Publication Details

Abstract

The article deals with the historical reconstruction of Aristippus’ philosophical activity. The first part shows that the ancient reports distinguish between Aristippus and his later followers, whom doxographers place in the Cyrenaic school. The next two sections analyse the oldest texts that portray Aristippus as Socrates’ follower and compare them with the reports of later doxographers. The penultimate part returns to the genealogy of the opposition between Antisthenes and Aristippus, which places two ways of life, asceticism and hedonism, in irreconcilable the opposition. The last part asks what we know about the historical Aristippus, and what his relationship was to the Socrates’ legacy.