Diogenes Laertius: Lives of Eminent Philosophers

A pioneering work in the history of philosophy, the ancient text of the Lives presents engaging portraits of nearly a hundred Greek philosophers. It blends biography with bibliography and surveys of leading theories, peppered with punchy anecdotes, pithy maxims, and even snatches of poetry, much of it by the philosophers themselves. The work presents a systematic genealogy of Greek philosophy from its origins in the sixth century BCE to its flowering in Plato's Academy and the Hellenistic schools. In this fully up-to-date and accessible translation, based on the most accurate texts and the latest advances in scholarship, Stephen White provides a valuable resource for students and scholars of ancient philosophy. Highlights include extended treatment of the 'Seven Sages' (Book 1), Socrates and his Socratic followers (Book 2), Plato (Book 3), Aristotle and his school (Book 5), Diogenes the Cynic (Book 6), Stoicism (Book 7), Pythagoreans (Book 8), Pyrrhonian skepticism (Book 9), and Epicureanism (Book 10).

• Offers an accessible translation of a key third-century work which stands as the preeminent surviving ancient history of Greek philosophy
• Informed by huge progress in recent philosophical and historical scholarship, making it fully up to date
• Presents ancient philosophy as a way of life for leading figures including Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus, as well as leading Atomists, Cynics, Stoics, and Skeptics