one of the Socratic schools of ancient Greek philosophy (fourth century B.C.) that eclectically combined the ideas of Socrates, the Eleatic school, and the Sophists.

The school was founded by Euclides of Megara; its members included Eubulides of Miletus, Thrasymachus, Diodorus Cronus, and Stilpo of Megara. Adopting some of the teachings of the Eleatic school about the absolute Whole, the Megarians, following Socrates’ example, were the first to identify the Whole with the Good. Thus, their teachings paralleled those of Plato. In its recognition of the indivisible Whole and its negation of sensory plurality, the Megarian school was also influenced by Zeno of Elea.

As a result of its proclivity for dialectical judgments, the Megarian school was called the eristic school. Many of the traditional logical sophisms, or paradoxes, (for example, the “Liar” and the “Sorites”) were first formulated by Eubulides and Diodorus Cronus. Stilpo, who was influenced by the Cynics, used—according to Seneca—the term apatheia to signify the basic principle of his ethical teachings. The cynically minded Stoics (Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, was a disciple of Stilpo) as well as the Skeptics Pyrrho and Timon adopted the basic teachings of the Megarian school.