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The Pythagoreans
• A school of thinkers founded
Socrates 470-399 BC
by Pythagoras, 570 BC-497
BC.
The first great Greek
• Studied mathematics and philosopher
philosophy, which he tried to
Born and lived at Athens
unite
Turned away from the thinking
• Thought to be the first person of previous philosophers
to apply the word “cosmos” to because
the universe—the insight that – they were all at odds with each
the universe had an order to it, other, and none proposed a
which Pythagoras believed method by which to decide
between them
could be expressed by
– they made little practical
humans in terms of difference anyway, even if we
mathematics could discover which was true
1
Socrates Socrates
Socrates believed that if we apply
Socrates believed what words like “just” to all sorts of
different people, decisions, laws,
we needed to know and sets of arrangements, there
was how to conduct our was something common to them all,
something called “justice” which
lives and ourselves they all shared.
PLATO
Socrates A follower of Socrates
and initially a
disseminator of his ideas
Socrates’ two cherished beliefs:
– If we preserve our integrity, no First person to write
real, long-term harm could ever philosophy—he wrote
come to us. “Dialogues” in which
– No one really knowingly does Socrates is the
wrong—he believed that if we protaganist
only knew the answer to
questions like “what is justice,” Early dialogues were
we would be bound to behave more or less accounts of
justly. This is why he tried to Socrates’ and his
involve as many people as conversations; later
possible in his discussions. dialogues Plato began to
include ideas of his own
PLATO PLATO
His interests begin
with the ethical
interests of Socrates,
but gradually move
toward natural
philosophy and Plato never denied Socrates beliefs that the only real harm
mathematics—the that can come to a person is harm to the soul (integrity); that it
is better to suffer wrong than to commit it; that we should think
sorts of things that for ourselves, being ready to question whatever we believe is
Socrates scorned true
However, he rejected the view that virtue is simply
knowledge—according to Plato, virtue requires that reason
rule the irrational parts of one’s soul
2
PLATO: The Theory of the Forms (Ideas) All of reality then was PLATO
divided two—a visible
Plato adopted the implied view of
world, our ordinary
Socrates’ quest to know universal everyday world, which is
essences of things, and
generalized it across the whole of presented to our sense,
reality and which is constantly
Everything in our world was, for
Plato, an ephemeral, decaying changing.
copy of something whose ideal
form has a permanent and And timeless and
indestructible existence, outside of unchanging world, of
time and space.
These Forms or Ideas were the which our everyday world
realities underlying all existence. only offers us a glimpse.
Accessible only to the mind;
knowledge of these were what Because it alone just is,
philosophers actually pursued.
one might call this world
the real reality.
PLATO PLATO
The same division in reality
exists in the human being:
We have a body which
comes into existence and
passes away, never staying
the same.
The body is only a fleeting
glimpse of something that is
also us, and is non-material,
timeless, and indestructible
—our soul. For Plato, this is Life’s ultimate aim for Plato is to move beyond the image
our permanent Form, and it of things and know its ultimate reality. This is achieved
exists in the same order of through practicing detachment from the world and
reality as all the unchanging
Forms of everything else. philosophy
Plato even said that it is a lot like rehearsing to be dead.
3
ARISTOTLE ARISTOTLE
THE NATURE OF BEING Form or organization or
All things are composed of structure is the reason
matter—their constituent anything is what it is
materials and form—the There is no distinctive
way they are structured matter that makes up
Matter is just the stuff out anything
which things are made…it There is no Chihuahua
changes, even every day. stuff—Chihuahua is a way
matter is organized.
ARISTOTLE ARISTOTLE
The Human Being The Science of Ethics
Composed of body Investigates how
happiness can be
(matter) and soul
achieved by humans—
(form) what are its basic
Acts for a final end or boundaries or
good—happiness or requirements
eudaimonia Virtue: the balance
between the extremes of
excess and deficiency
4
PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE
ARISTOTLE
THE CYNICS
• Rejected civilization and
Ethics is a preliminary embraced a simply life
investigation to • Only difference that mattered
was between “true” values and
Politics “false” values; all others were
rubbish (Greek/foreigner;
“Man is by nature a civilized/uncivilized)
political animal” • Diogenes (404-323BC) was a
famous cynic known for his
Purpose of aggressive flouting of all the
government: to conventions and deliberate
attempts to shock people by
enable citizens to live not eating or dressing, or
eating disgusting food, or
a full and happy life. committing flagrant acts of
public indecency
5
PHILOSOPHY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE
Stoic Ethics
• No afterlife—as this is all there is
• Everything is it is for a reason;
everything happens according to
reason
• We must accept all things without
complaint—for indifference is the
mark of reason
• Emotions are wrong—always false
judgments
• Endure life’s troubles with calm and
dignity; and if things become so
bad, it was rational to take your life.