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Philosophy & Science of Ancient Greece

Terms in this set (23)

What Did The Greeks Believe About The Natural World?
Idea of the "cosmos" - an orderly universe
Part of the Greek idea and philosophy - Greek ideology - was this emphasis on order; creating order in the world - in both science and in society
Describe The Greek Scientific Methods & What They Believed About Them
Humans can understand the laws of nature
We have the ability to unlock secrets and uncover mathematical/ scientific through observation of the natural world
They saw they could do this using logic, reason, intuition, and through observing the natural world - through observation to understand these laws

Greek's Scientific Method
Observation
Reason
Logic

Sometimes looked inward - Intuition - to understand
They believed in a "scientific" perspective rather than a supernatural perspective
Heavily studied the world around them
Even applied these natural laws to society
How Did The Greeks Believe The World Operated?
Operates by natural laws - they believed that the world operated by natural laws; that there were numerical relationships underlying every things in the world; there was a scientific or mathematical reason for everything in the world
Who Are The Three Main Philosophers?
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
What Does Philosophy Mean?
Philosophos is a Greek word that when translated means "lovers of wisdom"
Philosophy: "love of wisdom"
What did philosophers do?
Constantly looked for the answers as to why the world worked the way it did; they looked to perfect society
What Is Socrates' Relationship With The Other Philosophers?
What is He Known For?
Teacher of Plato

Known as the Father of Philosophy
What Is Plato's Relationship With The Other Philosophers?
Socrates most famous student
Teacher to Aristotle
What Is Aristotle's Relationship With The Other Philosophers?
Student at Plato's academy
What Is Socrates Known For?
Examined the definitions of good, evil, and justice

Socratic method- questioned people and forced them to re-examine their ideas; heavy/intense questioning; questioned other's thoughts to get people to think of everyday decisions

Devotion to Truth

Social Criticism - Demanded that the Athenians continue to question their society

"The unexamined life is not worth living"

Clarify ethical problems in an effort for knowledge
What Is Plato Known For?
Saw the world as abstract ideas as opposed to what people saw with their senses

Because it wasn't a true reality and was an imperfect route to knowledge

Believed in the idea of universal truths and a higher reality / order in the world that humans, through outward observation couldn't grasp

Thought everything had an ideal form, or a higher reality of that same thing in its perfection

Everything had a perfect state; utopia of a perfect society
What Is Aristotle Known For?
Doubted the ordinary citizens could govern themselves - not an advocate of democracy

Most known for arranging systems in a form of a hierarchy - he ranked things was the first to classify things in the natural world and in society; ranked different kinds of governments and classified them - he created the names for these different systems

His scientific method - the hierarchy thing mentioned above

Believed Plato's philosophy was too extreme and people should live by the Golden Mean - just what you need to survive (not too much and not too little)
What Was Socrates' Ideal Form of Government?
He was always thinking things could get better, and he didn't agree with uneducated people voting; he questioned how effective Democracy can be as a governmental system

He questioned a lot of leaders and upset a lot of people with his method which made him get a name for himself and eventually be killed.

He was given the option to either live or stop questioning, but he accepted his death and drank hemlock poison.
Why Was Socrates Killed?
He was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth, undermining the traditional religion, and not respecting the gods by making them question everything such as authority and government

He was really just a scapegoat since he challenged the leaders and was seen as a threat, but was killed since they needed someone to blame for all of the "negative" changes in society
What Was Plato's Ideal Form of Government?
His ideal state had 3 classes: economic, soldier, leader which each had a specific role

What class each person was in was determined by the rigorous daily tests that would be given to everyone, and those who did well would move on and those who did not would be sent to work

The strongest people were soldiers, the smartest were the leaders, and the merchants were those who were gifted in a certain craft

Thought Democracy was reckless and distrusted it
What Was The Economic Class's Job?
The economic or merchant class' role was to trade and to craft objects, etc.
What Was the Soldier Class's Job?
The soldier class' role was to fight in the military and be a soldier
Who Made Up The Leadership Class?
The leadership / ruling class' role was the smallest class and those who had the highest level of education
What Was Aristotle's Ideal Form of Government
- Was not an advocate for Democracy

- Instead he believed in the role of government shouldn't be justice and stability, it was to make space for people so they could become the best versions of themselves

- He was an idealist in a way, but this is not how the human mind works for many people

- Believed Plato's philosophy was too extreme and people should live by the Golden Mean - just what you need to survive (not too much and not too little)
What Was Socrates' Background?
Born in Athens; grew up in the golden Age of Athens when Pericles was in power

Grew up during the age of the end of the Peloponnesian war

His father was a stonemason - middle class

Boule- he served on the Council of 500 for sometime - it is the citizen's council, the executive branch; he was influential and served for a long period of time on this council that voted for many of the laws in Athens

Never recorded any of his work, but some of his ideas were elaborated on by Plato in a book called The Dialogues which were of his conversations from his POV with Socrates
What Was Plato's Background?
Was from a rich aristocratic family

When he was a young man he learned from Socrates how to question and what to question

Meeting, and questioning along side Socrates was the biggest influential moment in his life

Served as a soldier during the Peloponnesian War and his family was a part of the Oligarchy

After Socrates' execution he fled Athens and devoted his life to philosophy studying math, science, religion, and traveled the Mediterranean world

Established an Academy that would teach all of the important subjects such as math, science, government, philosophy, etc.

Socrates never recorded any of his work, and after Socrates' death Plato recorded what he remembered (in discussions) from Socrates in a book called The Dialogues
What Was Aristotle's Background?
Taught for a period of time (20 years) after he studied at the Academy

Father was a doctor so he was born to a wealthier class, which explains for his love for science

He tutored Alexander the Great (Alexander goes on to be this great emperor from Macedonia)

Opened his own school called the Lyceum that was to be a rival of the Academy

"Scientist of Understanding"

The founder of the scientific method
Understanding Socrates: "Wonders are many but the greatest wonder is mankind". Explain How This Connects To Humanism
Belief in the extraordinary abilities of each individual
Belief that the goal of each person should be the pursuit of excellence (arete)
Belief in education that develops multiple talents
Puts humans at the center of events as opposed to the Gods
Belief that each individual deserves to be respected
The gods even have human flaws and look like humans to show how in a way humans are godly
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