The Greek Thinkers CHW 3M “The unexamined life is not worth living.” -SOCRATES

Philosophy – “The love of wisdom” The Greeks were known for their love of philosophy 2 phases of Greek philosophy Early - Natural philosophers (“What is a tree?”) What exists? (Air, water, etc) How does change occur? (permanence?) After Persian War (“What is a man?”) How can a person be certain about knowledge? What is knowledge? What are the uses of knowledge? What constitutes the good or just life?

The Sophist Answer Socrates’ Answer One group – the Sophists – believed that knowledge was relative No such thing as real good and evil – depended on man’s interpretation An action wasn’t evil, it just appeared evil (Pushing somebody in the street??) Loved arguing; cared more about persuasion than truth Socrates’ Answer One man – Socrates (469-399BC) – thought the Sophists were ridiculous One of the greatest teachers of all time – both loved and hated (eventually executed) The soul is what defines man – knowledge leads to truth and goodness

The Socratic Method Used only questions to probe human behaviour Questions highlighted logical fallacies, made people realize they were not that smart (“Is the Earth square or round?”) Dialectic: Idea that truth comes from modifying one’s idea through constant conflict with opposing views Problem: Assumed that if people knew what was right, they would DO it!

Plato Takes It Further One of Socrates’ pupils – Plato (429-347BC) – continued to use Socrates’ dialectics, but added a twist. Two worlds 1) Sensible world What we see around us Contains Material forms: Temporary, imperfect illusions or copies of the real world (Like images on TV, individual horses) 2) Intelligible world – the real world Contains Ideal forms: The perfect, unchanging ideas or concepts of the things we experience (the IDEA of a horse)

Plato Takes It Further Aristotle Makes Sense Material states are doomed, unless ruled by philosophers who understand the “ideal” world Aristotle Makes Sense One of Plato’s pupils – Aristotle (384-322BC) made Plato’s ideas more practical Only one world – every object has both material and ideal aspects People and states can be improved – must work at becoming more “ideal” (good) Studied everything to figure out what leads to more goodness Became known as the “master of those who know”

Honourable Mentions Pythagorus Figured out how to calculate the length of the long line in a triangle – big math guru Anaxagoras Decided that the sun was a hunk of burning rock bigger than the WHOLE Peloponnesus! Hippocrates Founded modern school of medicine; rejected idea that illness caused by evil spirits