Skip to content
Xenocrates

File:Xenocrates.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ214121· pop 53· linked from 392 articles

Xenocrates

Sign in to save

Also known as Xenocrates of Chalcedon

Xenocrates (; ; c. 396/5314/3 BC) of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader (scholarch) of the Platonic Academy from 339/8 to 314/3 BC. His teachings followed those of Plato, which he attempted to define more closely, often with mathematical elements. He distinguished three forms of being: the sensible, the intelligible, and a third compounded of the two, to which correspond respectively, sense, intellect and opinion. He considered unity and duality to be gods which rule the universe, and the soul a self-moving number. God pervades all things, and there are daemonical pow

AI overview

Xenocrates was a Greek philosopher who led Plato's Academy and developed Plato's ideas further, particularly by incorporating mathematical concepts into his theories about reality, knowledge, and the nature of the soul and divine forces. His work mattered because he helped shape how Platonic philosophy was understood and taught during a crucial period in ancient Greek intellectual history.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
ca. 396 B.C.
Died
ca. 314 B.C.
Works
2

Top works

  • Frammenti
  • Xenocrates De morte

via Open Library + Wikidata

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
3,381
Total plays
8,968

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Xenocrates">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Xenocrates

Recent publications · Crossref

1 total works indexed

  1. De piscinis et piscium qui in eis aluntur naturis libri quinque

    · 1559 · cited 4x

via Crossref · CC0

Key facts

Philosopher.region
Western philosophy
Philosopher.era
Ancient philosophy
Philosopher.image
Xenocrates.jpg
Philosopher.image_size
200px
Philosopher.caption
Xenocrates
Philosopher.name
Xenocrates
Philosopher.birth_date
396/5 BC
Philosopher.birth_place
Chalcedon
Philosopher.death_date
314/3 BC
Philosopher.death_place
Athens
Philosopher.school_tradition
Platonism
Philosopher.main_interests
Logic, physics, metaphysics, epistemology, mathematics, ethics
Philosopher.notable_ideas
Developed the philosophy of Plato

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Place of birth
Chalcedon
Image
Xenocrates.jpg
Show 6 more facts
Commons category
Xenocrates
date of birth
0396-01-01
date of death
0314-01-01
name in native language
Ξενοκράτης
birth name
Ξενοκράτης
significant place
Chalcedon
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

1 object attributed to Xenocrates, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~17 min read

Article

11 sections
Contents
  • Life
  • Writings
  • Philosophy
  • Epistemology
  • Metaphysics
  • Ethics
  • Mathematics
  • See also
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

Xenocrates (; ; c. 396/5314/3 BC) of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader (scholarch) of the Platonic Academy from 339/8 to 314/3 BC. His teachings followed those of Plato, which he attempted to define more closely, often with mathematical elements. He distinguished three forms of being: the sensible, the intelligible, and a third compounded of the two, to which correspond respectively, sense, intellect and opinion. He considered unity and duality to be gods which rule the universe, and the soul a self-moving number. God pervades all things, and there are daemonical powers, intermediate between the divine and the mortal, which consist in conditions of the soul. He held that mathematical objects and the Platonic Ideas are identical, unlike Plato who distinguished them. In ethics, he taught that virtue produces happiness, but external goods can minister to it and enable it to effect its purpose.

==Life== Xenocrates was a native of Chalcedon. By the most probable calculation he was born 396/5 BC, and died 314/3 BC at the age of 82. His father was named Agathon () or Agathanor ().

Gallery (4)

Connections

Categories