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PHILOSOPHYWhat is the Meaning of living?
MILESIANS, NOTES FROM MILETUS
Thales asked, “What is Basic Stuff of the Universe?”
What is the “ARCHE?” Three Assumptions
Fundamental explanation must be ONE.
“The One” must be a Thing.
The One must have the ability to move and change.
MILESIANS, NOTES FROM MILETUS
Thales declared that the First Principle is Water;
Everything floats on, depends on it.
Soul is kinetic; it moves.
MILESIANS
Anaximander The idea of aperion –
the ONE was unlimited, boundless, infinite or indefinite.
He said the Earth was like a cylinder.
Anaximenes Declared the ONE to
be Air.
SOLITARIES
Pythagoras Pythagorean Theorem in
Geometry. . .
a²+b²=c²
He believed the Universe was not stuff but forms that could be converted into numbers and mathematics.
He established a “mono”theistic religious order around ideas.
SOLITARIES
XenophanesHe challenged the
idea that you could know the divine.
HeraclitusA dark philosopherThe ONE was Fire“All things flow” or
“change is everything.”
ELEATICS
The Eleatics- From Elea in Italy
Parmenides, Zeno, and Melissus
Parmenides 2 ways of inquiry whatever is, is and
cannot be something that arises
from not-being is impossible and unthinkable Question: What application does
Zeno’s logic have today? Research “Thomson’s Lamp” to find out.
ELEATICS
Zeno of Elea Three paradoxes
Achilles and the Tortoise
A divided bar The Flecher’s arrow
Melissus The one is a
seamless, unchanging whole.
Change is just in the appearance. Question: What application does
Zeno’s logic have today? Research “Thomson’s Lamp” to find out.
THE PLURALISTS
– Empedocles• Empedocles wanted to
show how change was possible.
– Democritus• atomism- The ONE the
“ARCHE” is made particles called atoms,
• uncuttables that could move and reform within the void.
THE PLURALISTS
Democritus Death was a dissipation of
atoms of the soul, body became devoid of life.
Nothing was random, no real freedom of choice.
Everything happened by necessity.
Democritus wrote on ethics, beliefs about behavior.
He divided what we can know into two types of knowledge:
one by study, genuine. The other by senses, called
the obscure.
THE SOPHISTS
Protagoras He focused on
grammar. He believed that
everything was tied to “excellence”.
Gorgias Lasting knowledge is
impossible. He was an enemy of
Socrates and Plato
THE SOPHISTS
Antiphon Natural law and human
law re-encounter each other in Antiphon.
He was the first to get to the problem: can we get from what “is” to what “ought” to be.
The sophists said “yes”, Socrates said, “Prove it!”
SOCRATES
Socrates. . . Influenced every
school of thought in Ancient Greece.
Influenced early Christian Scholars like Justin Martyr and St. Augustine.
Was a Hero of the Peloponnesian War.
fought Spartans. received a life-long
pension.
SOCRATES
Socrates. . . Originally a sophist, he soon
became greatest teacher in Athens.
Challenged Sophists and publically embarrassed them.
Accused of forsaking the gods, called jury idiots if they believed he was teaching against the gods.
Condemned to death. Drank hemlock, considered
an honorable suicide. Taught of Plato and Aristotle
PLATO
recorder of Socrates trial and death
Wrote The Republic in which most ideas of Republican, representative government arise from
Analogy of the Cave- (video) Plato's Cave
Attacked the Sophists blaming them for Socrates death
ARISTOTLE
– Student of Socrates– challenged Plato’s theory of
forms saying each particular has a particular
– Designation study of nature in to categories like genus and species, Started 1st zoo with help of Alexander the Great
– His ideas on universe accepted by Catholic Church till 1700’s
– Wrote Physics which started a new field of science, added metaphysics to explain, unexplainable
– Wrote extensively about ethics
EPICURUS AND STOICS
• Epicurus– Life to be experienced
through the senses• focused on food,
cooking schools called Epicureans
• Stoics– Believed emotions and
feelings dangerous– response to Epicureans
who indulged in everything, refused to enjoy anything
