I just read the entire history of Western philosophy in under 30 hours. Here's my take on it.

This is not an exhaustive summary, but I will be posting my observations on the different periods. This is in no particular order and I may add to this post as I go.<br><br>**The Pre-Socratics:** <br><br>* There are several theories about who the Pre-Socratic philosophers actually were. Many believe they were ancient Greek poets. Others think that the ideas were written in verse and therefore shouldn't be considered philosophers.<br>* It's likely that they didn't exist and that the ideas were fabricated by later philosophers who wanted to add some depth to ancient Greek culture.<br><br>**Socrates:** <br><br>* He never wrote anything down. In fact, he claimed that he knew nothing, and his only contribution to philosophy was that he got people to question their assumptions.<br>* He was put to death for corruption of the youth, which is probably untrue. He probably just had unpopular political views.<br>* The only thing we know about him comes from his students, particularly Plato and Xenophon. It is possible that they made him out to be a saint.<br><br>**Plato:** <br><br>* He was a member of an extremely wealthy family in Athens and was related to the famous statesman Solon.<br>* He founded the Academy in Athens, which was one of the earliest institutions of higher learning in the West and a precursor to modern universities. It existed for 900 years.<br>* Plato was a strong believer in the concept of the immortal soul. He believed that the soul existed before birth, and that the soul would continue to exist after death, and that the soul would be rewarded or punished for the actions of the body. <br>* In one of his most famous dialogues, the **Phaedo**, Socrates is on death row and is trying to convince his friends not to be sad about his impending death, because death is the soul's liberation from its imprisonment in a mortal body.<br>* Plato was a strong believer in the concept of reincarnation. In his most famous work, **The Republic**, he says that the soul cycles through different bodies based on its level of wisdom.<br>* The **Symposium** is one of Plato's most interesting dialogues, in which a group of his friends discuss the nature of love. The dialogue includes lengthy speeches by several of his friends, including Aristophanes, who puts forward the amusing idea that the human soul was once whole, but was hacked in half by the god Zeus in order to stop humans from fighting him too hard, and that the primary goal of love is to find one's missing half.<br>* The **Apology of Socrates** is the longest dialogue in the Plato corpus. It depicts the trial of Socrates. At the end of the dialogue, Socrates is sentenced to death and drinks the poison hemlock. His friends try to convince him to appeal the sentence, but he says that he knows that he is in the right and that he would be acting immorally by trying to avoid his punishment. In addition to writing lengthy philosophical dialogues, Plato wrote a number of Socratic histories, including the **Crito** and the **Phaedo**, which are accounts of Socrates' last days. He also wrote the **Phaedrus**, which is a lengthy dialogue about the nature of the soul. <br><br>**Aristotle:** <br><br>* He was a student of Plato's for nearly 20 years. Plato was nearly twice Aristotle's age when they met.<br>* After Plato's death, Aristotle went off to study in Asia Minor (all of the land west of the Euphrates was considered Europe).<br>* Unlike Plato, he wrote extensive notes and left behind the largest library of the ancient Greek world.<br>* Unlike Plato, he was very hands-on in his research. He collected extensive scientific data about plants and animals, much of which is still accurate today.<br>* Aristotle was a strong believer in teleology, which is the idea that things have a purpose. He believed that everything has a built-in purpose and that everything tends towards its purpose. In the natural world, things tend towards their "natural place". For example, he believed that heavy objects tend towards the center of the earth. He was wrong about a lot of things, but he was still one of the greatest scientists of the ancient world.<br>* In addition to his scientific work, Aristotle wrote a great deal about ethics. He believed that virtue was the key to a good life and that people become virtuous by practicing their virtues. He also believed that people become virtuous by doing what is morally right, but he didn't think that morality was the primary goal of life.<br>* Aristotle's most famous student was Alexander the Great. Alexander went on to conquer a large portion of the known world and spread Greek culture throughout.<br>* He died of a fever at the age of 62. His vast collection of notes was left to his student Theophrastus, who built upon them and added to them.<br><br>**The Stoics:** <br><br>* The word **stoic** comes from the Greek word for "school".<br>* The school was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium. Zeno was a wealthy merchant who lost all of his money and then spent the rest of his life giving away his money to others. He was known as the "Crab" for his habit of pinching the flesh of his students as a way to teach them not to be afraid of pain.<br>* The school was famous for its acceptance of women. One of the most important Stoics was a woman named Hipparchia who was the daughter of a wealthy politician in Maroneia. She ran away from home to be with her teacher Crates of Thebes, who was one of the early Stoics.<br>* Stoicism had a lot of influence in ancient Rome, and several Roman emperors were Stoics.<br>* The Stoics were very concerned with living in accordance with nature. They believed that people should focus on things that they can control and that they should try to be indifferent to things that they can't control.<br>* One of the most famous Stoics was Epictetus, who was a slave in Rome. He was given his freedom and became a student of the Stoic teacher Musonius Rufus. Epictetus became a teacher himself, but the Roman authorities banned him from teaching because of his humble origins.<br>* The **Meditations** of Marcus Aurelius is one of the most popular books in the Stoic corpus. It was written in Greek and was one of the last books written in Greek in the Roman Empire. The book is Marcus Aurelius' personal journal, and he wrote it while he was on military campaigns. It is an introspective work that explores the nature of Stoicism.<br>* The Stoics had a very negative view of the passions, which they saw as obstacles to achieving virtue. They believed that people should try to live in accordance with reason. They were also very interested in the idea of indifference, which they saw as the key to achieving peace of mind.<br><br>**The Epicureans:**<br><br>* Epicurus was a student of the Platonist teacher Pamphilus. He was the son of a farmer from the island of Goar, and his family moved to Athens when he was very young.<br>* Epicurus was a strong believer in the concept of atomism, which held that everything is made up of tiny indivisible particles called atoms.<br>* Epicureans believed that the soul perishes with the body, which was unlike the majority of ancient Greeks who believed in some form of reincarnation.<br>* Epicurus believed that the goal of life should be to attain tranquility and freedom from physical pain and mental distress. Epicureans believed that people should pursue pleasure, but not just any pleasure. They believed that pleasure should be achieved through living modestly, avoiding excessive desires, and cultivating friendships. Epicureans believed that the goal of life is to live simply and avoid pain and fear.<br>* Epicurus believed that the gods exist, but they do not interfere in human affairs.<br>* Epicurus believed that the soul is mortal, and that the soul dies with the body.<br>* Epicureans believed that the soul is composed of tiny particles that are scattered throughout the body.<br>* Epicureans believed that the soul is not immortal, and that there is no afterlife.<br>* Epicurus believed that death is the end of all things, including the soul.<br>* Epicureans believed that the goal of life is to attain tranquility and freedom from physical pain and mental distress.<br>* Epicurus believed that pleasure is the goal of life, but not just any pleasure.<br>* Epicurus believed that the goal of life is to live simply and avoid pain and fear.<br><br>**The Skeptics:**<br><br>* The school was founded in Athens in the 1st century BCE by Pyrrho of Elis. He was a student of the ancient Greek historian Anaxarchus.<br>* Pyrrho was a soldier who fought with Alexander the Great in his conquest of India. He became disillusioned with the idea that war is the most important thing in life.<br>* The school was founded by Timon of Phlius, who was a student of the Skeptic teacher Sextus Empiricus. Sextus Empiricus wrote several important Skeptical texts that have survived to the present day.<br>* The Skeptics believed that knowledge is impossible to attain because reality is shrouded in uncertainty and doubt. They believed that the senses can't be trusted to give us accurate information about the world, and that reason is also fallible.<br>* The Skeptics believed that truth is impossible to attain, and that we should suspend judgment about everything. They believed that we should live our lives without attachment to any particular beliefs or dogmas.<br>* The Skeptics were a school of philosophers who questioned the idea that knowledge is possible. They were a school of skeptics who believed that knowledge is impossible to attain because reality is uncertain and doubtable.<br>* The Skeptics believed that knowledge is impossible to attain because