Prompts

>>Respond to each of the prompts with carefully developed

answers >>Must include evidence from the reading to support your
decisions.
>>Minimum depth is 4-6 complete, detailed sentences each.

#1 Referring to c. 1000-750 B.C.E. as the Greek

Dark Age is inaccurate. pp.52-56
Agree or Disagree? DEFEND WITH EVIDENCE &
LOGIC

#2 Describe the Homeric Ideal in your own

words. pp. 53-54 & 56-57
DEFEND WITH EVIDENCE & LOGIC

#3 Capture the *essence of Homers vision of

Justice in the Polis. pg. 57 What do you think?

*What
essence
definition:
would
you asksignificance
him for clarification?

Synonyms: attribute, basis, core, form, nature, structure,

substance

ACTIVITY

#1 Philosophy of Life
#2 Beauty
#3 Polis

Describe the ideals of one (or more) of the themes

above in either a/an
Essay

Two (2) complete pages typed

(Times New Roman 12), double-spaced, proofread.
Poem/Lyrics

Minimum of 12 four-line
stanzas, typed (Times New Roman 12), singlespaced, with double-space between stanzas.
proofread.

Western
Civilization

Greek Philosophy

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.

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

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]
Philosophy deals with the universe as
a whole; and it seeks to take nothing
for granted.

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

Thaless Philosophy

1. the principle of all things is water, that

all comes from water & to water all
returns
2. 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).

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
a marked advance philosophically showing the
operation of thought & abstraction

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.

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
number is a very vital aspect of the
universe & is fundamental in it.

Pythagoras
opposites of which the universe
is composed

Limited
Odd
One
Masculine
Rest

Unlimited
Even
Many
Feminine
Motion

Ancient Greek
Philosophers: 2nd Period
2nd period: the sophists &
Socrates Plato Aristotle
the maturity of Greek philosophy.
Socrates/ Plato:
the problem of the mind & the
problem of the nature

Socrates 469-399 B.C.

born in Athens 469

creative
mind =
clear
critical
eager
Since the city is good, it must have, Socrates says, the
virtues of wisdom, courage, discipline and justice.
Socrates divine mission:

was to expose the ignorance of those who

thought themselves wise
What does Socrates really knows?

Socrates does not claim to know anything.

Socrates

Socrates set the standard for Western

philosophy as we know it today.
Since we have no writings by his own hand,
we look to his contemporaries (Xenophon,
Aristophanes) for information about his life
and work.
Interest in philosophy began with physical
science, but moved into morality and ethics.
Served in army during the Peloponnesian War
Dabbled in politics after the war
Eventually retired to a private life.
Devoted time to philosophical dialogue.

Socrates
Socrates method of discussion was a
question/answer system in which he
claimed ignorance and questioned the
aristocratic youths of Athens.
Very influential among the young men of
the city, but unlike the Sophists, a groups of
philosophers who charged a fee for
education, Socrates despised material
wealth and thus won the loyalty of his
students.

Socrates
Wealthy parents of these young men were
not happy with the new ideas their sons were
espousing, and, since many of them were
involved in politics, they managed to make
Socrates a controversial political figure.
An Athenian jury brought Socrates up on
charges of corruption of youth and
interfering with religion in the city. He was
convicted.

Socrates on Trial
399 B.C.
3 Athenian citizens:
Meletus
Anytus
Lycon

Accused Socrates of
1. heresy (impiety)
2. did not believe/ or observe the gods of the
polis
3. corrupted the minds of the youth
Vested Interests

Socrates
In 399 B.C., Socrates drank hemlock and
died in the company of family and friends.
Socrates survives as a character in the
dialogues of Plato, bringing enlightenment
to the men of Athens by asking leading
questions and applying reason.
Hemlock: flowering plant native to Europe,
Mediterranean, South Africa

Plato described Socrates' death in the

Phaedo:
"The man laid his hands on him and
after a while examined his feet and legs,
then pinched his foot hard and asked if
he felt it. He said No; then after that,
his thighs; and passing upwards in this
way he showed us that he was growing
cold and rigid. And then again he
touched him and said that when it
reached his heart, he would be gone. The
chill had now reached the region about
the groin, and uncovering his face, which
had been covered, he said and these
were his last words 'Crito, we owe a
cock to Asclepius. Pay it and do not
neglect it.' 'That,' said Crito, 'shall be

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
He abandoned the study of natural science
and turned to the study of human life
In teaching method, he did not use spoonfeeding method, but dialogue questions
& answers. Socrates liked using examples
of daily affairs to enlighten his students
educare (Latin) = to lead

Socrates
Socrates did not think he knew a
lot.
Socrates knew that he was ignorant
(but the others did not know that we
were ignorant)

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.

 Students like to presume that there must

be an absolute answer to all questions.
Actually, NO!
By systematic question:
What (define)
Where
Logical Thinking
When
Why
How
via dialogues in careful definition &
logical thinking
The greatest power on earth is the power of
reflection

What is an argument?
An argument is, to quote the Monty
Python sketch, "a connected series of
statements to establish a definite
proposition."
There are three stages to an
argument:
Premises, Inference, and Conclusion.

Stage one: Premises

One or more propositions will be are necessary for the
argument to continue. They must be stated explicitly. They
are called the premises of the argument. They are the
evidence (or reasons) for accepting the argument and its
conclusions.
Premises (or assertions) are often indicated by phrases
such as "because", "since", "obviously" and so on.
(The phrase "obviously" is often viewed with suspicion, as it
can be used to intimidate others into accepting dubious
premises.
If something doesn't seem obvious to you, don't be afraid to
question it. You can always say "Oh, yes, you're right, it is
obvious" when you've heard the explanation.)

Stage two: Inference

The premises of the argument are used to obtain further
propositions. This process is known as inference.
In inference, we start with one or more propositions
which have been accepted. We then derive a new
proposition.
There are various forms of valid inference. The
propositions arrived at by inference may then be used in
further inference.
Inference is often denoted by phrases such as "implies
that" or "therefore."

Stage three: Conclusion

Finally, we arrive at the conclusion of the argument,
another proposition.
The conclusion is often stated as the final stage of
inference.
It is affirmed on the basis the original premises, and
the inference from them.
Conclusions are often indicated by phrases such as
"therefore," "it follows that," "we conclude" and so
on.

Types of argument
There are two traditional types of
argument, deductive and inductive.
A deductive argument provides
conclusive proof of its conclusions; if the
premises are true, the conclusion must
also be true.
A deductive argument is either valid or
invalid. A valid argument is defined as
one where if the premises are true, then
the conclusion is true.

Types of argument
An inductive argument is one where the
premises provide some evidence for the truth of
the conclusion.
Inductive arguments are not valid or invalid, but
we can talk about whether they are better or
worse than other arguments. We can also
discuss how probable their premises are.
There are forms of argument in ordinary
language which are neither deductive nor
inductive.
However, deductive arguments are often viewed
as the most rigorous and convincing.

Here is an example of a deductive argument:

Every event has a cause (premise)
The universe has a beginning (premise)
All beginnings involve an event (premise)
This implies that the beginning of the universe
involved an event (inference)
Therefore the universe has a cause (inference
and conclusion)
Note that the conclusion of one argument might
be a premise in another argument. A proposition
can only be called a premise or a conclusion with
respect to a particular argument; the terms do
not make sense in isolation.

Plato 428-348 B.C.

Born Athens
Saw the decline & fall of power
(404 B.C. Sparta defeated Athens)
One of the best authors among the philosophers.
Served in the military from 409-404 B.C., the end
of the Peloponnesian War.
Opted for a political career at the end of the war,
joined the oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants, but
their violent acts disillusioned him and he left.
In 403 B.C. democracy returned to Athens, but
Plato seemed little interested in politics.
The death of Socrates in 399 B.C. had a profound
effect upon him.

Plato

Plato left Athens and traveled to

Egypt, Sicily, and Italy.
Returned 387

B.C.

Founded the Academy.

Presided institution, which
encouraged research and
instruction in philosophy and
science, until he died.

Plato

Platos main contributions

are in mathematics,
philosophy and science.
Following footsteps of
Socrates, Plato wrote his
works as dialogues.

Plato
Plato If 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.

Plato

Plato questions & answers are still valid

today
The Prince of Philosophy
Because,
1. Plato asked many of the fundamental
philosophical questions that philosophers still ask
today
2. Many of Platos answers have been continuously
meaningful & are still meaningful for us today

modern Western philosophy is only footnotes to

Plato

Plato

The Republic discusses an ideal

state and includes the allegory of
the cave and the ages of man.
The Apology discusses the
death of Socrates.
the Symposium, takes place at a
dinner party, at which each guest
(drunken or not) was required to
expound upon the nature of love.

Plato
1. Not his intention to answer specific question or
to propose final & dogmatic solutions to any of
the problem that were being discussed
2. Plato preferred instead to do something that
would stimulate original thinking on the part of
the reader.
3. This method 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.
4. 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.

Platos Republic
Theory of government
The ideal
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

Democracy
Democracy
Plato control by the ignorant
majority
No order/discipline
Political struggle, disorder, wars

Platos Republic
perfect polis
wisdom
benevolence
bravery
to curb desires
1. Rulers (gold)
2. Auxiliaries (silver)
3. Citizen (iron)

Platos Republic
1. The Ideal Ruler:
Search for ideal, truth & perfection
soul > 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

Platos Republic
2. Auxiliaries
Bravery
Obedient to the philosopher king
Warrior
Little desire

Platos Republic
3. Citizens (farmers & workers)
A lot of desires
Duty = to obey
to produce accordingly

Plato
|A| Democracy

|S| Timarchy

Selfish individualism,

No individualism

civic irresponsibility
diversity

disintegrating
Growing dislike of authority
No respect for authority
Class war % rich & poor
(have & have not)
Lack of cohesion

Respect for law

Discipline
Exploitation of the lower
class
courage
Intellectual Limitation

Platos Republic
ideal state [utopia] perfect polis
the world of phenomenon is not the
real world BUT pale, imperfect
reflections of ideal models.

Platos 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

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

Literature Criticizing Platos Utopia:

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

Aristotle 384-322 B.C.

Aristotle, born in Stagirus, sent to Athens
age 17 to Academy of Plato.
Attended lectures at Academy for 20 yrs
Eventually lectured himself.
Supposed to have succeeded Plato as the
head of the Academy at his death, but
differed in views.
Philip of Macedonia invited him to tutor
his 13 year-old son Alexander.
He remained in Macedonia for 5 years.

Aristotle
Aristotle returned to Athens and founded
his own school, the Lyceum.
Peripatetic (to walk around)
described Aristotles habits while lecturing.
Lectured & wrote in Athens for the next
13 years,
usually to a small groups in the
morning, then publicly in the evening.

Aristotle
After the fall of Macedonian rule in 323
B.C., a charge of impiety was brought
up against Aristotle.
To avoid execution, he fled to Chalcis in
Euboea.
He died in 322 B.C. as result of stomach
illness.

Aristotle
Aristotles works generally fall under 3
categories:
dialogues, collections of scientific material,
and systematic works.
A few of note:
On the Heavens constructed a system of the
universe
On the Soul discusses mind and imagination
Nicomachean Ethics were written for his
son.

Prompts
>>Respond to each of the prompts with carefully developed
answers >>Must include evidence from the reading to support your
decisions.
>>Minimum depth is 4-6 complete, detailed sentences each.

#1 Referring to c. 1000-750 B.C.E. as the Greek

Dark Age is inaccurate. pp.52-56
Agree or Disagree? DEFEND WITH EVIDENCE &
LOGIC

#2 Describe the Homeric Ideal in your own

words. pp. 53-54 & 56-57
DEFEND WITH EVIDENCE & LOGIC

#3 Capture the *essence of Homers vision of

Justice in the Polis. pg. 57 What do you think?

*What
essence
definition:
would
you asksignificance
him for clarification?

Synonyms: attribute, basis, core, form, nature, structure,

substance