Ancient Concepts of Philosophy sets the work of the ancients in the context of recent thinking about the nature and value of philosophy. William Jordan questions what we can learn from the ancient philosopher's varying conceptions of the ideal life. He argues that ancient philosophy was tied much more closely to ways of life, and lived up to its reputation as the search for wisdom. Jordan traces the emergence of the idea that the philosopher leads a distinctive and uniquely valuable lifestyle. This ancient concept of philosophy, he argues, is the one which differs most markedly from our own.