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The Pre-Socratics

The term Pre-Socratics refers to a number of Greek philosophers who lived in the centuries before Socrates (more specifically between 600 and 400 BC) and who were the source of the philosophical endeavors that were carried out during that time. Although they highly influenced the great thinkers who came in the eras after them (like the Ancient Greeks), modern society is unable to experience firsthand the legacy of their significant writings given that almost nothing still survives. Most of what is known comes secondhand through the references made in the works of the thinkers who followed and whose works have been preserved. These preserved thoughts of the Pre-Socratics are often referred to as "fragments" because they are not situated within their original context.

The there was much diversity of thought among the Pre-Socratics, they are typically considered to be natural philosophers, since a main concern of theirs was explaining the nature of the universe and the role of man in it. They did not settle for the conventional mythology based reasoning regarding these issues and set about to examine them in a more methodical manner. Among the questions they tackled were, “What is the world made of?” “Where do things come from?” This type of rumination eventually led to other queries regarding the nature of the soul, which they believed had a direct correspondence with the structure of the universe in the same manner as any other natural phenomena.

Web Resources On The Pre-Socratics

Philosophical Background
Wikipedia: Pre-Socratics

Book Resources On The Pre-Socratics

The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists by Robin Waterfield
The Presocratic Philosophers by G. S. Kirk, et al

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