Greek Philosophers

What is Philosophy?

• Means “love of wisdom”• The rational investigation of

the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct

Famous Philosophers

• Sophists–Professional teachers–Beliefs:

• Students should use their time to improve themselves

• Did NOT believe the gods influenced people

Famous Philosophers

• Sophists–Beliefs cont.:

• Concerned with concrete things, not the cosmology (man’s knowledge, morals, rights, etc)

• NO absolute right or wrong

Famous Philosophers

• Sophists–Beliefs cont.

• relativism of knowledge and skepticism

–Protagoras

» Man is the measure of all things, of those that are in so far as they are, and those that are not in so far as they are not.

–Gorgias » Man is the measure of what exists.

Famous Philosophers

• Sophists–Beliefs cont.

• To two different individuals the same reality can appear be opposite

– Air is hot for one, cold for another– Both sensations are true and both denote states

of reality– Everything is relative

Famous Philosophers

• Sophists–Contributions:

•Public speaking skills•Debate

Famous Philosophers

• Zeno of Elea–One of Socrates’ teachers– Beliefs

• Developed an understanding of paradoxes and contradictions

• Contrary to the philosophy of applying mathematical concepts to the natural world.

Famous Philosophers

• Zeno of Elea–Beliefs cont

• If the things that exist are many, then they must be both like and unlike, but this is impossible. Therefore, it is impossible that there are many things

• Challenge ordinary assumptions about the ordinary in life

• No black and white, everything is relative

Famous Philosophers

• Zeno of Elea–Beliefs cont

2.2.2 The Achilles 2.2.3 The Arrow

2.2.4. The Moving Rows

Famous Philosophers• Anaxagoras

–Beliefs:• All things have existed in a sort of way from the beginning

–originally they existed in infinitesimally small fragments of themselves

–inextricably mixed throughout the spaces of the world

–All things were in that mass, but were obscure

Famous Philosophers

• Anaxagoras–Beliefs cont:

• There are stages of the process from original chaos to present arrangements

• A logical sequence for the order of things and how things came to be

Famous Philosophers

• Anaxagoras–Contributions:–Marks a turning-point in the history of

philosophy • paved the way for the Atomic theory• order comes from Reason &• nature is the work of Design

Famous Philosophers• Socrates

– Beliefs:• Absolute truth• All real knowledge within each of us• knowledge was a living, interactive thing • It is this idea of the truth being pursued, rather than

discovered • Virtue is knowledge

“If one knows the good, one will always do the good. It follows, then, that anyone who does anything wrong doesn't really know what the good is.”

Famous Philosophers• Socrates

– Contribution:• Socratic Method

– Teaching through questioning/cross-examining

Famous Philosophers• Plato

–Student of Socrates–Beliefs:

• Democracy NOT a good thing–No fair or sensible policies

• Need just & reasonable gov’t to live well

• Men & women educated the same–Equality in work

Famous Philosophers• Plato

–Beliefs cont.• Human soul contained reason, spirit, and appetite

• “ideas” vs “forms”–We have ideas about ideal people,

places, or things

–Reality is different from our ideas

–Which is the truth? Is change inevitable?

Famous Philosophers• Plato

–Contributions:• The Republic

–Book of his opinions about gov’t

»“Philosopher kings” (wisdom)

»Warriors (courage)

»Populace (desire)

• The Academy–Institution of learning

Famous Philosophers

• Aristotle–Student of Plato–Beliefs:

• The “Golden Mean”–Do nothing in excess

• Observe the world around you–Note similarities & differences

• Knowledge comes from experience

Famous Philosophers

• Aristotle–Contributions:

• Lyceum– School

• Teacher of Alexander the Great

• The power of observation & classifying them according to differences

Famous Philosophers

• Aristotle–Contributions:

• Politics–3 types of gov’t

» Monarchy» Oligarchy» Democracy

• Albert Einstein of his day – rock star

• Many of his ideas disproved over time