pythagoreans (translated by Arthur Fairbanks)

Thales of Miletos (translated by Arthur Fairbanks)

Xenophanes of Kolophon (translated by Arthur Fairbanks)

Zeno of Elea (translated by John Burnet)