Greek Philosophy and History Ch. 5 Section 2 Greek Philosophy and History

Main Idea: Greek philosophers developed ideas that are still used today. 1 3 2 4 Greek Philosophy The word philosophy comes from the Greek word for “love of wisdom.” Greek philosophy led to the study of history, political science, science, and mathematics. Greek thinkers who believed the human mind could understand everything were called philosophers. Many philosophers were teachers.

Hello!!! Who were the Sophists? The Sophists were professional teachers in ancient Greece who traveled from city to city and made a living by teachers others They believed students should use time to improve themselves and taught students how to win an argument and make good political speeches. They did not believe that the gods and goddesses influenced people. Hello!!! Who were the Sophists? They rejected the idea absolute right or wrong and that what might be right for one person might be wrong for another.

The most notable Greek philosophers and their ideas were: Plato Socrates Pythagoras Aristotle

Pythagoras Developed many new Taught his pupils that ideas about mathematics Taught his pupils that the universe followed the same laws that governed music and numbers Pythagoras Known for developing the Pythagorean theorem which is a way to determine the length of the sides of a triangle.

Socrates Left no writings behind and what is known came from the of his students Believed absolute truth existed and that all real knowledge was in each person sculptor critic of the Sophists Invented the Socratic method of teaching Which encouraged people to question everything for truth Forced students to use their power to reason and see things for themselves

leaders because they saw him as a threat and he was What happened To Socrates? . He lost the favor of the Athenian leaders because they saw him as a threat and he was sentenced to death.

Opened a school in Athens Student of Socrates Opened a school in Athens called The Academy . Wrote, The Republic, which explains his ideas about the perfect type of government Plato Who was Plato?

Plato Believed a just and of equality reasonable between government Promoted the idea of equality between the sexes. Believed a just and reasonable government was a necessity Plato Divided society into 3 classes: philosophers-kings to rule with logic and reason 2. warriors to defend the state 3. ordinary people who produced the state’s food, clothing, and shelter Rejected democracy as a system of government because he didn’t think the rule by the people produced fair or sensible policies

Aristotle Student of Plato who wrote more than 200 books Opened a school called the Lyceum and taught his students the “golden mean” which holds that a person should do nothing in excess. (not too much or too little) Aristotle Who Was Aristotle?

Aristotle Described his idea of the Helped advance science Urged people to use their senses to make observations Described his idea of the best style of government in his book, Politics. Divided governments into 3 types: Government by one person (tyrant) Government by a few people (aristocracy or oligarchy) Government by many people (democracy)

Greeks wrote the first real histories in Greek Historians Main Idea: Greeks wrote the first real histories in Western civilization Legends and myths were used to explain the past and many were passed on by oral tradition before being written down. In most places in the ancient world, people did not write their history.

Herodotus some events. Wrote the History of the Persian Wars Used gods and goddesses to explain some events. Wrote the History of the Persian Wars Western historians consider him the “father of history”

Thucydides Considered the greatest historian of the ancient world by many historians. Fought in the Peloponnesian War and wrote the “History of the Peloponnesian War” Saw war and politics as activities of humans not gods

Check for Understanding What does philosophy mean? Love of wisdom Who were the sophists? The Sophists were professional teachers in ancient Greece Name one philosopher we discussed. Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras