## TL;DR

Ancient Greek philosophy (6th century BCE - 6th century CE) laid the foundations of Western thought. Three giants: Socrates (questioning method, 'know thyself'), Plato (Theory of Forms, The Republic), Aristotle (logic, ethics, politics, biology — tutored Alexander the Great). Pre-Socratics (Thales: water as fundamental substance).

## Core Explanation

Socrates (470-399 BCE): never wrote — known through Plato's dialogues, executed for 'corrupting youth.' Plato (428-348 BCE): Forms (ideal, eternal versions of things), Academy (first Western university). Aristotle (384-322 BCE): empiricism, golden mean (virtue between extremes), Lyceum. Hellenistic schools: Stoicism (virtue + reason), Epicureanism (pleasure + absence of pain), Skepticism (suspension of judgment).

## Further Reading

- [A History of Western Philosophy (Bertrand Russell)](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-History-of-Western-Philosophy/Bertrand-Russell/9780671201586)