Editing Pre-Socratic philosophy (section)

== Sources ==

Very few fragments of the works of the pre-Socratic philosophers have survived. The knowledge we have of the pre-Socratics derives from the accounts of later writers such as [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Plutarch]], [[Diogenes Laërtius]], [[Stobaeus]], and [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]], and some early Christian theologians, especially [[Clement of Alexandria]] and [[Hippolytus of Rome]]. Many of the works are titled ''Peri Physeos'', or ''On Nature'', a title probably attributed later by other authors.{{sfnm|1a1=Irwin|1y=1999|1p=6|2a1=Barnes|2y=1987|2pp=24-35|3a1=Warren|3y=2014|3pp=7-9}} These accounts, known as ''testimonia'' (testimonies), often come from biased writers. Consequently, it is sometimes difficult to determine the actual line of argument some pre-Socratics used in supporting their views.{{sfn|Barnes|1987|pp=24-25}} Adding more difficulty to their interpretation is the obscure language they used.{{sfn|Waterfield|2000|p=ix}} Plato paraphrased the pre-Socratics and showed no interest in accurately representing their views. Aristotle was more accurate, but saw them under the scope of his philosophy. [[Theophrastus]], Aristotle's successor, wrote an encyclopedic book ''Opinion of the Physicists'' that was the standard work about the pre-Socratics in ancient times. It is now lost, but Simplicius relied on it heavily in his accounts.{{sfn|Kirk|Raven|1977|pp=3}}

In 1903, the German professors [[Hermann Alexander Diels|H. Diels]] and [[Walther Kranz|W. Kranz]] published ''Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker'' (''The Fragments of the pre-Socratics''), which collected all of the known fragments. Scholars now use this book to reference the fragments using a coding scheme called [[Diels–Kranz numbering]]. The first two characters of the scheme are "DK" for Diels and Kranz. Next is a number representing a specific philosopher. After that is a code regarding whether the fragment is a ''testimonia'', coded as "A", or "B" if is a direct quote from the philosopher. Last is a number assigned to the fragment, which may include a decimal to reflect specific lines of a fragment. For example, "DK59B12.3" identifies line 3 of Anaxagoras fragment 12. A similar way of referring to quotes is the system prefixed with "LM" by André Laks and Glenn W. Most who edited ''Early Greek Philosophy'' in 2016.{{sfnm|1a1=Warren|1y=2014|1p=3|2a1=Curd|2y=2020|2loc=Introduction}}

Collectively, these fragments are called ''[[doxography]]'' (derived from the latin ''doxographus''; derived from the Greek word for "opinion" ''[[doxa]]'').{{sfn|Runia|2008|p=35}}