Philosophy in Ancient Greece * Presocratic Philosophers *From Socrates to Plato - PowerPoint Presentation

Philosophy in Ancient Greece *Presocratic Philosophers*From Socrates to Plato*Aristotle and the Fall of Athens

Ancient Greece Network of City-States Athens (named for Athena): Birthplace of Philo-sophiaWarlike “Homeric” culture: Iliad, Odyssey Values glory in war, individual excellence Pre-Socratic “philosophers” were pure ontologists-Thales: observes change – declares all “water”-Heraclitus: observes death –declares all “fire”-Anaximander: all is the infinite Aperion, which is like the celestial faucet pouring forth reality.

Greek Society Strict split between -Polis, the space of public life: for men only. Democratic discussion, pursuit of greatness. The space in which life gains meaning ( bios) -Oikos, the private household: women, slaves. The maintenance of life (cooking, cleaning). Pure animal, biological life (zoe – root of “zoo”)Greeks believed in no worthwhile afterlife; purpose of existence was to be memorable, particularly by contributing to city’s glory.

Athens vs. Sparta Sparta: a warrior cultureInfanticide for eugenicsMurderous children Oppressed slavesRivalry with Athens: Pelloponesian Wars (When the Spartansfinally win the war,Athens is spared, but no longer powerful. It becomes more famous for philosophy.)Note that the Spartans saw their brutal society as “good,” while we find it pretty repulsive. It wasn’t until Socrates’s teaching became popular that any Greeks considered violence morally questionable.

ISSUES IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY Ontology – Monism vs. DualismIs there one world, our realm of matter,or is there a second world, one of Spirit? Epistemology – Empiricism vs. Rationalism Is sensory observation a reliable means to knowledge? Or do the senses limit thought? Ethics – Individual Excellence vs. Social DutiesHow can a slave society claim to celebrate individualism, democracy and humanism?

Timeline of Greek Thought

Relativism – The Sophists “Sophist”: Wise manTaught relativistic ethicsThere are many perspectives,no objective truth about good. Protagoras’s scandalous statement: “Man is the measure of all things.” Quality depends on experience. What I find hot, you might find cold. (If this is the case,can we criticize the Spartan practices ofinfanticide, slavery and savage violence?)

Sokratis: Enemy of the Sophists You can’t “teach” truth…

Socrates vs. the Sophists http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmHAdgDkcCw&feature=related The Sophists believed in “ Relativism”: the idea that all truth is relative“ Man is the measure of all things ” – Protagoras, the first Sophist This means there are no absolutes in beauty, morality or truth, only interpretations This infuriates Socrates, who believes in Absolute Truth (OBJECTIVITY) This Absolute Truth does not exist in the physical world, but a “Higher Realm” Socrates believes we all have an eternal Soul in our bodies, our True Self Socrates’s concern is to have people discover these Higher Truths and become wise Otherwise we are living a lie, unable to know true Reality and live accordingly…The only way to discover these truths is to use Reason, i.e. to think logically about it.

THREE QUOTES “False words are not only evil themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” “The unexamined life is not worth living.” - What is the relationship between the Soul and Truth? -What is a Soul? Why does Socrates believe in one? “ Truth lies beneath the shadows of existence, and it is the job of the philosopher to show the rest how little they really know…” - How do “the rest” typically react to being told they’re ignorant? -How did they react in Greece? Well, more on that later … “ False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. “

Socrates vs. Thrasymachus on JUSTICE In Plato ’ s Republic, debate on meaning of justiceAngry “wild beast” Sophist Thrasymachus: MIGHT makes “ right ” ; being “ just” means being weak “I say that justice is nothing more than whatever is (good for) the stronger…. Whoever rules-the ruling party-is the stronger in each nation . . . . And in each nation, whoever rules passes the laws that are to their own-the rulers' advantage. After they pass these laws, they say that justice is obeying the law. Whoever fails to keep the law is punished as unjust and a lawbreaker. So that, my good man, is what I say justice is. Justice is the same in all nations: whatever is to the advantage of the ruling group. ”ACTIVITY 1: In pairs, break down this argument.ACTIVITY 2: How would you critique this argument?

Socrates ’s 3 Responses 1. Thrasymachus sees INJUSTICE, or more specifically selfishness, as a virtue. But this would make life an endless competition to see who can get the most money and power - a dangerous idea. 2. Thrasymachus urges individuals to ignore the law But without common laws there can be no civilization, which harms everyone since we all benefit from it. 3. Finally, Thrasymachus doesn ’ t understand the value of moderation and self-restraint in developing character. Being just is good for your soul, your -Who has the better argument? Why?-Whose argument is more influential today?

The SOCRATIC SEMINAR SOCRATIC SEMINAR: Group Socratic Method -Begin with a philosophical question Philosophical questions are… - “ Big ” : Not about particulars, but fundamentals -Open Ended: They lead to more questions -Non-scientific: Cannot be answered simply with facts, observations We will use the question, IS TRUTH A GREATER VALUE THAN LIFE?

The Trial and Death of Socrates Socrates compared himself to a “ Horse-fly” on the butt of society, using questions to sting Finally the authorities arrest him They offer him death or exile.. He chooses death rather than leave! His best student, Plato, turns his courtroom speech into a book, Apology. Famous phrase from this book:

Why did he do it? “ I would rather die having spoken in my manner, than speak in your manner and live. … The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding Unrighteousness; for that runs deeper than death…”Quoted from Plato ’ s Book on the trial, Apology, 38e-39a

From Monism to Dualism Socrates is the first Greek to proposethere is another world where we belongHe also suggested the mortal body, which the Greeks obsessively revered, was merely a “shell” containing the “true essence” of the eternal SoulNow there is a split between our world as a limited, false one, and the True Reality above…

Criticism of Socrates: Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche (1880s):Socrates was a symptom of Athens’s decline from a noblemilitary power devoted to excellenceand the pursuit of glory in this world, to the preference for an afterlife over reality and a celebration of weakness and smartasserySee his brief but brutal attack on Socrates and Plato from Twilight of the Idols: http://praxeology.net/twilight.htm

Plato: People are Stupid Plato, Socrates’s student, was furious at the Athenians, who had voted against SocratesHe decided the world needed philosophy, so he founded the first college: ACADEMYHere, he began to teach his famous THEORY of FORMS, a development of Socrates’ ideas about the Higher Truth

Allegory ( Symbolic Tale ) of the CAVE -Plato ’s famous fable about Truth and the Good -Demonstration: On the floor -Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTWwY8Ok5I0 -Pairs: What does each element of the story symbolize? 1 the CAVE= 2 the PEOPLE= 3 their CHAINS= 4 the SHADOWS= 5 the ESCAPEE= 6 the OUTSIDE= 7 the SUN= 8 the man ’ s REJECTION=

Moral of the Myth To Plato there are two realms: -The physical world of “Becoming”: matter -The timeless, perfect world of “Ideal Forms” PHYSICAL WORLD: Sights, objects Home of the Body IDEAL WORLD: Ideas, concepts Home of the Soul

What the hell are Ideal Forms? OK. You’ve seen lots of triangles, right?To Plato, these are just copies of the Form… The FORM is the underlying, unchanging Shape. It has three sides and other universal elements. The same goes for love. Lovers break up or die..But the IDEA of love continues on forever,because we understand the larger concept.

The Influence of Plato ’s Worldview Modern philosopher Alfred North Whitehead: “ The safest general characterization of the Western philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. ” Influence on society, schools? Influence on Christianity? Influence on romance? As popular as Plato is, he had a huge debate with his best student, ARISTOTLE, who put many of his ideas in doubt… Look at their hands in the picture. Can you guess the nature of their argument?

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave “Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads... They see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave.”

The Academy: Philosophy Goes to College Plato set up a school to teach the Socratic ethics,as well as his own ideas. ONTOLOGY: Ideal Forms, Souls > “Real” Shadows, Bodies EPISTEMOLOGY:Rationalism – The world we see and touch is a false appearance. Only the rational mind can discover the true Reality, by thinking logically.(i.e. There MUST be Being for Becoming to exist.)

Aristotle EMPIRICISM:Observation“Truth lies in the world around us” Attempts to categorically explain the structures of the world

Causation and Teleology Plato thought things were “caused” by those ideal, transcendent Forms “casting shadows” down here Aristotle sees causation as immanent, this-worldly.Things have four causes that make them what they are:MATERIAL: What it’s made of. Its matter. FORMAL CAUSE: How it is shaped. Its form.EFFICIENT CAUSE: That which sets it in motion. FINAL CAUSE: The Telos – its purpose, inherent goal. Teleology is the study of purposes in nature.

Aristotle’s Ethics Everything has a natural purpose (telos)A cellphone’s telos is to allow people to access communications and info with ease and power. If it can’t do that, it’s bad, as in, performing poorly, a low-quality example of its type. Aristotle applies this same principle to humans.We are rational, political animals. Our telos:-To develop the habits that lead to human excellence-To maximize our potential as rational, creative beings-To participate in a truly human community (the Polis)

Aristotle: Politics is Human Nature “That man is much more a political animal than any kind of bee or any herd animal is clear. For, as we assert, nature does nothing in vain, and man alone among the animals has speech….[S]peech serves to reveal the advantageous and the harmful and hence also the just and unjust. For it is peculiar to man as compared to the other animals that he alone has a perception of good and bad and just and unjust and other things of this sort; and partnership in these things is what makes a household and a city”

A Pericles or a Socrates? Which is better: a glorious war leader,Or a wise old ugly moralizing bum?Either way, they got a new warrior lord in Alexander the Great, who ended the city state and turned his teacher Aristotle’s beloved Polis into part of his new “Hellenistic” (Greek) Empire