“It was Greek to Me”

1. “It was Greek to Me” Ch 1, Sec. II. – Greek Philosophers.

2. A. Three great philosophers. (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle)

3. Rodin’s “The Thinker” (1881)

4. 1. Socrates – a) Questioned all things, including authority. b) Encouraging critical thinking. • Circa 470 BC–399 BC. • Ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy.  Found guilty for corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to death by drinking a mix of the poisonous hemlock.  Influenced other philosophers through ages.

5. c) Socratic Method.  Teaching by asking a series of questions! ?  Socrates used a question-and-answer approach that became known as the Socratic method.

6. The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787). Socrates points to the sky, confirming his faith in the immortality of the soul.

7. 2. Plato. a) Wrote from memory several dialogues (conversations) between Socrates & his students. b) Service to community above personal goals. c) Too much freedom = social disorder. • c. 427-347 BC. • Disliked Athenian democracy, preferred Sparta’s gov’t. • Rejected senses as source of truth: only trusted ideas understood through logic/reasoning.

8. d) The Republic i. 1st political science book. ii. Distrusted lower classes. iii. “philosopher-kings” - Only intelligent and educated citizens should participate in gov’t.  Plato introduced the colon (:) in 400 BC.

9. “He who trusts any man with supreme power gives it to a wild beast, … but law is reason without desire...” -- Aristotle 3. Aristotle. a) Taught by Plato, but rejected many of Plato’s ideas. b) Believed earth was center of solar system. • 384-322 BC • 1st to (a) observe facts, (b) classify them according to similarities/ differences, and (c) develop generalizations from data. • Aristotle first introduced a break / beginning of new topic with the paragraph in 360 BC.

10. Aristotle’s View of the Universe

12. School of Athens, Raphael

13. Plato Aristotle