Point of Departure. Philosophy, according to Aristotle, begins in wonder. This approach might well describe how not only individuals but also cultures come to philosophize. It is difficult, however, for modern scholars to discover what first impelled the ancient Greeks to engage in abstract speculation; the same problems encountered in trying to understand Greek religion are encountered in examining philosophy, namely those concerning the scope of the term, the variety of differing practices, and the incompleteness of evidence.

Obstacle. Incompleteness of evidence is the single most significant obstacle to understanding early Greek philosophy. The earliest speculative thinkers of Greece existed during a period when literacy was rare. Their work sometimes took the form of poems performed orally and sometimes simply of conversations with their friends and acquaintances for which one must rely on transcriptions or quotations by listeners. Even in the case of...