>One important "fact" people do not know is much of the western philosophical works (and other disciplines) we know today (from Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, etc.

>One important "fact" people do not know is much of the western philosophical works (and other disciplines) we know today (from Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, etc...) are from Arabic writings This statement greatly distorts the truth. Almost all extant Greek philosophical texts can be traced to 17 Byzantine manuscripts. The book reviewed here has much more information about the transmission of Greek philosophy (the review is well-worth reading too): http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009-01-31.html http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009-01-31.html