The First Philosophers
A little while ago, I did a podcast with a great Substack newsletter called Classical Wisdom, and the video has just been posted here.
The story behind this is that in replying to some interesting comments on my book on the philosophy of history, What Went Right?, I had linked to a Classical Wisdom article on the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece. This drew the attention of Classical Wisdom’s Anya Leonard, and it turns out we have a mutual friend, who brought us into contact.
The podcast below is the first time I have really set out to explain my philosophy of history to a general audience, and we end up covering a lot of other ground. I like Anya’s suggestion that we elevate the reputation of the “Pre-Socratics,” making them more than just a footnote to Socrates by re-naming them the First Philosophers.
I would particularly direct your attention to the last segment, starting at about 39 minutes, when I talk about two things I think we can learn from the ancient Greeks. First, I argue that we should follow the Greeks in using philosophy as a broad term for a “love of wisdom” that encompasses all fields of knowledge. We should all be, to some extent, philosopher-scientists like the First Philosophers. Second, I argue that we should learn from the way the Greeks viewed philosophy, not just as a field of abstract thought, but as a way of living.
Absolutely fascinating , thanks for this.