The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers · Chapter
Speusippus explained
This chapter covers the life and character of Speusippus, Plato's nephew and successor as head of the Academy.
What happens
This chapter covers the life and character of Speusippus, Plato's nephew and successor as head of the Academy. It describes his eight-year leadership, his passionate and pleasure-seeking nature, his innovations in philosophical method, his decline into paralysis and despair, and his eventual suicide. The chapter also notes his writings, his relationship with Diogenes, and his invitation to Xenocrates to succeed him.
Themes in this chapter
The Philosopher's Life and Character
Speusippus is portrayed as passionate and a slave to pleasure, contrasting with Plato's disposition, and his decline into paralysis and suicide illustrates the personal vulnerabilities of a philosopher.
Death and Legacy
Speusippus's death by suicide in despair, his extensive writings, and his role in the succession of the Academy highlight themes of mortality and intellectual inheritance.
Characters to notice
- Speusippus
Plato's nephew and successor; passionate, pleasure-loving, innovator in philosophical method; died by suicide after paralysis.
- Plato
Speusippus's uncle and predecessor; his sister Potone was Speusippus's mother.
- Xenocrates
Invited by Speusippus to become his successor in the Academy.
- Diogenes of Sinope
Exchanged a harsh greeting with Speusippus, criticizing his endurance of life in a paralyzed state.
- Aristotle
Purchased Speusippus's books for three talents, according to Phavorinus.
Key passages
“He was the first man, as Diodorus relates in the first book of his Commentaries, who investigated in his school what was common to the several sciences, and who endeavored, as far as possible, to maintain their connection with each other.”
According to Diodorus, Speusippus pioneered the study of the common principles underlying different sciences and sought to keep them interconnected.
Highlights Speusippus's methodological innovation in the Academy.
“And at last in despair he put an end to his life, being a man of a great age.”
Eventually, overwhelmed by despair, he committed suicide at an advanced age.
Describes the tragic end of Speusippus's life.