Greek Philosophers Overview:



Greek Philosophers Overview: Socrates, Plato & Aristotle

Philosophy defined: To define philosophy can be a difficult task. Philosophy is the search for truth through experimentation and logical analysis. People who study philosophy are known as philosophers. A philosopher will try to understand what it means to live an ethical, authentic and meaningful life. A philosopher will also try to break down knowledge into truths. Questions are asked by philosophers that challenge peoples’ perceptions and beliefs. Then, philosophers will provide answers to those questions that threaten peoples’ personal understanding of the world.

Among the most famous philosophers of Ancient Greece, were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle (S.P.A.). The ancient Greek philosophers influenced the writers of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment philosophers, and the Founding Fathers who wrote the American constitution.

Socrates lived during the years of 469 – 399 B.C.E. Socrates was known for his method of “conversation” and “cross examination” in search of truth. He was known for asking questions like “how should one live?” He questioned and challenged people in his quest to define ideas of virtue and justice. He taught people to examine their own motives, beliefs and actions. (The Socratic Method of question and debate is derived from Socrates). One of most famous quotes is: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Due to his radical ideas and the profound influence he had on youth, Socrates was executed for his ideas. Forced to drink poison for going against the beliefs of multiple Gods and corrupting youth, Socrates died in 399 B.C.E.

Plato lived during the years of 428- 348 B.C.E. Because he saw the death of his teacher, Plato fled Athens and believed that Athenian democracy was corrupt (after all, it was responsible for Socrates’ death).

Plato philosophized that a person’s intellectual soul (ability to be rational) exists prior to birth and survives death. Plato believed that true knowledge could only be drawn out through education, reflection and speculation. People could not achieve true knowledge from perception of the material world because our senses can be deceptive. He also emphasized wisdom, truth, courage, justice and reason.

His most famous work is his written ideas of government and society, titled The Republic. In his writing, Plato envisioned an ideal human society ruled by philosopher kings. In his ideal world, all humans would live and work within their intellectual and physical capabilities. And, only people with higher knowledge, like philosophers, should have control of societies. Therefore, Plato believed that society should not be governed by the richest, the most popular, nor the most powerful, but by the wisest. In this way, his ideal form of government is similar to an oligarchy.

Plato’s views and ideas were popular and influential during his lifetime and even today. Plato established his own school in Athens called the Academy, and it endured until 529 C.E. when it was closed by a Roman emperor.

Aristotle was Plato’s most famous pupil, and lived during the years of 384 - 322 B.C.E. His works are simply his lecture notes from the school that he founded in Athens, the Lyceum. However, before establishing his own school, Aristotle tutored Alexander-the-Great. His works focused on ethics, politics, logic, metaphysics, rhetoric and poetry. He also focused on actualizing potential and becoming. Aristotle believed that ALL things had potential and purpose, even inanimate objects.

Although a pupil of Plato, Aristotle disagreed with Plato’s ideas. Aristotle believed in many different kinds of governments, including: democracy, monarchy, oligarchy and tyranny. Despite these different ideas, Aristotle also believed in the importance of a large middle class, and without this, then a society would just be made up of masters and slaves. According to Aristotle, it was the large middle class that brought stability to a democracy. Because he placed so much importance on the middle class, Aristotle was concerned with leaders having too much power, for too long. So, according to Aristotle, a government is most democratic when it is based on liberty, justice, and equality; and when a person is able to rule and be ruled in turn. In this case, Aristotle believed that no one should hold the same office twice. Finally, Aristotle said that the most democratic democracy would guarantee that the law is supreme-that no one is above the law.

In his studies, Aristotle used logic, experience, experimentation, practical judgment and speculation. He believed that to live well and flourish, people had to use facts and generalizations. Aristotle was very concerned about ethics and politics. For his brilliant and exacting mind, Aristotle is known as the father of botany, zoology, physics, linguistics, logic, literacy and criticism. Like Socrates, Aristotle was also brought up on charges for his ideas.

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1. Read handout

2. circle key vocabulary words, peoples’ names

3. underline author’s claims

4. highlight main ideas

5. take notes in margins, ask q’s, give thoughts

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