Greek Philosophy & History

Section Overview This section describes Greek contributions to the study of philosophy and the writing of history.

Main Idea Setting a Purpose for Reading Think about these questions as you read: • What ideas did Greek philosophers develop? • How did Greeks contribute to the history of Western civilization?

all relationships can be expressed in numbers; Pythagorean theorem Philosopher Ideas Pythagoras all relationships can be expressed in numbers; Pythagorean theorem Socrates absolute truth exists within everyone; Socratic method Plato government should be divided into three groups, ruled by philosopher-kings; men and women should have equal education and employment Aristotle “golden mean”; use senses to make observations like a scientist; analyzed governments and decided that the best was a mixture of government by a few and democracy

People To Meet Herodotus: Greek historian who wrote the history of the Persian Wars; the “father of history” Thucydides: Greek historian who wrote History of the Peloponnesian War

Terms To Know philosophy: love or pursuit of wisdom; a system of thought philosopher: Greek thinker who believed in the power of the human mind Sophist: professional teacher in ancient Greece Socratic method: a way of teaching that uses pointed questions to force students to use their reason

Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers The word philosophy comes from the Greek word for “love of wisdom.” Greek thinkers, called philosophers, believed the human mind could understand everything.

Greek Philosophers (cont.) Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher who taught that the universe followed the same laws that governed music and numbers. He developed many ideas about mathematics. Most people know his name because of the Pythagorean theorem used in geometry Sophists were professional teachers who traveled from city to city, teaching others. They did not believe that gods and goddesses influenced people.

Greek Philosophers (cont.) Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) They also did not believe in absolute right or wrong. Socrates was a philosopher and a critic of the Sophists who believed that an absolute truth existed and that all real knowledge was within each person. *Some Athenian leaders considered the Socratic method a threat to their power. At one time, Athens had a tradition of questioning leaders and speaking freely. However, their defeat in the Peloponnesian War changed the Athenians. They no longer trusted open debate. The Socratic method is a form of teaching that uses questions to lead students to discover things for themselves.*

Greek Philosophers (cont.) Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) Leaders did not trust Socrates, and accused him of teaching young Athenians to rebel. Socrates was tried and sentenced to death.

Greek Philosophy and History Plato was on of Socrates’ best students. In his book the Republic, Plato described the ideal government.*

Greek Philosophers (cont.) Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) At the top were rulers and philosophers, in the middle were warriors, and at the bottom were all others. Aristotle was one of Plato’s students. He opened his own school called the Lyceum. The “golden mean,” one of Aristotle’s ideas, states that a person should do nothing to excess. Aristotle helped advance science and government.

Greek Philosophy and History Like Plato, Aristotle also wrote about the government. In his book Politics, he divided government into three types: Government by one person, such as a monarch (king or queen) or a tyrant Government by a few people, which might be an aristocracy or an oligarchy Government by many people, as in a democracy

Greek Philosophers (cont.) Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) Many of his ideas shaped the way European and American founders thought about government.

Plato and Aristotle

Greek Historians In 435 B.C., a Greek named Herodotus wrote the history of the Persian Wars. He asked questions, recorded answers and verified his sources. Many Western historians consider him to be the “father of history”. Many historians consider Thucydides the greatest historian of the ancient world. He fought in the Peloponnesian War and then wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War while in exile. Unlike Herodotus, he saw war and politics and acts of humans, not gods, In most places of the ancient world, people did not write history. Legends and myths explained their past. Some civilizations kept long lists of rulers and the dates they ruled, but no one tried to explain the past by studying events.