Classical Socratic, Socratic And Hellenic Views Of Thought Essay

Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religion in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a great mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which relates the two sides of a triangle to the hypotenuse using the formula a squared plus b squared equals c squared. However, because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even more than that of other pre-Socratic philosophers, one can give only a tentative account of his teachings, and some have questioned whether he contributed much to mathematics or natural philosophy. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues and successors. Some accounts mention that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers were

Once a mind has reached a level of imagination, people will start to think for themselves and begin to acquire a high curiosity of what is seen with the naked eye. With the Athenian democracy promoting a development of intellect, philosophers and philosophy began to emerge along with their ideas and share it to the world. In the Article, “Ancient Greek Culture and Civilization,” the author states, “The Philosophers-Socrates, Plato and Aristotle contributed to the way of thinking,human life, and science.” Ancient Greece philosophy fixated on the attitude of question and reasoning. Philosophy had an important significance on modern science and modern day philosophy. The three main philosophers of Greece were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They contributed to the expansion of medieval scientists and

Socrates is believed to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time and he is credited as being the founder of western philosophy. This paper will explain some of his views to the most fundamental questions of today’s age. These questions will include topics about morality, the human condition, solution, and death. After Socrates’ views on these topics are explained, a critique will be done on his answers. I will start out by explaining exactly who Socrates is, and the time that he lived in. To start out, we will first examine Socrates’ view on morality.

     With the possible exception of Plato, Aristotle is the most influential philosopher in the history of logical thought. Logic into this century was basically Aristotelian logic. Aristotle dominated the study of the natural sciences until modern times. Aristotle, in some aspect, was the founder of biology; Charles Darwin considered him as the most important contributor to the subject. Aristotle’s Poetic, the first work of literary notice, had a string influence on the theory and practice of modern drama. Aristotle’s great influence is due to the fact that he seemed to offer a system, which although lacked in certain respects, was as a whole matchless in its extent.

One of the running themes across the ancient Greek world is that man is not in control; there are forces beyond the grasp of the human condition in which man must endure helplessly. In Adler’s piece on the prominent ideas of history this is referred to providence. Adler states that certain schools of history adhere to the belief that history is an unending and unchanging cycle, sometimes at the gods’ hands. This concept of providence, or lack of free will, is the most significant parallel between the works of Herodotus and Thucydides.

Plato was a philosopher who was born in Athens (470-390 BCE), and was also a student of Socrates. He felt that intelligence and one’s perception belonged to completely independent realms or realities. He believed that general concepts of knowledge were predestined, or placed in the soul before birth even occurred in living things. Plato believed that the cosmos was intelligible, and the the universe was mathematically understandable. He believes that mathematical objects could be seen as perfect forms. Forms, a doctoral of Plato, can be understood as an everyday object or idea, which does not, exists in the everyday realm, but merely is existent in the hypothetical realm or reality.

Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. Socrates, as one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the idea of a pursuer of wisdom as he travels about Athens searching for the true meaning of the word. Throughout Plato’s early writings, he and Socrates search for meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. As Socrates is often used as a mouthpiece for Plato’s ideas about the world, one cannot be sure that they had the same agenda, but it seems as though they would both agree that dialogue was the best way to go about obtaining the definitions they sought. If two people begin on common ground in a conversation, as Socrates often tries to do, they are

In these sessions, I have gained a better understanding of Aristotle and Plato’s ideas and theories. Particularly, I have a specific interest in Aristotle and the notion of the two extremes and to aim towards the “gray or middle of the road”. I also have an interest in Plato’s theory regarding the just and unjust and the repercussions of their actions.

Selection 348c-350c of Plato’s Republic features a conversation between Socrates and Thrasymachus on aspects of justice and injustice. While Thrasymachus believes injustice has merit in societal functions; injustice is “more profitable” and “good counsel” as opposed to “high-minded innocence” (Plato 348c-348d), Socrates endorses the antithesis, concluding, “The just man has revealed himself to us as good and wise, and the unjust man unlearned and bad" (Plato 350c). To prove his point, Socrates challenges Thrasymachus with a series of warrant-based assertions and rhetorical questions. Upon the excerpt’s conclusion, Socrates accomplishes his goal of portraying a just society as superior to an unjust society, in addition to demonstrating the composition of

Aristotle and Plato are two of the most influential philosophers in history. Plato was Socrates’ greatest student and in turn taught Aristotle. In time, Aristotle became Plato’s greatest student. Together Aristotle and Plato, along with Socrates, laid the groundwork for what we now know as Western philosophy and science.

Socrates spent his time questioning people about things like virtue, justice, piety and truth. The people Socrates questioned are the people that condemned him to death. Socrates was sentenced to death because people did not like him and they wanted to shut him up for good. There was not any real evidence against Socrates to prove the accusations against him. Socrates was condemned for three major reasons: he told important people exactly what he thought of them, he questioned ideas that had long been the norm, the youth copied his style of questioning for fun, making Athenians think Socrates was teaching the youth to be rebellious. But these reasons were not the charges against him, he was charged with being an atheist and

     “The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living.” This is the famous quote proclaimed by Socrates, a controversial philosopher of ancient Athens. He believed that anyone could lead a significant and meaningful existence by examining his or her own life and ideas very thoroughly. (Soccio)

Aristotle believed that the goal of all human life is to achieve ultimate happiness. Happiness is the final Utopia or the end of “a life worth living.” Human instinct is characterized by achieving personal fulfillment, thus leading to happiness. Aristotle warns against going astray and “preferring a life suitable to beasts” by assuming happiness and pleasure are equal. Living a life preferred by beasts incapacitates a person from achieving the end Utopia. Even though Aristotle does not equate the two, he does stress that minimal pleasure is required to achieve happiness. Someone lacking in vital necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter are not capable of achieving happiness due to their lack of pleasure.

truths, and forms. He had no room in his views for imagination and what he saw

Comparing the political theories of any two great philosophers is a complex task. Plato and Aristotle are two such philosophers who had ideas of how to improve existing societies during their individual lifetimes. While both Plato and Aristotle were great thinkers, perhaps it is necessary first to examine the ideas of each before showing how one has laid the groundwork and developed certain themes for the other.