Speusippus (; ; c. 408 – 339/8 BC) was an
ancient Greek philosopher. Speusippus was
Plato's nephew by his sister
Potone. After Plato's death, Speusippus inherited the
Academy and remained its head for the next eight years. However, following a stroke, he passed the chair to
Xenocrates. Although the successor to Plato in the Academy, he frequently diverged from Plato's teachings. He rejected Plato's
Theory of Forms, and whereas Plato had identified the
Good with the ultimate
principle, Speusippus maintained that the Good was merely secondary. He also argued that it is impossible to have satisfactory
knowledge of any thing without knowing all the differences by which it is separated from everything else.