Introduction


 In ancient times, people had a rather strong belief in
magic and mythology when it came to interpreting
the world around them. The world as they perceived
it was largely influenced by the presence of a higher
deity.
 
 The ancient Greek philosophers brought a refreshing
new approach to this contemporary philosophical
paradigm. They broke away from the tradition of
mythological explanations, and embarked on an
interpretation largely based on reasoning and
evidence.
 
 Ancient Greece saw the rise of a plethora of
philosophers. Among these, a number of key figures
stood out for their seminal work and ideas in
philosophy. Their esoteric philosophical ideas on
primitive natural science as well as the ethical
application of their philosophical values in society
earned them the recognition that lives to this day.
 Parmenides (560 BC – 510 BC)


 Parmenides was a known follower
of Pythagoras, another renowned
figure in the philosophical
paradigm of ancient Greece.
 His poems and thoughts have
always seemed to be significantly
influenced by the philosopher
Xenophanes, leading most
historians to believe that he must
have been his pupil.
 Among the pre-Socratic
philosophers (those who were in
the limelight before the time of
Socrates), he is seen as one of the
most significant ones.
 
 In his only known work, the aptly titled poem On Nature,
he tries to unravel the biggest question of all: Is it or is it
not?
 His attempt at deciphering this philosophical question (a
rhetorical one, some might say) leads to a rather
paradoxical statement rather than a satisfying answer.

 Parmenides states that everything “that is” must have

always been, since any arbitrary “nothing” would have to
come from nothing itself. And in turn, it becomes a
paradox because it is impossible to think of what “is not,”
and again, it is also impossible to think of something that
cannot be thought of. Subsequent philosophers would go
on to try and simplify these philosophical impossibilities.
Anaxagoras (500 BC–428 BC)


 Another important figure from
the pre-Socratic era, Anaxagoras
of Clazomenae was an
influential philosopher and
scientist who lived and taught in
Athens for almost 30 years.
 His philosophical views
revolved around nature itself.
As was the case with most of the
philosophers in ancient Greece,
his ideas contrasted and collided
with contemporary ideologies
and beliefs and this led him to
face life-threatening
consequences.
 
 Anaxagoras is credited as being the first to establish
a philosophy in its entirety in Athens, a place where
it would go on to reach its peak and continue to have
an impact on society for hundreds of years to come.
 He devoted much of his time to explaining nature as
it is, taking the universe as an undifferentiated mass
until it was worked upon by a spiritual component
which he called “nous” meaning “mind.”
 He believed that in the physical world, everything
contained a part of everything else. Nothing was
pure on its own, and everything was jumbled
together in chaos. The application of nous assigns a
certain motion and meaning to this chaos.
 Anaximander (610 BC–546 BC)


 Anaximander of Miletus is the
famous pupil of, and in many
ways a philosophical successor to,
Thales himself. He is credited as
being the first known writer on
philosophy because the first
surviving lines of Western
philosophy were written by him.
 He is also well known in the fields
of early biology and geography.
 He created the first world image of
an open universe, a move away
from the notion of a closed
universe, making him the first
speculative astronomer in human
history.
 
 He further extended the philosophical views of his
master, proposing an “arche” or a principle that he
believed to be the basis of the whole universe.
 But unlike Thales, he thought that this basis had an
“apeiron” (an unlimited substance) that acted as a
source for everything.
 This source acted as the prime point of
differentiation for polar opposites like hot and cold,
light and dark, and so on. Much of his work remains
truncated, especially at the hands of subsequent
generations of philosophers. But he was indeed one
of the greatest minds in ancient Greece.
Empedocles (490 BC–430 BC)


 Empedocles was one of the most
important pre-Socratic era
philosophers and even more
outstanding were his poems that
went on to have a great influence
on later poets including the likes of
Lucretius.
 One of his philosophical landmarks
has been his assertion of the four-
element theory of matter. It states
that all matter is basically
composed of four primary elements
– earth, air, fire, and water.
 This became one of the earliest
theories to have been postulated on
particle physics, although some
historians see it as a complex effort
to negate the non-dualism theory of
Parmenides.
 
 He simply rejected the presence of any void or
empty space, thus completely contradicting the
philosophical ideology of Parmenides.
 He put forth the idea of opposite motive forces
involved in the building of the world, namely love as
the cause of union, and strife as the cause of
separation.
 He also went on to become the first person to give an
evolutionary account on the development of species.
 Zeno (490 BC–430 BC)


 At a time when most
philosophers in ancient
Greece were using reason
and knowledge to interpret
nature, Zeno of Elea was
devoting his time to
elucidating the many
puzzles and paradoxes of
motion and plurality.
 It is worth noting that he
attempted to explain
contradictory conclusions
present in the physical
world many years before the
development of logic.
 
 Zeno further expanded and defended the philosophical
ideologies established by Parmenides, which were facing
much opposition from common opinion at that time.
 He propounded multiple paradoxes himself, which were
debated among later generations of philosophers.
 The majority of contemporary arguments on his
paradoxes were on the infinite division of time and space,
such as if there is a distance, there is also half that
distance and so on.
 Zeno was the first in philosophical history to show that
the concept of infinity existed.
Pythagoras (570 BC–495 BC)


 Another pre-Socratic Greek
philosopher, Pythagoras is
known far more for his theories
and ideas in mathematics than in
philosophy.
 In fact, he is best known for the
theorem in geometry that is
named after him. He is one of the
most familiar names in pre-
Socratic society, yet we know
surprisingly little about him.
 He is credited with founding a
philosophical school that
amassed a great many followers.
 
 It was at this school that Pythagoras tried to find a
mutual harmony between real life and the practical
aspects of philosophy.
 His teachings were not strictly confined to what we
know as philosophy, but also included common
issues like rules on living, what daily food to eat and
so on.
 He regarded the world as the perfect harmony and
based his teaching on how to lead a harmonious life.
 Socrates (469 BC–399 BC)


 Socrates embarked on a whole
new perspective of achieving
practical results through the
application of philosophy in our
daily lives, something that was
largely missing in the approach
of pre-Socratic philosophy.
 He openly moved away from
the relentless physical
speculations that previous
philosophers had been so busy
interpreting and assimilating
and attempted to establish an
ethical system based on human
reasoning rather than various
(and often widely debated)
theological doctrines.
 
 Instead of regurgitating ideas based solely on his
individual interpretations, he would question people
relentlessly on their beliefs, and try to find
definitions of virtues by conversing with anyone
proclaiming to possess such qualities.
 Socrates became a key figure and amassed numerous
followers, but he also made many enemies.
Eventually, his beliefs and realistic approach to
philosophy led to his execution. But one might argue
that his philosophical martyrdom, more than
anything else, turned him into the iconic figure that
he is today.
 
Top 12 Contributions of Socrates
 Socratic Technique


 Socrates’ most important contribution to Western philosophy
was his technique for arguing a point, known as the Socratic
technique, which he applied to many things such as truth and
justice. This is described in Plato’s “Socratic dialogues.” An
issue would be divided up into a series of questions, the
responses to which progressively led to the desired outcome.

 The Socratic technique is a negative strategy for gradually

disproving unwanted theories, leaving you with the most
logical one. It aims to make the individual examine their own
beliefs and challenge the legitimacy of such convictions.

 The importance of this strategy cannot be understated and has

led to Socrates earning the title of the “father of political
philosophy, morality, and good logic.” The Socratic technique
is frequently regarded as an essential part of the American legal
system.
 Philosophical Beliefs


 The beliefs of Socrates, separate from those of Plato, are
hard to define as little in the way of solid proof exists to
separate the two.
 The vast majority of Plato’s “exchanges” might be simply
the thoughts of Socrates reinterpreted by Plato, and
several researchers think Plato adapted the Socratic style
to make Socrates and the other characters difficult to
recognize. Others contend that he had his own
hypotheses and beliefs.
 It is therefore difficult to isolate Socrates and his work
from that of Plato and necessary to always keep in mind
that the work of Socrates could actually be attributable to
Plato and vice versa. The issue is further confounded
because Socrates was famous for posing questions and
not supplying an answer, preferring others to form their
own conclusions.
 Socratic Paradoxes


 A significant number of the beliefs generally credited
to Socrates are deliberately confusing because they
present ideas which, at first, appear contradictory.
These are called paradoxes. The most famous
paradox is: “I know that I know nothing“.

 In that paradox Socrates claims that he knows

nothing, but if that’s true, then how could he even
know that he knows nothing.
 Learning


 The paradox “I know that I know nothing” is introduced in Plato’s
Apology and is an indication of Socrates’ self-awareness, as he professes to
his own lack of knowledge. Socrates believed that in order to come to a
conclusion, a person needed to approach it with “thought, sense,
judgment, viable knowledge, [and] prudence.” He also believed that bad
behavior was the result of ignorance, and those who made mistakes did so
because they knew no better.

 The one thing Socrates did profess to know about was “the specialty of
affection.” This is related to the word erôtan, which means to ask
questions, showing that Socrates linked the ideas of love and posing
questions about it.

 He does profess to be insightful during Apology, in which he says he is

shrewd “in the restricted feeling of having human wisdom.” Socrates
generally doubted that people, as opposed to the gods, could attain true
knowledge. On the one hand, he said there was a line between human
ignorance and perfect learning; on the other, he shows a strategy for
attaining knowledge through Diotima’s speech in Plato’s Symposium and
in the Allegory of the Cave in Republic.
 Righteousness


 Socrates believed that people should strive for goodness rather
than material interests such as wealth. He encouraged others to
focus more on companionship and making connections with
other people because he felt this was the ideal path for
individuals to come together as a group.
 He bears this idea out when he calmly accepts his own death
sentence. Rather than fleeing to live a life alone and in exile, he
accepts his punishment from society for going against the
general beliefs of the population.

 Socrates focused on ethics and morality in many of his

teachings. These ideals spoke to the essential characteristics that
an individual should possess, chief of which were philosophical
or scholarly excellence. He stated that “the unexamined life
does not merit living [and] moral temperance is the main thing
that matters.”
 Governmental Issues


 Socrates’ resistance to the vote-based system is often
disputed, and the question is frequently posed during
philosophical discussions when trying to establish exactly
what Socrates did and did not believe. The most
compelling evidence that Socrates did not believe in
democracy is in Plato’s Republic, although this is
generally viewed as a second-hand account through the
“exchanges.”
 In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is seen not to pursue regular
legislative issues, frequently expressing that he could not
advise individuals how to experience their lives when he
didn’t yet see how to experience his own.
 Better to Suffer an Injustice than to Commit One


 Socrates angers Polus with the argument that it is
better to suffer an injustice than to commit one. Polus
argues that while it is bad to commit an injustice, it is
worse to suffer one.
 Socrates contends that one bad deed will lead to
another, much worse one, and this is bad for a
person’s soul.
 Doing a bad deed undermines the spirit, and
therefore it is the worst offence an individual can
commit against him or herself. Socrates goes on to
say that if you do commit a crime against another, it
is better to seek punishment than evade it because
punishment will cleanse or purify the spirit.
 Human Wisdom


 The idea of human knowledge is a crucial theme in
Apology, although it may not have been fully resolved.
Socrates’ human wisdom before Apollo’s prophet is
called into doubt by his affirmation that he was not
knowledgeable by any means, claiming that human
understanding can only go as far as “philosophy.”
 Socrates did demonstrate human understanding before
the prophet because he epitomized knowledge, even
though he didn’t realize that he did. This assertion is
confirmed by the challenges set in the Apology,
specifically the question: Why did Socrates keep on
looking for knowledge that he thought was difficult to
acquire?
 Socratic Debate and Basic Reasoning


 The craft of Socratic debate is associated with basic reasoning
because the ability to debate a subject requires considered thought
and reasoning. Socrates believed in the need to examine the
learning process itself and to work out how to go about it. Basic
and intelligent reasoning centers around what ought to be accepted
or done about a topic. Socratic debate adds the extra dimension of
thought to basic reasoning by concentrating on profundity and
argument, and examining the reality or authenticity of thought.
Socrates contended that an absence of information isn’t necessarily
bad, and students must try to understand what they don’t know
through the process of reasoning and basic thinking.

 Basic reasoning and Socratic debate both look for significance and
truth. Basic reasoning allows a person to screen, evaluate, and
maybe reconstitute or re-direct their reasoning. Instructive
reformer John Dewey defined this as an intelligent request “in
which the scholar turns a subject over in the psyche, giving it
genuine and back-to-back consideration.” Socratic debate allows an
individual to engage in self-coordinated, restrained enquiry to
accomplish that objective.
 Socratic Ethics


 Socrates’ emphasis on morality had a definite aim. He
expected philosophy to prompt a change in the state of
mind and critical activities of individuals, which would
have a wider impact on the world.

 We often only see Socrates through the eyes of others, but

both his companions (like Plato and Xenophon) and
adversaries (like Aristophanes) concur that he thought an
individual could affect society in general by their
decisions. He also believed that this theory was applicable
in our day-to-day lives. Socrates’ central question “What
should we do?” can be used in any circumstance where a
decision needs to be made, and it is universally
applicable.
 Socratic Irony


 Socratic irony is a process used in the Socratic
teaching method. It involves a person assuming a
position of ignorance in order to encourage others to
make statements that can then be challenged.
 In this way, Socrates could claim that his opponents
were knowledgeable and play down his own insight
by pretending that he did not know the answer to
the question raised.
 Care of the Soul


 Socrates found that often a person would concern him or herself
with thoughts about money, fame, or appearance, and disregard
the spirit. He believed that the task set for him by the gods was to
remind people of the importance of the soul or spirit. He argued
that wealth does not bring about greatness, but being a good
citizen leads to riches for all.

 Socrates believed that care of the soul should apply to the whole
city of Athens and that the gods offered him to the city as a
blessing and to help improve it. He therefore argued that this
proved that he was not working against the gods, but for them.
Socrates compared himself to a horsefly constantly trying to
awaken the sleepy city and rouse it to action. He believed that
without philosophical debate, the majority rule government would
end up stale, self-satisfied, and in danger of causing harm to itself
and the people.

 Socrates considered it his duty to confront and challenge people so

that they could begin to inspect themselves.
Plato (427 BC–347 BC)


 Plato was a student of Socrates and was
visibly influenced by the philosophical
approach of his master. But while Socrates
was relentlessly occupied with interpreting
philosophy based on human reasoning,
Plato combined the two major approaches
of pre-Socratic metaphysics and natural
theology with Socratic ethical theology.

 The foundation of Plato’s philosophy is

threefold: dialects, ethics, and physics, the
central point of unison being the theory of
forms. For him, the highest of forms was
that of the “good,” which he took as the
cause of being and knowledge. In physics,
he agreed with many Pythagorean views.
Most of his works, especially his most
famous work The Republic, combine
various aspects of ethics, political
philosophy, and metaphysics among
others, into a systematic, meaningful, and
applicable philosophy.
 

Plato’s Contributions
 Established the First University in Europe


 In 399 BC, after Socrates was condemned to death, Plato left Athens. It is
believed that he traveled extensively during this period and returned 12
years later in 387 BC. There is no record of the specific time that Plato’s
school was established, but research suggests that it was around the mid-
380s BC.

 The Akademia or the Academy was established outside the city limits of
old Athens and offered a wide range of subjects taught by experts in their
field. The Academy was thought to be the principal college in Europe and
attracted scholars such as Eudoxus of Cnidus and Theaetetus, both
mathematicians, and Aristotle, the philosopher.

 Plato knew that such an establishment would foster social advancement

and a progressively steady government, and he presided over the
Academy until his death in 347 BC. The Academy was destroyed in 86 BC
after the attack on Athens by the Roman despot Sulla. Almost 500 years
after this, in 410 AD, a restored Neoplatonic Academy was built as a center
for Neoplatonism until 529 when it was shut down by the Christian
emperor Justinian I, who believed that it was founded on agnosticism.
 Insight into the Philosophical Teachings of Socrates


 Socrates is credited as being one of the founders of Western
philosophy. Even though Socrates was highly regarded in his
time, he didn’t record any of his lessons, and his ideas are
known only through the writings of his contemporaries such as
Antisthenes and Aristippus, or his students such as Xenophon
and Plato.

 The “exchanges” or early writings of Plato appear to be directly

acquired from Socrates. Plato’s teacher Socrates is, for the most
part, the focal character in these works, with subjects normally
revolving around Socrates’ dialogues. The most well-known of
the Socratic dialogues is the Apology in which the character of
Socrates defends his ideas against the charges of the Athenian
court.
 The Theory of Forms


 The idea of structure is key to Plato’s philosophy and
may be directly linked to the teachings of Socrates.
The idea is that non-physical forms, or ideas, are the
most accurate reality, and the marvels of the physical
world are an imperfect reverberation of the ideal,
perfect model that exists outside of reality.

 In his work Republic, Plato demonstrates this theory

of forms in a representation called “The Allegory of
the Cave.”
 Epistemology or Theory of Knowledge


 Plato believed that genuine knowledge could be
gained from the wider universe. For example, in his
Socratic exchange Meno, Plato explains how a child
can discover mathematical theories without prior
knowledge of the world, reaching logical conclusions
by asking questions and considering alternative
responses.
 Plato claimed that this was possible due to the
memory of past lives or through learning by
examination instead of perception. He suggested that
knowledge is intrinsically present in an individual’s
spirit and has been concealed by their views and
experiences of the real world.
 Division of Labor


 Plato recognized the need for humans to work together in society
for mutual benefit and profit. He believed that everyone had
different skills and attributes, and these could be combined to meet
the needs of the whole of society.

 He stated that people could be divided into three main types:

 Those who were driven to produce things, such as farmers,

tradesmen and craftsmen. These people were said to embody the
“hunger” element of the spirit.
 Those who acted as guardians and were concerned with protection
and the “soul” element of the spirit. These people were said to be
courageous, trustworthy, and daring, such as military leaders.
 Those who were concerned with the “reason” element of the spirit:
rulers or scholars who were smart, discerning, self-controlled and
pursued intelligence and equity. This was considered to be the
smallest of the three groups.
 Politics


 Following on from the division of labor and the three
main types of people in society, Plato was able to
establish a political and economic model which
worked for the benefit of all. In this society, people
could work together for mutual gain, which would,
in turn, lead to a prosperous and thriving political
and economic structure.
 Platonic Love


 In his work Symposium, Plato attempts to explain
adoration and excellence. In this philosophical work,
seven characters give addresses on the commendation of
Eros, the divine force of affection and want. Plato
investigates different perspectives through these
characters.
 The character of Socrates talks about how men should
begin with an attachment to a specific individual, which
then leads to love and admiration of their physical and
moral excellence.
 One should also adore an individual for their knowledge
and, lastly, cherish and welcome their individuality. It is
said that in this lies the first seeds of what we know as
Platonic love; a sort of passionate and otherworldly
camaraderie without a sexual element.
 Craftsmanship and Verse


 Plato says that poetry is inspired by dreams and isn’t
discerning. in the Phaedrus, he talks favorably of this
and of other sensations such as intoxication,
sensuality, and imagination.
 In the Republic, Plato often objects to Homer’s verse,
but in his Ion, the character of Socrates gives no trace
of this criticism.
 The Ion proposes that Homer’s Iliad had a similar
role in the ancient Greek world to the Bible today: It
was inspired by the supernatural yet still performed
the function of a moral discourse.
 Purposeful Anecdotes


 It might appear unusual that Plato, a devotee of Socrates
and a logical thinker, should employ the art of
storytelling and myth to explain his ideas. However, he
made great use of this device.

 Plato recognized that fantasy often depended on logical

thinking and could lead to a clear understanding of a
subject. He believed that while philosophical discourse
was limited to just a few intellectuals, everyone could
understand these arguments if they were presented as
stories. Plato based some of his fantasies on old stories,
some he adapted, and some he made up himself.
 Mathematics


 Although Plato is predominantly considered a philosopher, he
was also one of ancient Greece’s most acclaimed scientists.
Encouraged by Pythagoras, he established his Academy in
Athens in 387 BC, where he focused on science as a method for
exploring the real world. Specifically, he was persuaded that
geometry was the way to understand the universe. The sign
over the Academy entrance read: “Let nobody oblivious of
geometry enter here.”

 Plato played a vital role in encouraging the Greek intelligentsia

to regard science as a theory. His Academy taught arithmetic as
part of philosophy, as Pythagoras had done, and the first 10
years of a course at the Academy included the study of
geometry, astronomy, and music. Plato has been described as
the “producer of mathematicians,” and his Academy boasted
some the most conspicuous mathematicians of the ancient
world such as Eudoxus, Theaetetus, and Archytas.
 Plato’s Dialectic Explored


 Plato’s commitment to logic and reasoning was profound,
and he used the strategy of discourse to explore
philosophical ideas. The majority of Plato’s discourses
took the form of exchanges between Socrates and various
other characters.
 These characters argue and disagree with one another,
and Plato used these exchanges of different viewpoints to
set ideas and thoughts against one another, allowing the
best ideas to rise to the surface. This technique guaranteed
a thorough examination of each idea and is still used in
philosophical discourse today.
 Laws and Timaeus


 In Laws, Plato’s final work, the philosopher returns to the subject of
society. In contrast to the Republic, Laws concerned itself less with
defining the ideal state, and more with planning a practical, if imperfect,
system of government.

 The characters in Laws worry about the experimental subtleties of

statecraft, forming standards to meet the vast number of possibilities that
could arise from “the present reality” of human problems. A huge and
intricate work running to some 345 Stephanus pages, Laws remained
incomplete at Plato’s death. The biographer Diogenes Laertius tells how it
was left unfinished and written on wax tablets.

 Plato’s Timaeus is famous for documenting the creation of the universe by

the demiurge. In contrast to the medieval creation stories, Plato’s demiurge
does not make the universe out of nothing but creates it from essential
matter similar to eternal forms. Plato takes the four elements – fire, air,
water, and earth – and states that these are combined into what he calls the
“body of the universe.” Out of all of Plato’s works, the Timaeus deals most
directly with what we regard as the essential sciences such as material
science, space science, etc.
 Aristotle (384 BC–322 BC)


 Aristotle of Stagira was the most influential
among the disciples of Plato. His
interpretation of things was more based on
facts learnt from the experience people
would gain in their lives, an approach that
differed from that of his master who
preferred a perspective that was beyond the
accessibility of the physical senses. He
proved to be an imaginative writer and
equally creative polymath, gradually re-
writing pre-established concepts in almost
all areas of knowledge that he encountered.

 At a time when human knowledge was still

far too generalized, he broke down this
knowledge into distinct categories such as
ethics, biology, mathematics, and physics –
a classification pattern still used today.
Aristotle is truly a key figure in ancient
Greek philosophy whose influence went on
to have an impact way beyond the bounds
of ancient Greece.
 Top 10 Contributions of Aristotle


 Invented the Logic of the Categorical Syllogism
 Classification of Living Beings
 Founder of Zoology
 Contributions in Physics
 Influences in the History of Psychology
 Advances in Meteorology
 Ethics
 Aristotelianism
 Politics
 Poetics
Thales of Miletus (620 BC–546 BC)


 Thales of Miletus gets the top spot
on this list for representing a pivotal
point in ancient Greek philosophy
from which subsequent generations
of famous thinkers, theorists,
dialectics, meta physicists, and
philosophers sprouted. He is hailed
among historians as the father of
ancient Greek philosophy. The
majority of Thales’ ideologies come
from Aristotle, who points to Thales
as the first person to have
investigated basic principles such as
the origin of matter. Thales is also
said to be the founder of the school
of natural philosophy.
 
 As a philosopher, Thales rarely confined his research
to the limited area of contemporary knowledge and
was actively engaged in understanding various
aspects of knowledge such as philosophy,
mathematics, science, and geography.
 He is also said to have developed a well-defined
standard to theorize why changes occur.
 He proposed water as the basic underlying
component of the world.
 Thales was highly esteemed among ancient Greeks
and his hypotheses usually added meaning and
breadth to already existing ideas on nature.
