Who is your favorite Pre-Socratic Philosopher?

[Kyriakos]

Just a poll, since i had to research/present this, might be interesting to see if most of those philosophers are known/ anything by them was read here as well

The question is the one from the thread title, ie:

-Who is your favorite Pre-Socratic Philosopher?

Given the account by Aristotle, Diogenes Laertius, and a number of other notables of the start of Philosophy placing it in Thales the Milesian, in the 7th century BC, the poll includes the main names up to Socrates, in the mid 5th century BC.

Poll options are (mostly in chronological order, but not always) :

1) Thales

2) Anaximandros (Anaximander)

3) Pythagoras

4) Heraklitos

5) Democritos

6) Parmenides

7) Zenon (Zeno)

8) Anaxagoras

9) Protagoras

10) Xenophanes

11) Anaximenes

12) Melissos (Mellisus)

13) Other/ the poll exists in a void

-

You can also mention why you chose one or the other.

 

[Tahuti]

I voted Heraklitus. I like his idea of unity of opposites.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I voted for Zeno, because I enjoy the simplicity of his paradoxes.

 

[Zelig]

I don't like any European philosophers from before medieval times.

 

[Arakhor]

No love for Confucius, Kyriakos, or is this a strictly Hellenophile affair?

 

[Kyriakos]

^It is, i am only presenting the pre-socratics (ie philosophers in the Greek world up to around mid 5th century BC), cause the second circle will be about Socrates/Plato.

 

[Borachio]

Well, Diogenes of Sinope. But he fails to be pre-Socratic by a whisker.

 

[Kyriakos]

Well, Diogenes of Sinope. But he fails to be pre-Socratic by a whisker.

He probably was very young when Socrates died (399 BC), cause there is the well-known story of his reply to Alexander the Great

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Links would have been nice. I haven't heard of some of them.

 

[Kyriakos]

^They are main names, though, so google will provide all the sites one needs if there is interest

@Borachio: The following is one of the funniest quotes by Diogenes the Cynic:


Διογένης ερωτηθείς τι των θηρίων κάκιστα δάκνει έφη: των μεν αγρίων συκοφάντης, των δε ημέρων κόλαξ.

(Asked which of the animals bites the worst, he said: 'of the untamed ones, the sycophant, of the tamed ones the flatterer')

I also like his quote that his study is to examine how to fail.