Thales, Hippias, Aristotle, and the Beginnings of Greek Philosophy

This book challenges the current consensus about Aristotle’s sources in his account of Thales and the origin of philosophy (Metaphysics A, 983b20– 984a3). The current view is that Aristotle found his information about Thales’ philosophy in an important book by the sophist Hippias. There is a widespread consensus among scholars that Hippias, in this lost treatise, dealt not only with Thales but wit...