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Speusippus

(Encyclopedia)Speusippus spyo͞osĭpˈəs [key], fl. 347–339 b.c., Greek philosopher; disciple and nephew of Plato, whom he succeeded as head of the Academy. Speusippus distinguished 10 grades of being, thereby p...

Ficino, Marsilio

(Encyclopedia)Ficino, Marsilio märsēˈlyō fēchēˈnō [key], 1433–99, Italian philosopher. Under the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici, Ficino became the most influential exponent of Platonism in Italy in the 15...

Callias, d. c.370 b.c., Athenian leader

(Encyclopedia)Callias, d. c.370 b.c., Athenian leader, one of the generals of the Peloponnesian War. In his old age Callias was one of the ambassadors sent to Sparta with Callistratus to negotiate a peace treaty in...

experience

(Encyclopedia)experience, living through events and the impression on a person or animal of events. In epistemology, a distinction is made between things known inductively, from experience, and those known deductiv...

world soul

(Encyclopedia)world soul, Lat. anima mundi, in philosophy, term denoting a universal spirit or soul that functions as an organizing principle. While many early Greek philosophers saw the world as of one principle, ...

demiurge

(Encyclopedia)demiurge dĕmˈēûrjˌ [key] [Gr.,=workman, craftsman], name given by Plato in a mythological passage in the Timaeus to the creator God. In Gnosticism the Demiurge, creator of the material world, was...

apology

(Encyclopedia)apology [Gr.,=defense], literary work that defends, justifies, or clarifies an author's ideas or point of view. Unlike the ordinary use of the word, the literary use neither implies that wrong has bee...

Aspasia

(Encyclopedia)Aspasia ăspāˈshə, –zhə [key], fl. mid-5th cent. b.c., Athenian courtesan. A woman of great beauty and intelligence, she became the mistress and, according to some poets, adviser of Pericles aft...

Bembo, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Bembo, Pietro pyāˈtrō bĕmˈbō [key], 1470–1547, Italian humanist, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A favorite of the Medici, he was secretary to Pope Leo X and was made a cardinal by Paul...

closet drama

(Encyclopedia)closet drama, a play that is meant to be read rather than performed. Precursors of the form existed in classical times. Plato's Apology is often regarded as tragic drama rather than philosophic dialog...