Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

E278299

ancient Greek literature biographical work philosophical literature

Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a biographical work by Diogenes Laërtius that compiles the lives, doctrines, and anecdotes of ancient Greek philosophers.

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All labels observed (15)

Label	Occurrences
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers canonical	6
Lives and Doctrines of the Eminent Philosophers	2
Book I of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book II of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book III of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book IV of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book IX of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book VI of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book VII of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book VIII of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Book X of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Diogenes Laertius’s Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers	1
Lives of Eminent Philosophers	1
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers	1
Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων, Book V	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2558367 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Context triple: [Cleanthes of Assos, describedIn, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers]

A. Course of Positive Philosophy
Course of Positive Philosophy is Auguste Comte’s foundational multi-volume work that systematically outlines positivism and the hierarchy of the sciences, laying the groundwork for modern sociology.
B. On the History of Modern Philosophy
On the History of Modern Philosophy is a series of late lectures by German idealist philosopher F. W. J. Schelling that critically surveys and interprets the development of modern philosophy from Descartes onward.
C. A Philosophical Sketch
A Philosophical Sketch is the influential 1795 essay by Immanuel Kant in which he outlines a framework of political and moral principles aimed at achieving lasting peace between states.
D. The Conduct of Life
The Conduct of Life is a collection of essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson that explores practical and philosophical questions about how to live ethically and purposefully in the modern world.
E. Pascalian Meditations
Pascalian Meditations is a major theoretical work by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu that deepens his concepts of habitus, field, and symbolic power through a philosophical engagement with Pascal and the history of social thought.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Target entity description: Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a biographical work by Diogenes Laërtius that compiles the lives, doctrines, and anecdotes of ancient Greek philosophers.

A. Course of Positive Philosophy
Course of Positive Philosophy is Auguste Comte’s foundational multi-volume work that systematically outlines positivism and the hierarchy of the sciences, laying the groundwork for modern sociology.
B. On the History of Modern Philosophy
On the History of Modern Philosophy is a series of late lectures by German idealist philosopher F. W. J. Schelling that critically surveys and interprets the development of modern philosophy from Descartes onward.
C. A Philosophical Sketch
A Philosophical Sketch is the influential 1795 essay by Immanuel Kant in which he outlines a framework of political and moral principles aimed at achieving lasting peace between states.
D. The Conduct of Life
The Conduct of Life is a collection of essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson that explores practical and philosophical questions about how to live ethically and purposefully in the modern world.
E. Pascalian Meditations
Pascalian Meditations is a major theoretical work by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu that deepens his concepts of habitus, field, and symbolic power through a philosophical engagement with Pascal and the history of social thought.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (63)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	ancient Greek literature ⓘ biographical work ⓘ philosophical literature ⓘ
author	Diogenes Laërtius ⓘ linked to: Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
contains	epigrams ⓘ sayings of philosophers ⓘ testaments and wills of philosophers ⓘ
coversPeriod	from early Greek sages to Hellenistic philosophers ⓘ
dividedInto	Book I ⓘ Book II ⓘ Book III ⓘ Book IV ⓘ Book IX ⓘ Book V ⓘ Book VI ⓘ Book VII ⓘ Book VIII ⓘ Book X ⓘ
focusesOn	anecdotes about philosophers ⓘ doctrines of philosophers ⓘ lives of philosophers ⓘ
genre	biography ⓘ doxography ⓘ
hasAlternativeTitle	Lives and Doctrines of the Eminent Philosophers ⓘ linked to: Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers Lives of the Eminent Philosophers ⓘ linked to: Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
hasBookDedicatedTo	Epicurus in Book X ⓘ
includesPhilosopher	Anaxagoras ⓘ Anaximander ⓘ Anaximenes ⓘ linked to: Anaximenes of Miletus Antisthenes ⓘ Aristotle ⓘ Diogenes of Sinope ⓘ Empedocles ⓘ Epicurus ⓘ Heraclitus ⓘ Parmenides ⓘ Plato ⓘ Pythagoras ⓘ Socrates ⓘ Thales of Miletus ⓘ Zeno of Citium ⓘ
influenced	later biographical traditions about philosophers ⓘ
notableFor	anecdotal style ⓘ biographical details of philosophers ⓘ preserving fragments of lost philosophical works ⓘ
numberOfBooks	10 ⓘ
originalLanguage	Ancient Greek ⓘ
philosophicalSchoolCoverage	Academics ⓘ Cynics ⓘ Epicureans ⓘ Peripatetics ⓘ Presocratic philosophers ⓘ Socratic schools ⓘ linked to: School of Socrates Stoics ⓘ linked to: Stoicism
preservationStatus	survives complete ⓘ
preserves	letters of Epicurus ⓘ linked to: Book 10 on Epicurus principal doctrines of Epicurus ⓘ
primaryTheme	biographical accounts of philosophers ⓘ summary of philosophical doctrines ⓘ
subject	ancient Greek philosophy ⓘ
timeOfWriting	3rd century CE ⓘ
tradition	Hellenistic doxographical tradition ⓘ
usedAsSourceBy	modern historians of philosophy ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (21)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cleanthes of Assos → describedIn → Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers ⓘ

Diogenes of Sinope → portrayedIn → Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers ⓘ

Hipparchia of Maroneia → knownFrom → Diogenes Laertius’s Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers ⓘ