Knowles, David - The Evolution of Medieval Thought

Philosophy has been defined as the study of ultimate reality and of the general causes and principles of things, with a particular reference to the human being, and to the principles and ends of human conduct. More briefly, we may prefer to consider it as a criticism and elucidation of assumptions and ways of thought that are the common property of mankind. However we define or regard it, there will be general agreement that, for men of what may still be called the Mediterranean tradition of civilization, philosophy as we know it took its rise in ancient Greece, and rose swiftly to maturity in Asia Minor, Magna Graecia, and, finally, in Athens.