Diogène Laërce

3rd-century Roman biographer of Greek philosophers · 180–240

Appears in 12 videos · 13 passages, 6 of them in depth.

Play the 6 passages in a row Make a board

Summary

Dominique Pagani sees Diogenes Laertius as a compiler of the opinions of the ancient philosophers, of uneven value and unreliable, yet impossible to replace1. He notes that the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers mixes legends, such as that of the golden thigh, with valuable testimonies on Democritus, on the Presocratics and, more fleetingly, on Plato's teaching. He takes two points above all from it. First, Diogenes Laertius brings Plato into the history of theatre and of literary genres: by adding an interlocutor to tragedy, Plato is said to have created the dialogue2 3. Second, he attributes to him the saying that Socrates brought philosophy down from the heavens to the earth. Pagani asks that it be taken literally4 and uses it to place Socrates and Plato within the city, and not only within knowledge5. He also points out that Kant cites this chronicler of Antiquity.

Summary produced automatically from 13 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.

Who is this?

Diogenes Laërtius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving work, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, remains a primary source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy. His reputation is controversial among scholars because he often repeats information from his sources without critically evaluating it. […]

Read the article on Wikipedia

Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: Unidentified engraver, Public domain

Search these passages

Talks · 14 Jul 2022From Plato to world revolution

3:09Lives and Opinions of Eminent PhilosophersHis compilation sums up thinkers through their maxims, but places Plato within the history of literary genres, as inventor of dialogue.
13:12Attributes to him the formula: Socrates brought philosophy down from the sky to the earth.

Cycle 10 · 23 Dec 2021#10.7 “Postmodern” eco-petty-Nazism: Plato's Gorgias

50:40Lives and Opinions of Eminent PhilosophersBrings Plato into the history of tragedy: he adds an interlocutor and creates the dialogue.

Cycle 9.2 · 4 Mar 2021#9.16 How can sciences of history be real?

35:47Lives and Opinions of Eminent PhilosophersHe reports that Socrates brought philosophy down from the sky to the earth, a formula to be taken literally.

Series · 10 Sept 2019M. Clouscard's reply to C. Morilhat (part 2)

1:23:43Lives and Opinions of Eminent PhilosophersA compiler little esteemed but valuable, he situates Socrates and Plato within the city and not solely within knowledge.

Cycle 3 · 1 Aug 2017#3.5 From Ulysses to Daedalus

9:00Lives and Opinions of Eminent PhilosophersAn unreliable but irreplaceable compilation, which makes Plato the inventor of dialogue in the history of theater.