Sophie s World. Chapter 4 The Natural Philosophers

Transcription

1 Sophie s World Chapter 4 The Natural Philosophers

2 Arche Is there a basic substance that everything else is made of? Greek word with primary senses beginning, origin, or source of action Early philosophers were interested in determining source, origin or root of things that exist.

3 Three Philosophers from Miletus Miletus-Greek colony in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) Thales Water All things are full of Gods Anaximander The boundless Anaximenes Air

4 Problem of Change Parmenides No coming into existence or ceasing to exist Rationalism-theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge Heraclitus Flux Unity of Opposites Logos

5 Four Basic Elements Empedocles Earth, Air, Fire, Water Each individually unchangeable Anaxagoras Infinite elements-everything contains a portion of everything else For how can hair come to be from not hair or flesh from not flesh? Seeds Nous Moved to and later exiled from Athens

6 Thesis-idea, assertible position Antithesis-equally assertible and apparently contradictory proposition Synthesis-mutual contradiction being reconciled on a higher level of truth by a third proposition

7 Democritus & Fate Sophie s World Chapters 5&6

8 Democritus Maintained the impossibility of dividing things ad infinitum Must be some building block He called them Atoms Indivisible/indestructible Could be combined in unlimited ways

9 Democritus Materialist-believer in that the theory that physical matter is all there is Atheist Sensory perception was a result of our body interacting with atoms

10 Fate Fatalism-the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable Oracle-a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity

11 Wolff, pages 1-9

12 What is Philosophy? What is Philosophy? Philo- Sophia- What do Philosophers do?

13 Socrates Born in 469, BC Spent entire life in and around Athens Veteran of the Army Interested in human nature: most important and puzzling subject was the human condition itself Public squares and meeting places of Athens Did not write down anything Most of what we know of Socrates comes from his pupil, Plato

14 4 Basic Principles of Socratic Theory The unexamined life is not worth living. Objective principles of right and wrong genuinely happy and genuinely good The truth lies within each of us Cannot be taught fundamental principles of right action and clear thinking

15 Dialogue: a process of question and answer between two people Irony: speaker communicates to the real audience a meaning opposite from that conveyed to the superficial audience

16 Socratic Method Probing questions Prodding, pushing, and provoking into realizing lack of rational understanding of their own principles of though and action Aim to set the person on the path to philosophical wisdom Used by Socrates to deflate big egos

17 First martyr of philosophy Meletus Religious fanatic Trumped up religious accusations against Socrates: corrupting youth and impiety Conviction could carry death sentence Chose not to flee Defended himself using Socratic method Narrowly found guilty Could have proposed banishment Accepted death penalty: one month following trial, he spent an evening in philosophical discussion with his friends and then imbibed the executioners poison hemlock

18 Socrates and Athens Sophie s World Chapters 7 & 8

19 Sophists Wise and informed person Teachers Rejected traditional mythology Skepticism Protagoras Man is the measure of all things. On existence of Gods: The question is complex and life is short. Agnostic? Natural vs. socially induced

20 Socrates Plato and the Dialogues How is Socrates teaching method similar to the job of a midwife? How is the life of Socrates similar to the life of Jesus of Nazareth? What is the difference between a sophist and a philosopher? One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing. Virtue: He who knows what good is will do good.

21 Athens Acropolis: citadel the city on the hill War with Persia and Xerxes Acropolis of wood burned down After defeat of Persians, Acropolis rebuilt Golden Age of Athens Parthenon

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23 Plato Sophie s World Chapter 9

24 Background BC 29 years old when Socrates died Apology-Plato s account of the trial of Socrates Believed that all of his principal works have survived Plato s Academy Named for Academus Philosophy, Mathematics, Gymnastics

25 World of Ideas Concerned with relationship with what flows and what is eternal Some similarities and differences with Empedocles and Democritus molds forms ideas

26 Knowledge vs. Opinion Everything that our senses can perceive is fleeting Can only have opinions on things in constant state of change World of senses Can only have true knowledge of things that can be understood with reason (like mathematics)

27 The Soul We have a body bound to the senses subject to the same fate as everything else in the world Plato believe we also have a immortal soul that existed before it inhabited our bodies Can survey the land of ideas forgets when wakes up in human body Soul yearns to return to world of ideas Allegory of the Cave

28 The Ideal State Body has three parts Head > Reason > Wisdom Chest > Will > Courage Abdomen > Appetite > Temperance The State Rulers Auxiliaries Laborers Plato on women

29 Aristotle Sophie s World Chapter 11

30 Background BC Son of a physician Student at Plato s Academy for about 20 years Last of the great Greek philosophers Europe s first great biologist? Fascinated with natural processes

31 Plato vs. Aristotle Reason vs. Perception Plato: flow animals existing in world of senses are imperfect copies of molds from world of ideas Aristotle believed the opposite Idea were concepts humans developed after seeing a certain number of a specific animal Idea is made up of the animal s characteristics Made up of what is common to all horses, chickens, etc. Plato-reason; Aristotle-perception

32 Form, Substance, and Cause Substance-what something is made of Form-what something does Substance > Form Potential > Actual Cause Material Cause-aspect of the change or movement which is determined by the material (substance) Formal Cause-change or movement caused by the arrangement, shape or appearance of the thing changing or moving (form) Efficient Cause-interaction with some agent of change Final Cause Purpose-the end toward which it directs

33 Logic Categorization Think 20 Questions Logic Aristotle demonstrated a number of laws governing conclusions or proofs Nature s scale

34 Ethics and Politics Three forms of happiness Life of pleasure and enjoyment Life as free and responsible citizen Life as thinker and philosopher The Golden Mean Man is a political animal Monarchy Aristocracy Polity Views on women

35 Natural Philosophers Socrates Plato Aristotle

36 The Natural Philosophers 1. Who believed that the most dominant element of nature was water? 2. What philosopher advanced the idea of the boundless 3. Who suggested that the most dominant element of nature was air? 4. Which philosopher believed that nothing in nature changed? 5. Who said that everything in nature constantly changed? 6. Who believed that all matter is made up of four basic elements 7. Who held that the most basic component of nature is seeds? 8. Who claimed that the most basic component of nature is atoms?

37 The Natural Philosophers 1. Thales 2. Anaximander 3. Anaximenes 4. Parmenides 5. Heraclitus 6. Empedocles 7. Anaxagoras 8. Democritus

38 Socrates 1. Socrates spent his entire life in and around what city? 2. Who is the source for most of our knowledge of Socrates? 3. According to Socrates, what type of life is not worth living? 4. According to Socrates, is right and wrong relative, or objective? 5. What group of people did Socrates disagree with on that 6. What is a process of question and answer between two people? 7. The Socratic Method made heavy use of what type of double meaning speech? 8. How was Socrates executed?

39 1. Athens 2. Plato 3. The unexamined life 4. Objective 5. Sophists 6. Dialogue 7. Irony 8. Poison/Hemlock Socrates

40 Plato 1. What was the name of Plato s work that outlined the persecution and trial of Socrates? 2. What were the three subjects taught at Plato s Academy? 3. According to Plato, we can only have true knowledge of things we understand using what? 4. According to Plato, humans have an immortal. 5. The Allegory of the serves can be used to describe Plato s sense of humans can achieve knowledge and enlightenment. 6. According to Plato, the body has how many parts? 7. Name each of those parts.

41 Plato 1. Apology 2. Philosophy, Mathematics, Gymnastics 3. Reason 4. Soul 5. Cave 6. Three 7. Head, Chest, Abdomen

42 Aristotle 1. Where was Aristotle a student for about 20 years? 2. What was Aristotle particularly interested in? 3. If Plato was an advocate of using reason, Aristotle was an advocate of using what to help someone learn about nature? 4. According to Aristotle, is what something is made of and is what something does. 5. Aristotle believed that there were how many causes governing change in the natural world? 6. Aristotle used to draw conclusions and develop proofs. 7. According to Aristotle what is the defining difference that allowed him to categorize living and non-living things? 8. Aristotle advocated to establish balance in a person s life.

43 Aristotle 1. Plato s Academy 2. Natural Processes 3. Perception, the senses 4. Substance / Form 5. Four 6. Logic 7. Ability to absorb nourishment, potential for change 8. The Golden Mean