Deaths of Famous Philosophers

“This book provocatively toes the line between philosophy and fiction, not so much inviting but forcing us to reconsider the difference. Profound and silly, scholarly and untamed, it stands as a fierce and playful hybrid—a literary Minotaur. With inviable acumen and eloquence, Roochnik has given us a book as wonderful and as strange as anything Diogenes Laertius ever wrote and has challenged us to rethink the lives behind the ideas that founded Western philosophy.”


—Shane Ewegen, professor of philosophy, Trinity College





“There is something here for everyone—from those exploring classical Greek philosophy for the first time to experts who want a fresh perspective on familiar material. Roochnik treats well-known and lesser-known figures, even providing an imaginative window onto the lives and minds of women barely mentioned in ancient sources. Each vignette can stand alone, but they also speak to one another and form something of a narrative arc. Roochnik draws us in with wit, expertise, poignancy, and imagination.”


—Jill Gordon, NEH/Class of 1940 Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Emerita, Colby College





“Captivating, witty, and bursting with illuminating insights, David Roochnik’s Deaths of Famous Philosophers brings ancient Greek philosophy to life by blending scholarly erudition and creative writing. Whether treading familiar ground or encountering the great Greek philosophers for the first time, readers have much to learn from this enjoyable and thought-provoking work.”


—Rebecca LeMoine, associate professor of political science, Florida Atlantic University





“Deaths of Famous Philosophers informs while it entertains, weaving together the doctrines of ancient Greece’s most renowned thinkers with the quirky, often ribald accounts of their lives and deaths.”


—Emily Austin, professor of philosophy, Wake Forest University