Xenophanes, c.570–c.480 B.C., pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of Colophon. Although thought by some to be the founder of the Eleatic school, his thought is only superficially similar to that of...

Eleatic school, Greek pre-Socratic philosophical school at Elea, a Greek colony in Lucania, Italy. The group was founded in the early 5th cent. B.C. by Parmenides, its greatest thinker. He den...

Zeno of Elea, c.490–c.430 B.C., Greek philosopher of the Eleatic school. He undertook to support in his only known work, fragments of which are extant, the doctrine of Parmenides by demonstrat...

Zone [Gr.,=girdle], in geography, area with a certain physical and/or cultural unity that distinguishes it from other areas. The division of the earth into five climatic zones probably origina...

Substance, in philosophy, term used to denote the changeless substratum presumed in some philosophies to be present in all being. Aristotle defined substance as that which possesses attributes...

Magna Graecia [Lat.,=great Greece], Greek colonies of S Italy. The Greek overseas expansion of the 8th cent. B.C. founded a number of towns that became the centers of a new, thriving Greek ter...

Pantheism [Gr. pan=all, theos=God], name used to denote any system of belief or speculation that includes the teaching God is all, and all is God. Pantheism, in other words, identifies the uni...

Plato, 427?–347 B.C., Greek philosopher. Plato's teachings have been among the most influential in the history of Western civilization. After pursuing the liberal studies of his day, he became...

Socrates, 469–399 B.C., Greek philosopher of Athens. Famous for his view of philosophy as a pursuit proper and necessary to all intelligent men, he is one of the great examples of a man who li...

Philosophy [Gr.,=love of wisdom], study of the ultimate reality, causes, and principles underlying being and thinking. It has many aspects and different manifestations according to the problem...