The Big Three Philosophers PDF

SH1905 The Big Three 1. Socrates (c. 469 - 399 BC) - "Athens' street-corner Philosopher" - Born to a midwife and sculptor - Studied under P...

SH1905 The Big Three 1. Socrates (c. 469 - 399 BC) - "Athens' street-corner Philosopher" - Born to a midwife and sculptor - Studied under Pericles - Influenced by Heraclitus and Parmenides - Famous for creating the Socratic Method of Teaching o The Socratic Method is a teaching method where a person digs deeper into a particular idea by means of creating and using follow-up questions, which will eventually lead to the truth of the matter. o The Socratic Method is done by minimum of two (2) participants -- the one who inquires (student) and the one who intrigues (teacher) - Never wrote his own philosophies 2. Plato (c. 428/427 - 348/347 BC) - "The Philosopher who would be King" - Born as Aristocles from a wealthy family o Plato was a nickname given to him by friends - Won two (2) prizes as a champion wrestler - Studied under Socrates o Plato's writings reflect the teaching methods of Socrates o His famous treatise, The Republic, stated that a philosopher should be a king - Possibly dualistic because of his perception of life o He believed that life is nothing more than the imprisonment of the soul in a physical body 3. Aristotle (c. 384 - 322 BC) - "A Long walk to the Golden Mean" - Plato's best student - Became the well-paid tutor for Alexander the Great - Started his own philosophical school at age 50 o Known as a peripatetic philosopher ▪ A peripatetic [Gk. peripateo = "to walk around"] philosopher is someone who lectures while taking a stroll - Wrote many books and pamphlets, but only a few survived - Founded the school of Logical Theory o He believed that the greatest human endeavor is the use of reason in theoretical activity o One (1) of his best-known ideas is The Golden Mean, where one avoids extremes, effectively making it a counsel of moderation in all things. Predecessors of the Big Three TOPIC : Pre-Socratic Western Philosophy Origin : Ancient Greece Period : about 6th century BC Main Concerns: Trying to establish the single underlying substance the world is made of without resorting to supernatural or mythological explanations The " Problem of Change," how things appear to change from one form to another Timeline 1. Thales of Miletus (c. 624/623 - 548/545 BC) - First proper philosopher 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 4  SH1905 - Proposed that the whole Universe was composed of different forms of water 2. Anaximanes of Miletus (c. 586 - c. 526 BC) - Most of his works were not preserved; known only through comments done by Aristotle and other writers - Proposed that the whole Universe was made of air 3. Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 - c. 475 BC) - Known as "The Obscure" or "The Weeping Philosopher" because of his allegedly paradoxical philosophies - Lauded by his viewpoint that change is a fundamental essence in the Universe; believed in an on- going process of perpetual change, a constant interplay of opposites - Proposed that the whole Universe was made of fire 4. Anaximander (c. 610 - c. 546 BC) - Thales' student - Taught Anaximanes and Pythagoras (debatable) - Known in the historical documents as the first one to write down his teachings - Proposed that the whole Universe was made from an unexplainable substance usually translated as "the infinite" or "the boundless" 5. Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570 - c. 495 BC) - Led a rather bizarre religious sect and essentially believed that all of reality was governed by Mathematics - Influenced the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle o Basically, his teachings influenced Western Philosophy 6. Parmenides of Elea (Late 6th century - mid 5th century BC) - Taught Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos - Considered as the founder of the school of either Metaphysics or Ontology - Argued that motion is an illusion - Influenced Western Philosophy like Pythagoras did - His poem, On Nature, was the last surviving evidence of his existence and it, too, survived through fragments of the whole poem - Used a complicated form of reasoning to deny the concept of change and argued that everything that exists is permanent, indestructible, and unchanging 7. Zeno of Elea (c. 490 - c. 430 BC) - Defended Parmenides' paradoxes - Focused also on Metaphysics and Ontology - Pointed out that the concept of infinity in divisibility is a problematical - Inventor of the dialectic, as Aristotle said - Bertrand Russell, another philosopher centuries later, noted on the subtlety and sheer profoundness of Zeno's paradoxes, despite some of them being disproven by modern science - Best known for his Ten Paradoxes, including the following motion paradoxes: o Achilles and the Tortoise defined that a slow runner, when given a proper head start, will always maintain the lead from the fast pursuer, provided that the pursuer must run towards the point where the slow runner had been. o Dichotomy paradox defined how dividing a task in half infinitely results in no tasks done since the person has to do an infinite number of tasks before reaching the end. o Arrow paradox defined that motion occurs when a moving object changes its position it occupies over time, giving the impression that the arrow can't move towards existence nor nonexistence if one (1) of its instance is frozen in time. In other words, if everything is motionless at every instant in time, and time is made of infinite instances, then motion is impossible. ▪ Traveling toward existence means that the arrow can't go to its current position because it's already there. ▪ Traveling toward nonexistence means that the arrow can't go to its probable destination because time is also nonexistent for it to even move. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 4  SH1905 8. Empedocles (c. 494 - c. 434 BC) - Proposed that everything is made up of the four (4) classical elements which influenced almost anything for almost 2,000 years 9. Democritus - Proposed the theory of the atomos, which became one of the foundations for modern-day Chemistry o The concept of atomos became the foundation of the school of Atomism, which stated that all of reality is actually composed of tiny, indivisible, and indestructible building blocks known as atoms, which form different combinations and shapes within the surrounding void. - Developed the study of Aetiology o Aetiology is the study of causation or origination. Legacy Although these ideas might seem to us rather simplistic and unconvincing today, we should bear in mind that, at that time, there was really no scientific knowledge, and even the most common of phenomena (e.g. lightning, water freezing to ice, etc.) would have appeared miraculous. Their attempts were, therefore, important initial steps in the development of philosophical thought. Western Philosophy Versus Eastern Philosophy DIFFERENCES WESTERN PHILOSOPHY EASTERN PHILOSOPHY School of thought based mainly from Greece School of thought based mainly from China - Basically referred as the school of thought - Based mainly in Asia, more specifically the from Greek philosophy that influenced the Chinese philosophy greater part of Western civilization - Stems from Confucianism, Mahayana - Stems from Rome and Christianity, specifically Buddhism, and Taoism Judeo-Christianity Laws Govern the Universe The Universe Exists as is - Widely believed that there are laws that govern - The natural world does not follow laws, it the behavior of the universe simply “is” Individualistic Collectivistic - Tries to find the meaning of life here and now - Drawn into groups or society or people’s with self at the center, as it is already given actions and thoughts as one to find meaning in and part of the divine. life, as they try to get rid of the false “me” - Based on self-dedication to be of service to concept and find meaning in discovering the others true “me” in relation to everything around them, - People who are different are received or as part of a bigger scheme positively - Unity is the main principle - People who are different are received negatively Linear Journey of Life Cyclical Journey of Life - Life is service to God, money, community, etc. - Proposes that life is round, and the recurrence - Due to its Christian influence, there must be a with everything around it is important beginning and end to find meaning - Ethics is based on behavior - Life is logical, scientific, and rational - Dependence goes from the inside to the outside - The inner self must be freed first in accordance to the world around to be liberated - Life is eternal and recurring 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 4  SH1905 Ethical Emphasis Virtual Emphasis - One must do what is supposed to be done - Focuses with the selfless approach to life without causing ill to others - Satisfaction with what one has - Success is based on how much one walks his path without hurting others Realistic and hand-on Spiritual and theoretical SIMILARITIES Study of Reality is Possible - Both the Western and the Eastern approach share a concept that a deeper understanding of reality is possible than is normally available in everyday experience - Methods differ on how to achieve this o Western philosophy's approach to a deeper understanding involves the application of symbolic thought such as words and mathematics -- the nature of reality can be discovered by thinking about it the right way ▪ Science relies upon a specific thinking process (logic) while faith relies upon specific thoughts (dogma) o Eastern philosophy's approach, thinking moves us away from understanding reality -- when we think we transfer our attention away from reality to the world of symbols, an irreversible difference lies between the symbol and what it represents ▪ The nature of reality is discovered by experiencing it directly, without thoughts -- accomplished through a variety of meditative processes A Supreme Being Exists - Both philosophies believe a supreme deity exists who guides the humankind and provides for all the created beings o Western philosophy gradually shifts from Creationism into Science as predictor of all the events occurring in the universe o Eastern philosophy still puts great emphasis on the existence of a Supreme Being although the concepts of science are not totally rejected References: A quick history of philosophy (n.d.). In The basics of philosophy. Lifted and modified from http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_quick_history.html Denault, L. (n.d.). Philosophy: The Athenian philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In The Glory That was Greece. Retrieved from http://www.watson.org/~leigh/philo.html Eastern Philosophy (n.d.). Lifted and modified from http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_eastern.html Greek thought: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. (n.d.). In The History Guide. Retrieved from http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture8b.html Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: The big three in Greek philosophy. (n.d.). In Dummies. Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/socrates-plato-and-aristotle-the-big-three-in-gree.html Western Philosophy (n.d.). Lifted and modified from http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_western.html 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 4