Earliest Beginnings

• Philosophy began • The earliest

Greek Philosophy
A brief overview of persons
and doctrines
when human beings philosophical
tried to understand questions were things
the world through the like….
use of reason, rather • “What is the world
than through religious made of?”
myths or accepting • “What holds the world
the authority of others up?”

• The first known • Other early

philosopher was You can’t step philosophers adopted
Thales, who lived in in the same
different views, both
river twice!...
Miletus, in southern on the number of the
Asia Minor. basic elements, and
• He thought that the on its nature…
world was all made • Heraclitus said
out of a single “everything is flux”
element…
• He believe it was all
water, in one form or
another

The Pythagoreans
• A school of thinkers founded
Socrates 470-399 BC
by Pythagoras, 570 BC-497
BC.

The first great Greek
• Studied mathematics and philosopher
philosophy, which he tried to

Born and lived at Athens
unite

Turned away from the thinking
• Thought to be the first person of previous philosophers
to apply the word “cosmos” to because
the universe—the insight that – they were all at odds with each
the universe had an order to it, other, and none proposed a
which Pythagoras believed method by which to decide
between them
could be expressed by
– they made little practical
humans in terms of difference anyway, even if we
mathematics could discover which was true

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Socrates

Socrates believed what
we needed to know
was how to conduct our
lives and ourselves

The urgent questions
were
– What is good?
– What is right?
– What is just?
Socrates

Socrates’ two cherished beliefs:
– If we preserve our integrity, no
real, long-term harm could ever
come to us.
– No one really knowingly does
wrong—he believed that if we
only knew the answer to
questions like “what is justice,”
we would be bound to behave
justly. This is why he tried to
involve as many people as
possible in his discussions.
PLATO

His interests begin
with the ethical
interests of Socrates,
but gradually move
toward natural
philosophy and
mathematics—the
sorts of things that
Socrates scorned
Socrates

Socrates believed that if we apply
words like “just” to all sorts of
different people, decisions, laws,
and sets of arrangements, there
was something common to them all,
something called “justice” which
they all shared.

He believed that this “justice” is
real, though it is not material,
perhaps some sort of “essence.”

He believed that we could discover
the nature of this abstract reality
through rigorous discussions and
careful questioning of each other.
PLATO

A follower of Socrates
and initially a
disseminator of his ideas

First person to write
philosophy—he wrote
“Dialogues” in which
Socrates is the
protaganist

Early dialogues were
more or less accounts of
Socrates’ and his
conversations; later
dialogues Plato began to
include ideas of his own
PLATO

Plato never denied Socrates beliefs that the only real harm
that can come to a person is harm to the soul (integrity); that it
is better to suffer wrong than to commit it; that we should think
for ourselves, being ready to question whatever we believe is
true

However, he rejected the view that virtue is simply
knowledge—according to Plato, virtue requires that reason
rule the irrational parts of one’s soul
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 PLATO: The Theory of the Forms (Ideas)
All of reality then was PLATO
divided two—a visible

Plato adopted the implied view of
world, our ordinary
Socrates’ quest to know universal everyday world, which is
essences of things, and
generalized it across the whole of presented to our sense,
reality and which is constantly

Everything in our world was, for
Plato, an ephemeral, decaying changing.
copy of something whose ideal
form has a permanent and
And timeless and
indestructible existence, outside of unchanging world, of
time and space.

These Forms or Ideas were the which our everyday world
realities underlying all existence. only offers us a glimpse.

Accessible only to the mind;
knowledge of these were what Because it alone just is,
philosophers actually pursued.
one might call this world
the real reality.

PLATO PLATO

The same division in reality
exists in the human being:

We have a body which
comes into existence and
passes away, never staying
the same.

The body is only a fleeting
glimpse of something that is
also us, and is non-material,
timeless, and indestructible
—our soul. For Plato, this is
Life’s ultimate aim for Plato is to move beyond the image
our permanent Form, and it of things and know its ultimate reality. This is achieved
exists in the same order of through practicing detachment from the world and
reality as all the unchanging
Forms of everything else. philosophy

Plato even said that it is a lot like rehearsing to be dead.

ARISTOTLE 384-322BC “The teacher of those who know”

Dante on Aristotle

 A pupil of Plato, educated  Mapped out many of the

at Plato’s Academy in basic fields of academic
Athens inquiry and even provide
 Founded his own school, names for them:
called the Lyceum, in psychology, physics,
335BC. logic, economics,
 Rejected Plato’s idea that meterology, rhetoric,
there were two worlds— ethics
what ever is outside of  Probably one of the
experience of us can only greatest thinkers to have
be nothing. ever lived…

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ARISTOTLE ARISTOTLE
 THE NATURE OF BEING  Form or organization or
 All things are composed of structure is the reason
matter—their constituent anything is what it is
materials and form—the  There is no distinctive
way they are structured matter that makes up
 Matter is just the stuff out anything
which things are made…it  There is no Chihuahua
changes, even every day. stuff—Chihuahua is a way
matter is organized.

ARISTOTLE’S FORM ARISTOTLE

“All men by nature desire to know”

 THE FOUR CAUSES

 Material: that which
something is made of
 Inherent in every object  Formal: that which causes
something to be, gives it
 Incapable of separate existence: a reality, but identification
only a principle of things  Efficient: what actually does
 Source of a thing’s function or makes it
 Final: reason for it all

ARISTOTLE ARISTOTLE
 The Human Being  The Science of Ethics
 Composed of body  Investigates how
happiness can be
(matter) and soul
achieved by humans—
(form) what are its basic
 Acts for a final end or boundaries or
good—happiness or requirements
eudaimonia  Virtue: the balance
between the extremes of
excess and deficiency

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 PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE
ARISTOTLE
THE CYNICS
• Rejected civilization and
 Ethics is a preliminary embraced a simply life
investigation to • Only difference that mattered
was between “true” values and
Politics “false” values; all others were
rubbish (Greek/foreigner;
 “Man is by nature a civilized/uncivilized)
political animal” • Diogenes (404-323BC) was a
famous cynic known for his
 Purpose of aggressive flouting of all the
government: to conventions and deliberate
attempts to shock people by
enable citizens to live not eating or dressing, or
eating disgusting food, or
a full and happy life. committing flagrant acts of
public indecency

PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE

THE SKEPTICS THE EPICUREANS

• Founded by Pyrrho (365-270; so • “Live Unknown”
often called Pyrrhonism)
• Materialism: atoms and space
• Characterized by the active are eternal; everything else
refusal to believe anything (even
that!) changes.
• Argument: there are equally good • Death: only the state after our
arguments for both sides; so stop existence; it cannot hurt us. So
worrying and “go with the flow” don’t fear it.
• Timon: no ultimate ground of • God: far away and happy; no
certainty could ever be reached— desire to become involved in
every argument assumes its human affairs
starting point.
• Arcesliaus—became director of • Our lot: Make the best of this
Plato’s Academy, and skeptics life
directed the school for over 200 – Achieve by moderation of our
years (why Augustine refers to pursuits and withdrawal from
them as the Academics) public life.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE

• Seek pleasures that will Seneca

THE STOICS
last and not cause undue • Reason was the highest
pain authority…
• The natural necessities: • Therefore
– Food and drink—to live – The world our reasons
presents to us as existing
– A bed—to rest (Nature) is all the reality
– Friends—to discuss there is
philosophy – Nature is governed by
Epictetus rationally intelligible
• All tragedies can be principles (logos)
endured—they will either – God = spirit of rationality
kill you quickly or soon that imbues us and all
pass. Nature; God is the mind or
self-awareness of the world
Marcus Aurelius

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PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE

Stoic Ethics
• No afterlife—as this is all there is
• Everything is it is for a reason;
everything happens according to
reason
• We must accept all things without
complaint—for indifference is the
mark of reason
• Emotions are wrong—always false
judgments
• Endure life’s troubles with calm and
dignity; and if things become so
bad, it was rational to take your life.