Pre-Socratics Philosophy PDF

2:1 The pReSocratics The Beginning of Philosophy  The PResocratics The Presocratics are a group of thinkers who lived before Socrates They begin the shift from mythos to logos Interaction of many cultures lead to the raising of basic questions They are usually categ...

2:1 The pReSocratics The Beginning of Philosophy  The PResocratics The Presocratics are a group of thinkers who lived before Socrates They begin the shift from mythos to logos Interaction of many cultures lead to the raising of basic questions They are usually categorized in two way ○ Pre-Scientific Scientists ○ Natural Philosophers-focused on nature  The Presocratics They will be concerned with two main topics ○ The problem of the one and the many Continuity in reality What is the basic makeup of the universe Arche-Principle makes up the basic structure of reality Monism vs Pluralism ○ Is there a cosmic order in the universe Is there moral order in the universe  The Presocratics The Milesians-Miletus/Ionia (Greece and Asia Minor) Thales of Miletus-The First Philosopher (600 B.C.) ○ He thought the arche was water (it is very adaptable) Liquid Solid Gas Source of life ○ The world is besouled Guided by mind/order/logos  The presocratics Anaximander-The first to write philosophy ○ Arche-the boundless Undefinable principle Impersonal No beginning Anaximenes- ○ Arche- Air When expanded-fire When condensed-wind, cloud, water, earth, rock Playing with the four classic elements  The PResocratics Heraclitus-(late 6th century B.C.) ○ Arche-fire (always changing) Everything is change in the universe Only constant is the universe (Ex: river) ○ Fire + logos (First to attribute order to the world) The logos gives order and meaning to the universe ○ Amidst all the constant change, we should live a life guided by logos Sane thinking is the greatest virtue Bodily pleasure  The PResocratics Pythagoras ○ Claim to fame???-Pythagorean theorem ○ Arche-numbers Mathematical relations Fire + Mathematical order ○ Religious movement Abstract thought Asceticism-willful self denial Free’s the mind for thought Transmigration of souls  The PResocratics The Eleatics Parmenides of Elea-the opposite of Heraclitus ○ All change is an illusion ○ Arche-the One Not material or mental Can’t attribute anything to it Unchanging Fintie ○ The sense are the way of illusion ○ The way of truth is abstract thought Relationship between sense perception and knowledge  The PResocratics Zeno of Elea ○ Student of Parmenides ○ He offers some paradoxes in defense of his teacher Ex: Achilles and the Tortoise Ex: Flying Arrow ○ Questions raised What is time? What is space?  The PResocratics Empedocles (5th century B.C.) ○ Arche- all four elements Cycle of the elements combining and breaking down Existence to non-existence ○ The process occurs because of two forces: Love and hate/attraction and repulsion Question of inner order (teolos) or mechanical process (magnets)  The PreSocratics Anaxagoras (5th century B.C.) ○ Arche-seeds There is a basics element for every single thing ○ How do these seeds know how to mix? ○ He introduces the idea of Nous (mind) Immaterial and rational ○ All things are guided and ordered by a cosmic mind Teleological explanation Beginning of theology  The Presocratics Democritus (460 B.C) -The Atomists ○ Arche- atomos (cannot be split)-->atom ○ All things are composed of infinitesimally small uncuttable objects Different shapes Spinning in a vortex The way they combine produces the things we experience  The Presocratics Democritus ○ All things come about by pure chance Only mechanism and motion (no mind, order, or purpose) Blind forces ○ Ethics-although there is no order, living a life guided by reason is useful Pleasure and pain Reason led hedonism  The Presocratics Their importance is not necessarily in the answers but in the questions they raise ○ Metaphysics: Mechanism vs teleology Is matter real or not? Is change real or not? Are mind and matter the same thing? Is there a source of cosmic order–God? Determinism vs free will ○ Ethics: If the universe is ordered should we live a reasonable life? If not then what should we do  The PResocratics Epistemology: ○ Empiricism-all we know is from our senses ○ Rationalism-Only abstract thought gives knowledge ○ Is sense experience reliable? How do we know? ○ How can abstract though provide knowledge? What is it connected to? ○ Are the two connected? Even in the sciences: quark vs atom These great men will set the agenda for the rest of the history of western philosophy