Century a new appreciation developed for Aristotles thought and its relevance to education, literary criticism, and political analysis.After Aristotle, four groups of philosophers helped to mold a new direction of philosophy, they were the Epicureans, the Stoics, the Skeptics, and the Neoplationists. Unlike their predecessors, who tried to fit individuals into large social and political organizations, the new groups taught people to think of themselves and how and individual could have the most satisfactory personal life. They were, on the other hand, influenced by the old philosophers. Epicurus relied upon Democritus for his atomic theory of nature, the Stoics made use of a fiery substance permeating all things, the Skeptics built a method of inquiry upon the Socratic form of doubt, and Plotinus drew heavily upon Plato.This ancient period of philosophy shaped the philosophic mind. Many theories were conceived by many great men and most just added on to an original notion. This period also had three of the greatest thinkers ever, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. ...
