Speusippus | |
|---|---|
 Speusippus, 17th-century engraving | |
| Born | c. 408 BC Athens |
| Died | 339/8 BC Athens |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Platonism |
Main interests | Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics |
Notable ideas | Developed the philosophy of Plato, but rejected the Theory of Forms |
Speusippus (/spjuːˈsɪpəs/;[1] ‹See Tfd›Greek: Σπεύσιππος; c. 408 – 339/8 BC[2]) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Speusippus was Plato's nephew by his sister Potone. After Plato's death, c. 348 BC, Speusippus inherited the Academy, near age 60, and remained its head for the next eight years. However, following a stroke, he passed the chair to Xenocrates. Although the successor to Plato in the Academy, Speusippus frequently diverged from Plato's teachings. He rejected Plato's Theory of Forms, and whereas Plato had identified the Good with the ultimate principle, Speusippus maintained that the Good was merely secondary. He also argued that it is impossible to have satisfactory knowledge of any thing without knowing all the differences by which it is separated from everything else.
The standard edition of the surviving fragments and testimonies is Leonardo Tarán's Speusippus of Athens: A Critical Study with a Collection of the Related Texts and Commentary (1982).
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
pronwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Dorandi 1999, p. 48.