epicurus), and the names of secondary philosophers in initial capitals and
lower case (Kao Tzu, Han Fei Tzu, Antisthenes, Speusippus). Minor thinkers
are indicated by numbers, listed in the keys in Appendix 3.^1
Set aside for the moment issues of changing canonicity, and whether we
can distinguish between “reputation” and “creativity.” These do not affect the
central point which must begin our analysis: creative philosophers occur infre-
quently in the total scheme of historical time, even by the most generous
criterion of creativity.
Consider all those philosophers who can be regarded as “major,” as well
as those who can be considered “secondary.” Our Chinese sequence runs for
2,100 years, or 63 generations; the Greek sequence covers 1,200 years, or 36
generations.^2 Across the whole expanse of time, major philosophers appear
about once a generation in Greece, once every two generations in China.
Secondary philosophers are a little more frequent, but not much: in China there
is one per generation on the average, in Greece two per generation. Even minor
thinkers do not appear in overwhelmingly large numbers, averaging six or
seven individuals who are contemporary during any given lifetime:
China
2,100 years 63 generations
25 major philosophers 0.4 per generation 1 per 84 years
61 secondary philosophers 1.0 per generation 1 per 34 years
356 minor 5.7 per generation 1 per 6 years
Greece
1,200 years 36 generations
28 major philosophers 0.8 per generation 1 per 43 years
68 secondary philosophers 1.9 per generation 1 per 18 years
237 minor 6.6 per generation 1 per 5 yearsOne might be tempted to make something of the fact that philosophers of
the higher degrees of importance are about twice as common in Greece as in
China. But this I think is not an important lesson. The higher ratio of Greek
to Chinese philosophers at the more creative levels is due almost entirely to
the 7 generations between 500 and 265 b.c.e., beginning with Heraclitus and
Parmenides, and ending with Epicurus and Zeno the Stoic. This period includes
14 major and 31 secondary philosophers. Yet even here the concentration is
not overwhelming: it averages 2 major philosophers and slightly fewer than 5
secondary philosophers active in any given period of 33 years, a total core
community that could very easily form a small face-to-face group. Even if we
bring in the minor figures, the maximum is still no more than 15 or 20 at a
time. And this is as high a concentration of philosophical action as anywhere
in world history.
Networks across the Generations • 57