“The unexamined life is not worth living.” -Socrates Philosophy “The unexamined life is not worth living.” -Socrates
Definition of Philosophy Philosophy can be defined as the rational investigation of the truths and principles of Being (who we are) Knowledge (what we know) Conduct (how we act)
Categories Philosophy typically falls within the following three categories: Ethics- What is right? What is wrong? Fate- Do you choose your own destiny/future, or is it already decided for you? Natural World- How was the world created? Is there a pattern to things or is everything random?
Socrates
Socrates Born in Athens in 469 BC Not from a rich family Began thinking about and questioning the world around him in his forties Wanted to discuss issues with other people- began walking around the streets questioning/teaching people
Socrates A group of young men began to gather to listen to his teachings, Plato was one of them Athenians were annoyed with him and charged him with impiety and corrupting youth Sentenced to death and forced to drink poisonous hemlock Never wrote down his ideas/teachings, but famous student Plato did
Plato
Plato One of the greatest philosophers of all time Born in 429 BC, died in 347 BC Born in Athens to wealthy family After Socrates died, Plato wrote down everything Socrates had taught him (“The Dialogues”) Also wrote “The Republic” which was about Athen’s government
Plato's Ideas Theory of Ideas- everything has a sort of ideal form “Allegory of the Cave” – Socrates’ story but Plato often gets the credit for it http://platosallegory.com/
Plato's Legacy Started a school for philosophers called “The Academy” Used Socrates’ work as a foundation for the teaching practices and subject matter Basis of today’s HS and College curriculum formats One of Plato’s students was Aristotle
Aristotle Not originally from Athens From a middle class family Studied at Plato’s Academy Later left Athens and tutored Alexander the Great (who later took over most of the known world at the time) Father of today’s scientific method- used Socrates’ logical methods and applied to real world