The Greek Philosophy

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The Greek Philosophy
GEN 2112 The Characteristics of Western Culture
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Ancient Greek Philosophy

• In ancient Greece (c. 5th c. B. C.) physics and
  astronomy were included as parts of philosophy
  the love of wisdom.
• deals with the universe as a whole
• seeks to view the entire universe
• seeks to trace everything back to its ultimate
  grounds.

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Ancient Greek Philosophy

• What is the origin of the universe?
• e.g. the science of geometry deals with the law
  of space, but it takes space for granted (no
  geometrician asks what space is), BUT, space is
  a problem for philosophy.
• e.g. universe

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Philosophy and the Universe

• Philosophy seeks to know why there is a universe
  at all
• e.g. the law of causation
• everything which has a beginning has a cause
• Plato the unmoved mover, the uncaused cause
  the prime mover ???
• Therefore, Philosophy deals with the universe as
  a whole and it seeks to take nothing for granted

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The Earliest Greek Philosophy

• The Ionic School
• (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes men of
  Ionia, coast of Asia Minor)
•  
• Thales (c. 624-550B.C.)
• founder or father of the Ionic School of
  philosophy, famous for his mathematical
  astronomical learning for his practical wisdom

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Thaless Philosophy

• that the principle of all things is water, that
  all comes from water, to water all returns
• that the earth is a flat disc which floats upon
  water
• The significance of Thales is not that this
  water philosophy has any value in itself, but
  that this was the first recorded attempt to
  explain the universe on naturalistic and
  scientific principles (not by myths Gods).

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Thaless Philosophy

• Thales asserted that the ultimate reality is
  water
• Later,
• Anaximander indefinite matter
• Anaximenes air
• Pythagoras number
• Heracleitus fire
• Empedocles the 4 elements (???????)
• Democritus atoms
• Therefore, this 1st period (pre-Socratic)
• essentially cosmological in character

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Anaximander

• Anaximander, c. 611-547 B.C.
• Anaximander agreed with Thales that the ultimate
  principle of things is material, but he did not
  name it water. Anaximander believed that it is
  any particular kind of matter.
• it is rather a formless, indefinite,
  absolutely featureless matter in general
• Therefore, a marked advance philosophically
  showing the operation of thought abstraction

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Anaximenes

• Anaximenes (c. 588-524B.C.)
• Air is constantly in motion has the power of
  motion inherent in it, this motion brought
  about the universe from Air.

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Pythagoras

• Pythagoras, (b. 580B.C.-507B.C.)
• all things are numerable, can be counted.
• e.g. in geometry, angles are measured by the
  number of degrees
• Therefore, number is a very vital aspect of the
  universe is fundamental in it.

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Pythagoras

• opposites of which the universe is composed

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Ancient Greek Philosophers 2nd Period

• 2nd period the sophists Socrates/ Plato to
  Aristotle (the maturity of Greek philosophy).
• ? Socrates/ Plato
• the problem of the mind the problem of the
  nature

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Socrates

• Socrates was first interested in natural science
  whether the earth is flat or not, etc. but was
  not satisfied with the result of his research
• So, he abandoned the study of natural science and
  turned to the study of human life
• In teaching method, he did not use
  spoon-feeding method, but dialogue questions
  answers. Socrates liked using examples of
  daily affairs to enlighten his students
• educare (Latin) to lead

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Socrates

• born in Athens
• ugly
• yet, mind creative,
• clear,
• critical,
• eager
• Socrates divine mission
• was to expose the ignorance of those who thought
  themselves wise
• What Socrates really knows?
• Socrates does not claim to know anything.

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Socrates

• Socrates did not think he knew a lot. Delphis
  Oracle no one is wiser than Socrates
• Therefore, Socrates knew that he was ignorant
  (but the others did not know that we were
  ignorant)
• Compare with Confucius

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Socrates

• Socrates belittled his own knowledge
• really honest thinkers are seldom impressed by
  their own ability
• the companies by whom Socrates was constantly
  surrounded were not so much as disciples but were
  as friends who loved him and drew inspiration
  from him.

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Logical thinking

• Students like to presume that there must be an
  absolute answer to all questions. Actually, NO!
• By systematic question
• What (define)
• Where
• When
• Why
• How
• (adduction ???)
• via dialogues ??????in careful definition
  logical thinking
• The greatest power on earth is the power of
  reflection(??)

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Socrates on Trial

• 399 B.C.
• ?Meletus,
• 3 Athenian citizens ?Anytus,
• ?Lycon
•  
• accused Socrates of
• heresy (impiety)
• did not believe/ or observe the gods of the polis
• corrupted the minds of the youth?????????

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Socrates Plato

• c. 582-507 B.C. Pythagoras
• 490-480B.C. Persian Wars
• 477 B.C. Delian League
• 469-399 B.C. Socrates
• c. 460-429 B.C. Era of Pericles
• 454 B.C. Delian treasury moved to Athens
• 431-404 B.C. Peloponnesian War Sparta Athens
• 427-347 B.C. Plato
• 384-322 B.C. Aristotle

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Plato

• Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (penguin)
• ____, The Republic (Penguin)
• Karl Popper, The Open Society and its Enemies
• Vol. I The Spell of Plato
•  
• ?????????
• ????????????3(1971.6)

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Plato

• Plato (427-347 B.C.)
• b. in Athens
• noble birth,
• yet, his youth saw the decline fall of power
• (404 B.C. Sparta defeated Athens)
• 399 B.C.

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Plato

• Plato saw his teacher friend
• Socrates died according to Athens law
• the polis ( Athens democracy, executed his
  master ? final disillusionment travels)
• 386 B.C. Plato returned to Athens, founded the
  Academy where he taught for the rest of his
  life (d. 347 B.C.)
• Plato used the dialogue form of writing as the
  most effective means of presenting his
  philosophical views.

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Plato

• it was not his intention to answer specific
  question or to propose final dogmatic solutions
  to any of the problem that were being discussed
• Plato preferred instead to do something that
  would stimulate original thinking on the part of
  the reader.
• this manner of presentation enabled him to
  present contrasting points of views as they would
  likely to occur in a series of conversations
  taking place among individuals having different
  points of views.
• Finally, by using conversational method, it would
  be possible to illustrate the way in which
  current issues of the day were related to one
  another.

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Plato

• This is one of the reasons why no one of Platos
  dialogues is devoted exclusively to the
  discussion of a single topic. Plato wanted to
  make it clear that in order to understand any
  particular subject, you must see how it is
  related to other subjects and to the field of
  knowledge as a whole.

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Platos Republic

• theory of government
• It represents what Plato regarded as the ideal
  toward which actual states should strive.
• (In a later considerably longer dialogue called
  The Laws, Plato proposed a less idealistic but
  more practical alternative for the organization
  of state government).
• Timarchy (Sparta)
• Oligarchy
• Democracy (Athens)
• Tyranny

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Timarchy

• Timarchy?????????
• Example Sparta

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Oligarchy

• Oligarchy ??????

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Tyranny

• Tyranny (????)

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Democracy

• Democracy (????)
• Platocontrol by the ignorant majority
• No order/discipline
• Political struggle, disorder, wars

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Plato, The Republic

• (??)perfect polis
• ?wisdom
• ?benevolence
• ?bravery
• ?to curb desires
• 1.      Rulers (gold)
• 2.      Auxiliaries (silver)
• 3.      citizen (iron)

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Plato, The Republic

• The Ideal Ruler
• To search for ideal, truth perfection
• soul gt body
• philosopher --- king
• Plato believed that only those persons who
  possessed intellectual as well as moral qualities
  should be entrusted with the power to ruler over
  others

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Plato, The Republic

• Auxiliaries
• Bravery
• Obedient to the philosopher King
• Warrior
• Little desire

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Plato, The Republic

• Citizens (farmers workers)
• A lot of desires
• Duty to obey
• to produce accordingly

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Plato, The Republic

• Rulers gold
• Auxiliaries silver
• Citizen (iron)
• Each should behave accordingly

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Plato
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The Republic

• (ideal state utopia perfect polis)
• the world of phenomenon is not the real world BUT
  pale, imperfect reflections of ideal models.

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The Republic

• VII The Allegory of the Cave
• Cave --- shadows
• Philosopher --- sense of duty
• Objects that we perceive through our senses are
  merely pale, imperfect reflections of ideal
  models that exist in a world invisible to us.
•  
• ?Reality not by observing experiments, etc.
  (Aristotles science)
• -         BUT by thinking contemplating

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Books influenced by The Republic

• Plato, The Republic
• ?
• St. Augustine, City of God
• ?
• Thomas More, 1478-1535, Utopia
• ?
• Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis
• ?
• James Hilton, The Lost Horizon

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ltgt literature Criticizing Utopia

• Aristophanes, Birds
• Jonathan Swift, Gullivers Travels
• Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
• George Orwell, 1984

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Plato

• PlatoIf you dont know that you are ignorant,
  you are really ignorant
• Plato loved respected Socrates, his teacher
  friend.
• In his later years, Plato is reported to have
  said, I thank God that I was born Greek and not
  barbarian, free and not slave, male and not
  female, but above all that I was born in the age
  of Socrates.

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Plato

• Platoquestions answers are still valid today
• The Prince of Philosophy
• Because,
• Plato asked many of the fundamental philosophical
  questions that philosophers still ask today
• Many of Platos answers have been continuously
  meaningful, are still meaningful for us today
•  Whitehead (20th c. Philosopher)
• modern Western philosophy is only footnotes to
  Plato