Pre-Socratic Philosophy and Stoicism

Before Socrates, a handful of Greek thinkers asked the first systematic questions about nature, number, and virtue. Stoicism later built an entire ethics on self-control.

MCQ Questions

Ethics & Philosophy

Pre-Socratic Philosophy and Stoicism

Seeking rational, not purely mythological, explanations for reality and ethical life

Pythagoras

Mathematics & the soul

Taught ethics centred on harmony and the soul’s purification

Heraclitus

The nature of change

“You cannot step into the same river twice” — change is fundamental

Hippocrates

Father of medicine

“First, do no harm” — still a foundational reference in medical ethics

Stoicism

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Virtue and tranquility from accepting what you cannot control

⬇ Download as image Ethics & Philosophy

Must Know

• Pythagoras is best known for mathematical work, but also taught an ethical and religious philosophy centred on harmony and the soul’s purification.
• Heraclitus argued that change is the fundamental nature of reality, famously summarized as “you cannot step into the same river twice.”
• Hippocrates, often called the father of medicine, established ethical standards for medical practice still echoed in the modern Hippocratic Oath.
• Stoicism, founded later, taught that virtue and inner tranquility come from accepting what one cannot control and mastering one’s own reactions.
• Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor, wrote his personal reflections, known as *Meditations*, applying Stoic principles to the burdens of leadership.

Good to Know

• Heraclitus’s philosophy of constant change contrasted sharply with other Greek thinkers who sought unchanging, eternal truths.
• The Hippocratic Oath’s core principle, “first, do no harm,” remains a foundational reference point in medical ethics today.
• Stoicism’s emphasis on distinguishing what is and isn’t within one’s control has influenced modern psychological approaches like cognitive behavioural therapy.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which pre-Socratic philosopher argued that change is the fundamental nature of reality?

Heraclitus

Hippocrates

Pythagoras

Socrates

 Loading…

 

Great to Know

• Pre-Socratic thinkers established the pattern of seeking rational, rather than purely mythological, explanations for reality and ethical life.
• Stoicism’s practical, self-mastery-focused ethics has proven unusually durable, finding renewed popularity in contemporary self-help and leadership writing.
• Marcus Aurelius’s example shows Stoic philosophy was meant as a lived practice for facing real responsibility, not merely abstract theorizing.