Lives of the Eminent Philosophers

By: Diogenes Laertius, Pamela Mensch - translator, James Miller - editor

Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon

Length: 28 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Everyone wants to live a meaningful life. Long before our own day of self-help books offering 12-step programs and other guides to attain happiness, the philosophers of ancient Greece explored the riddle of what makes a life worth living, producing a wide variety of ideas and examples to follow. 

This rich tradition was recast by Diogenes Laertius into an anthology, a miscellany of maxims and anecdotes, that generations of Western readers have consulted for edification as well as entertainment ever since Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, first compiled in the AD third century, came to prominence in Renaissance Italy. To this day, it remains a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins and practice of philosophy in ancient Greece, covering a longer period of time and a larger number of figures - from Pythagoras and Socrates to Aristotle and Epicurus - than any other ancient source.

©2018 Oxford University Press (P)2018 Tantor

Could be worse ....

Diogenes Laertius' lives is flawed but beggars can't be choosers... The essays are a very nice addition...
The narrator is a really bad fit !!! Poor performance.

Terrible narration.

The narrator sounded absolutely nothing like what I would expect any of the philosophers described in this work to sound like. This one flaw has turned a classic work to ruins.

I hate the voice of that person reading

Why u guys use those voice put clear voice English is my second language and even in Spanish you guys have weird voice to

A let down but still decent

Diogenes discusses the personal lives of many philosophers with some ancedotes with little to no discussion of their ideas. Consequently the book is a let down and more biography than philosophy. However the essays by various modern scholars after the book make up for it slightly.

I got so much in love with these philosophers.

The spirit of this books talks to my soul. The narrator gives life to every story, I laugh, I wonder, I meditate, and I enjoy every minute. The anecdotes are so inspiring; the way of life each philosopher led is so interesting and so vivid that I feel as if those virtuous eminences are here in this very moment talking to me. I enjoy every syory from Thales to the great and wonderful Epicurus.

Terrible narrator

I can't even listen to this, the narrator doesn't fit the mood at all. I got audible just for this book, and I can't listen to it for more than 2 minutes just because of the narrator.

Great to have book

Have the full set of books by Diogenes Laertius,but nice to have this on Audible. When I finish my study of the Pre Socratics I go to sleep listening to this.Listen to it over and over.Very happy .


I listen to this.

For the first time Diogenes reader

If this is your introduction to this topic I would discourage you from listening this particular narrator. She misses or misunderstands some crucial dictions/ways of speaking. Sometimes she uses a sarcastic tone, for example when saying “such was the life…”,; or “so much for…”, when it is not intended to be sarcastic. Those phrases are meant to be downbeats. Paragraph closing or transitionary rhetorical devices that were very common at the time but are now arcane and unused in both speech and writing. A first time reader should opt for an online lecture or venture into the text themselves. Happy reading Classicists!

Pivotal in the awakening of a static mind

Angles & viewpoints through the eyes of profound men the make you question the environment you live in.
Indivisible ideas that carry true through the ages.
It is important we do this else we are subject fully to the influence of others.
By taking in information from the correct sources and coming to your own conclusions you can at least find comfort in the world no matter the weather.
This author gives you the keys to the house that you have already built,
Go enjoy it, with the ones you care about.

I have shared this with those I feel might need it, almost like a gospel.

Recommended

Very enjoyable, especially the essays at the end.

A few missed pronounced names by the reader but very well read.

very interesting

very interesting knowledge, the voice is also very good. i appreciate. the last part with Nietzsche is very good