The Gang of Three: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle (Ancient Wisdom)

For better or worse, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle engineered the Western mind. Above all, they formed part of a movement that stood at the crossroads of mythological and scientific-rational thought, at the crossroads of mythos and logos. Although the path of logos had already been beaten by the pre-Socratics, and would be paved by the Stoics, it is they, the Gang of Three, who forced the carriage to turn. This book sets out to do three things: trace the journey from mythos to logos; outline the lives and thought of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and consider their legacy, and what can still be gained from them, especially in the universal fields of mental health and human flourishing. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were not philosophers in the narrow sense that we understand today, but in the broader, historical, etymological sense of being lovers of wisdom. They knew logic and dialectic, but they also knew how to live, and how to die—and it is in this, perhaps, that their greater strength lies. Title Page Epigraph Copyright About the Author Also by Neel Burton Contents Preface Introduction Timeline and Maps I. The Pre-Socratics and Sophists 1. The Pre-Socratic Movement 2. The Milesian School 3. The Second Pre-Socratic Phase 4. The Third Pre-Socratic Phase 5. The Sophists II. Socrates 6. History of Athens up to the Time of Socrates 7. The Socratic Question 8. Socrates at First 9. Socrates on a Mission 10. Socrates at War 11. Socrates in Love 12. Socrates on Trial III. Plato 13. Life and Works 14. Meno 15. Phaedo 16. Phaedrus 17. Republic 18. Theaetetus IV. Aristotle 19. Life, Biology, and Works 20. Practical Sciences 21. Organon 22. Productive Sciences 23. Theoretical Sciences The Gang of Three What do you think? Stoic Stories Notes