Ancient Greek philosophers and culture

1. (pgs 117-121)

3. Philosophers
Socrates, 469-399
Believed that one arrives at the truth by questioning the
assumptions on which all things are based
Plato, 428-347
Student of Socrates
Aristotle, 384-322
Student of Plato
“THE” philosopher by Medievalists

4. Greek Philosophy & Its Origins
Philosophy = love of wisdom
Encouraged development of skills
in rhetoric = the art of skillful
speaking
Mesopotamians and Egyptians
contemplated how the natural
world around them worked
Early Greeks (time of Homer,
c.800 BCE) used mythological
stories to explain the natural
world
7th Century BCE – Greeks looked
for new, more practical
explanations

5. Socrates (469-399 BCE)
What little we know comes from his students, Plato
and Xenophon, and his enemy, Aristophanes
Humble birth
Wrote nothing down
Founded no formal school – taught in the agora
Believed material things would not bring happiness
Died for his principles

6. Socratic Philosophers

7. So Many Questions…
What should we do? (i.e. how should we behave)
What is the meaning of life?
What is the meaning of happiness?
Is perfection possible?
What constitutes the good or just life?
What is virtue?
How should a man best conduct his life?

8. Exercise
For each statement ask as many follow up questions as
you can with a partner. Record questions that were
brainstormed on the
Statement #1 – Only people over the age of 19 should
be allowed to drink
Statement #2 – Canada should abolish the sale of
firearms to the public

9. Socratic Method
Method of elenchus (i.e. rigorous questioning
technique)
Designed to “sting” people into realizing their own
ignorance
Provoke genuine intellectual curiosity
True knowledge gained only by constantly
questioning assumptions that underly all we do
To achieve truth is to engage in a permanent state of
critical thinking

10. Socratic Method Example
Q: So you think that the gods know everything/
A: Yes, because they are gods.
Q: Do some gods disagree with others?
A: Yes, of course they do. They are always fighting.
Q: So gods disagree about what is true and right?
A: I suppose they must do.
Q: So some gods can be wrong sometimes?
A: I suppose that is true.
THEREFORE the gods cannot know everything!

11. Socrates’ End
Alcibiades, Socrates’ pupil, betrayed fellow Athenians by
defecting to Sparta in Peloponnesian War
Socrates scapegoated by Alcibiades’ actions, accused of
“not believing in the gods” and “corrupting the youth”
Tried and sentenced to death
Refused to plead for lesser punishment
Wanted his punishment to be free meals for the rest of his
life
This was usually only given to state heroes
Forced to drink poison hemlock and died

13. Legacy
Socrates used the claim of wisdom as his moral basis
Chief goodness consists in the caring of the soul
concerned with moral truth and understanding
“Wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings
wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual
and to the state”
“Life without examination (dialogue) is not worth
living”
“I am a citizen of the world”
“I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance”
He would want you to evaluate society and your own
life regularly!

14. Plato (429-347 BCE)
The “idealist” or “utopian” or “dreamer”
Born into a wealthy family in the second year of the
Peloponnesian War
Name means “high forehead”
Student of Socrates
Left Athens when Socrates died but
returned to open a school called the Academy
in 385 BCE
Wrote 20 books, many in the dialectic style
(a story which attempts to teach a specific
concept) with Socrates as the main character

15. Plato’s Ideas
Idealist, believes in order and harmony, morality and
self-denial
Immortality of the soul
Virtue as knowledge
Theory of Forms – the highest function of the human
soul is to achieve the vision of the form of the good

16. Anti-Democratic Plato
Rejected democracy because it had condemned Socrates
Most perfect form of government: “Philosopher Kings” (i.e.
very smartest) rule over an essentially communistic society
Why Philosopher Kings?
Plato believed they alone possess the intellectual capacity to
achieve the highest form of human contemplation
Such penetrating powers of insight necessary to distinguish between
truth (i.e. that which is eternal and unchanging and therefore is
“really real”) from that which is untrue (changeable stimuli received
by our faulty instruments of perception that serve to trick us into
thinking that something is in fact “real”)

17. Plato’s Impact
Plato’s thinking on the immortality of the soul, his
conception of a world beyond the sensory and his god-like
form of good have very much shaped Christian thinking on
God, the soul, and an afterlife
Nietzsche called Christianity “Plato for the people”

18. Famous Quotes from Plato
‘If particulars are to have meaning, there must be
universals.’
‘The soul of man is immortal and imperishable’
‘What we call learning is only a process of recollection’

19. Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
The “real” or “encyclopedist” or “inspired common
sense” or “the prince of those who know”
Studied under Plato at the Academy
Son of a Macedonian doctor, returned home to
become the teacher of Alexander of Macedon for three
years, beginning in 343 BCE
Later returned to Athens to open
school called the Lyceum in 335 BCE

20. Aristotle, continued
Believed in the Golden Mean
i.e. all things follow the middle course; by avoiding
extremes, one will enjoy a maximum of happiness and a
minimum of pain
Called the “encycolpedist” as he had a profound love of
order
Numerous fields of scientific study he either invented
or contributed to:
Logic, biology, zoology, botany, psychology, chemistry,
astronomy, cosmology, metaphysics, ethics, political
theory, constitutional history, history of sport

21. Aristotle, continued
Founder of scientific method
A valid and reliable process by which all scientific analyses of
a given phenomenon could take place
Led to explosive advances in the Greek scientists’ capacity
to conduct scientific research
Middle Ages’ scholars felt Aristotle knew almost as much as
God, therefore called him “The Philosopher”
“Everything that depends on the action of nature is by
nature as good as it can be.”
“All men by nature desire to know.”
“Every action must be due to one or other of seven causes:
chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reasoning, anger, or
appetite.”

22. Elements of the Art of Rhetoric
Ethos = Ethics
Appeal based on the trustworthiness/character of the speaker
Relies on the reputation of the author
Logos = Logic
Appeal based on logic or reason
Found primarily in scholarly articles and corporate financial reports
Pathos = Pathetic, sympathy, empathy
Appeal based on emotion
Found in advertisements
The more people react without full consideration for the “why,” the
more effective an argument can be
Although it can be manipulative, it is the cornerstone of moving
people to action

23. Legacy of Greek Philosophers
Taught us how to think
Provided a great deal of insight into the natural world
Provided many of the most profound and meaningful
answers to the great philosophical questions that have
befuddled humans since the dawn of civilization
Provided a comprehensive, valid, and reliable method
by which we could test whether or not a given idea is
true

25. 1. Identify each of the following:
Socrates
Aristotle
Plato

26. 2. Define the following:
rhetoric

27. 3a. Why did Plato reject
democracy as a form of
government?
3b. Describe Plato’s ideal
government.

29. Architecture
Parthenon
Most famous building in Greece
Dedicated to goddess Athena
Designed to convey a perfect sense of balance to reflect
the harmony and order of the universe
Greek architecture admired for centuries
Many US building adopted different kinds of Greek
columns

30. Art
Idealism = every object on Earth has an ideal form
Sculpture
450 B.C. – Greek sculptors developed a sculpting
technique that used more natural poses
Realistic (life-like) and idealistic
Painting
Pottery
Paintings on vases
Designed to fit vase perfectly
Depicted views of Greek life

31. Poetry and Drama
Greeks set a ‘standard’ for poetry
Began with Homer
Europeans refer to it as ‘The Classic Style’
Most important contribution of Greeks = Drama
First plays evolved out of religious festivals
Plays performed outdoors in large theaters; little to no
scenery; actors wore elaborate costumes and masks; all
male casts; chorus sang/chanted between scenes
Often based on popular myths and legends; discussed
moral and social issues and explored relationship
between people and gods

32. Drama continued…
Tragedies
Plays that told stories of human suffering that usually ended
in disaster
Greatest tragedy playwrights:
Aeschylus
Wrote The Oresteia; series of 3 plays about murder and crime
within a family; told how pride can bring misfortune and how
gods can bring down the greatest of heroes
Sophocles
Wrote Antigone; explores what happens when an individual’s
moral duty conflicts with the laws of the state
Euripides
Wrote The Trojan Women; stripped war of its glamour by showing
the suffering of women who were victims of the war; showed that
people were the cause of human misfortune

33. Drama continued…
Comedies
Humorous plays that mocked people or customs
Greatest playwright
Aristophanes
Wrote Lysistrata, tells what happens when the women of
Athens force their husbands to end a war against Sparta

34. Writers of History
Applied observation, reason, and logic to the study of
history
Herodotus
Called the “Father of History”
Wrote The Persian Wars; reflected his view that the war
was a clear moral victory of Greek love of freedom over
Persian tyranny
Invented conversations and speeches for historical
figures

35. Writers of History continued…
Thucydides
Wrote about the Peloponnesian War
Described its savagery and corrupting influence on all
those involved

37. 1. Identify each of the following
Parthenon
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Herodotus
Thucydides

38. 2. Define each of the following
Tragedy
Comedy

39. 3. What standards of beauty
did Greek artists follow?

40. 4a. How were Greek plays
performed?
4b. What themes did Greek
playwrights explore?