1. PHILOSOPHY in the ancient world
700 BC -250 AD

2. THALES OF MILETUS(624-546 BC)
What is the basic material of the cosmos?
It must be….
..something from which everything can be formed
…essential to life
…capable of motion
…capable of change
EVERYTHING IS MADE OF WATER

3. LAOZI 6th century BC
Chinese philosophy
Approach: Daoism
Knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is true wisdom
To live a virtuous life means acting in accordance with the dao (the Way – the root of all things, the source of all existence)

4. PYTHAGORAS (570BC-495BC) Approach: Pythagorianism
Everything in the universe conforms to mathematical rules and ratios
So if we understand number and mathematical relationships we come to understand the structure of the cosmos.
Mathematics is the key model for philosophical thought
Number is the ruler of forms
Number is the ruler of ideas

5. SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA (563-483 BC)
Eastern philosophy
Approach: Buddhism
Happy is he who has overcome his ego
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, unless it agrees with your own reason.

6. CONFUCIUS ( BC)
Chinese philosophy
Approach: Confucianism
What you know, you know; what you don’t know, you don’t know; this is true wisdom
Faithfulness and sincerity hold the power of transformation
Virtue is not god sent it is something that can be developed

7. You can never step into the same river twice
HERACLITUS ( BC)
Approach:Monism
The road up and the road down are one and the same thing
You can never step into the same river twice
Everything changes

8. PARMENIDES
APPROACH: Monism
Everything that is real must be eternal and unchanging and must have an indivisible unity – ALL IS ONE

9. PROTAGORAS (490-420BC) Man is the measure of all things
Approach: Relativism
Man is the measure of all things
Example: it is spring day in Athens. A visitor from Sweden says the weather is warm and a visitor from Egypt says the weather is cold. Both people are telling the truth according to Protagoras as the truth depends on perspective and is therefore relative.

10. MOZI (470-391BC) When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum
Approach: Mohism
When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum
Treat others as you want them to treat you
When this philosophy is applied by all including rulers, Mozi says, it avoids conflict and war.

11. DEMOCRITUS (460-371BC) Man is a microcosm of the universe.
Approach: Atomism
Man is a microcosm of the universe.
Nothings exists except atoms and empty space

12. The unexamined life is not worth living
SOCRATES BC
Approach: Dialectical method
The unexamined life is not worth living

13. PLATO ( BC)
Everything in this world is a ‘shadow ‘ of its IDEAL FORM in the world of IDEAS

14. ARISTOTLE BC)
Approach: Empiricism
We find the truth from evidence gained in the world
Example: we see different instances of ‘dog’ in the world around us. We recognize the common characteristics of dogs in the world. Using our senses and our reason, we understand what makes a dog a dog.
‘Socrates is mortal’ is the undeniable conclusion to the most famous syllogism in history. Aristotle’s syllogism – a simple deduction from two premises to a conclusion – was the first formal system of logic.
Example: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is mortal

15. EPICURUS ( BC)
Approach: Epicurianism
Peace of mind, tranquility is the goal of life. One of the obstacles to this is the fear of death. If we overcome the fear of death we can be happy. He reasons that death is the end of sensation so cannot be physically painful and that death is the end of consciousness, so cannot be emotionally painful. Therefore death is nothing to fear

16. DIOGENES OF SYNOP (404-323BC)
Approach: Cynicism
The first of a group of thinkers who became known as the cynics from the Greek word kynikos meaning ‘dog-like’. To live the ideal life you needed to be able to reject all forms of social custom and instead live as natural as possible. He lived a life of poverty in a tub.
He has the most who is most content with the least.

17. ZENO OF CITIUM (332-265BC) Happiness is a good flow of life
Approach: Stoicism
It is up to the individual to choose whether to put aside the things over which he has little or no control and be indifferent to pain and pleasure, poverty and riches. But if he manages to do that, one will be in agreement with nature.
Happiness is a good flow of life