Moral Philosophy or Unphilosophic Morals?: A Critical Notice of Early Greek Ethics, edited by David Conan Wolfsdorf.

This article critically examines a volume of essays focused on the formative period of Greek philosophical ethics, primarily covering Presocratic philosophers, Socrates, early Plato, and their contemporaries. It questions the volume's narrow scope, which excludes significant literary and historical sources like Homer and Hesiod, and interrogates the definition of "philosophical ethics" used by the editor—namely, ethics characterized by universal principles and explicit argumentation. Drawing on historical perspectives from Alexander Grant and Henry Sidgwick, the article explores whether moral philosophy truly begins with Socrates or if earlier thinkers like Xenophanes, Heracleitus, and Democritus qualify as moral philosophers, ultimately suggesting that many pre-Socratic ethical reflections may belong to the "prehistory" rather than the history of moral philosophy. The discussion highlights ongoing scholarly debates about the criteria for moral philosophy and the challenges in delineating its origins within early Greek thought.