Philosophy in Ancient Greece

Greek Philosophy has not only shaped western civilization today, but it influenced ancient Greek society as well. With the Philosophers emerged a new type of citizen, someone who wanted to contribute to society and better themselves through study. Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle transformed how people thought, and many modern philosophers continue to ponder the same questions that they asked, today. Greek philosophy changed ancient Greek society because it helped start and develop democracy, it set certain social expectations, and it shaped Greek culture.

Greek culture has been around for thousands of years. This culture has translated many different practices into modern day times. The colonization and culture of the Greeks is something to be admired. There are plenty of things that could be said regarding the greeks, but the main things that will be covered are: The evolution of Greek history, the militarization of the Greeks, and the decline of the greek states.

Ancient Greece became a very influential civilization. Founded by the Minoans who first moved to the island of Crete in around 2000 B.C and lasted to about 1400 B.C. The Minoans developed an advanced civilization and expressed their culture in their constructed palaces. Great monuments were reached at Greece’s Golden Age from around 500 B.C to 300 B.C. They created long lasting contributions in subjects such as Philosophy, Military, Health, and Government.

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill," once stated American historian and author, Barbara Tuchman ("Barbara Tuchman Quote."). Myths have surpass many centuries of discoveries and disasters leaving their own mark. No matter the culture a certain myth comes from it is created to teach values and morals of the society they arose from. The lessons which each individual myth provides can range from how to treat guests to the idea of whom one should be around. Myth have become an important part of society not only for the time they have lasted but for the meaning they hold.

The Hellenic Age and the Hellenistic Age are the two main periods in Greek history. The Hellenic Age is significantly different from the Hellenistic Age. The Hellenic period saw the rising and falling of the polis while Hellenistic period was plagued by warfare among the remaining dynasties. Despite the differences between the Hellenic and Hellenistic periods, the one thing that remained consistent in both periods was the Greeks' ability to not only advance science and philosophy but to strive for excellence in everything that they undertook including their ability to deemphasize the role of the gods in their lives.

Ancient Greece had a major impact on the Western World due to many factors. Documents 1 and 2 reveal that the Western World has been impacted by political factors of the ancient Greeks, whille documents 4, and 5 show us that the Western World was impacted due to cultural reasons.

Socrates and Aristotle were both Greek philosophers who contributed philosophies. Socrates believed that all people contained real knowledge within them and that self critical examination was needed to bring this knowledge out. Socrates once stated, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In this philosophical idea, Socrates is suggesting that an individual, who chooses to not think about their own actions, does not truly care about their own life. Aristotle believed in the concept of examining individual objects and being able to perceive their form and establish universal principles. These principles did not exist as a separate higher world of reality beyond material things, but were apart of things themselves. Aristotle has

Towering mountains. Bright blue seas. Glittering white temples dedicated to the gods. Though Ancient Greece was made up of many different regions and colonies, these 3 things were almost always in view. The ancient Greeks worshiped many different gods and goddesses that each controlled something in the mortal world. What was different about their gods and goddesses was that they were very human like. They looked like mortals, had thoughts like mortals, and they even quarreled with each other like we do. Ancient Greek religion is also known as Greek Mythology, Classical Religion, and Classical Mythology. Though whatever people call it, decisions made in Ancient Greece were heavily influenced by their religion.

In order to do this, he goes about Athens questioning those he believes to be wiser than him, including politicians, poets, and craftsmen. Upon this questioning, he discovers that even those perceived as the wisest actually know far less than one would expect. Even the craftsmen, who have much practical wisdom in their respective fields, see their success as merely a tribute to their vast knowledge of many subjects. This, Socrates claims, is not true wisdom. Human wisdom can be described as the acknowledgement and acceptance that one does not know everything, nor is one capable of knowing everything. This, however, does not mean that people should sit idly by, never pursuing wisdom, for it is still vital to the attainment of a good life, which should be the ultimate goal of mankind.

In current society, people question the true essence of a happy life: is it money, power love, sex, or religion? In retrospect, however, this is a contemplation that also wondered the minds of people from ancient times. Ever since the emergence of early civilizations, human beings have attempted to identify the elements that can allow them to live happier lives. For the early thinkers of these civilizations, this quest for a more meaningful and satisfying life could be acquired only through the application of philosophical thought. According to them, philosophical thinking, which strictly focuses on the use of reason and logic (Pojman and Vaughn 2), offered the only tools that would allow them find the true sources of happiness. A prime example of a civilization that used critical thinking and reason to identify these seemingly complex elements were the ancient Greeks. Essentially, Greek philosophy attempted to find rational answers to basic questions about man and the universe (Owens). These questions included the quest for happiness. The intellectual movement of ancient Greece nurtured many different kinds of philosophies, and in particular, there were two different kinds of philosophies that attempted to guide people towards the quest of a fulfilled and happy life: the philosophies of Epicureanism and Hedonism.

It is important to learn about those who came before us in order to understand how exactly this world came to be the way that it is. History is known to repeat itself, so learning about the past can help to prevent things like world wars from happening again. However, not everything can be prevented. Studying the past also shows us how things such as the death penalty was handled. Learning about Socrates and ancient Greece teaches us philosophy as well as where the modern day democracy came from.

There has been much debate as to what change is, and is not. Ancient Greek Philosophers were not indifferent to this. The early Greek Philosophers tried to explain what our world is comprised of, whether it is monism (one true “stuff,” or reality), or pluralism (more than one reality, or “stuff”). They then proceeded to try to elaborate and explain how change and motion occur. Heraclitus’ conclusion can be summed up in a quote of his: “One cannot step into the same river twice.” Parmenides and Zeno, unlike Heraclitus, came to the conclusion that the world was practically an unmovable brick; there is no change, there is no motion. Finally, Epicurus came to the conclusion that the world was formed from indivisible, and constantly colliding atoms.

The Enlightenment was the beginning of new ideas which included scientific discoveries, new ideas in politics as well as in philosophy. During the Englitement, phylosophers began to revert back to the study of ancient civilizations and began to convert these concepts into politics and science. Many new philosophers and scientists evolved from the birth of "natural laws" that governed the era of the Englitenment. It was also through the in-depth studies of Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, new ideas began to arise. In this mannor, the Englitenment was a movement that allowed logic to be inforced, rather than the superstition that ruled the Middle Ages.

The powers and uses of reason had first been explored by the philosophers of ancient Greece, who discerned in the ordered regularity of nature the workings of an intelligent mind. Rome adopted and preserved much of Greek culture, notably including the ideas of a rational natural order and natural law. Amid the turmoil of empire, however, a new concern arose for personal salvation, and the way was paved for the triumph of the Christian religion. Christian thinkers gradually found uses for their Greco-Roman heritage. The system of thought known as scholasticism, culminating in the work of Thomas Aquinas, resurrected reason as a tool of understanding but subordinated it to

Throughout the history of the world, philosophy has been at the forefront of the human search for knowledge, but there is no other philosophy like ancient Greek philosophy. Ancient Greek philosophy roughly began in the sixth century BCE and continued on up until ancient Greece became apart of the Roman Empire. The great Greek philosophers of the time, like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle focused their study of philosophy in subjects like political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, logic, biology, and rhetoric to name a few. Even today many philosophers agree that ancient Greek philosophy has influenced much of today’s Western culture. Among the broad subject of ancient Greek philosophy there were many sub-forms of Greek philosophy like the Pre-Socratic philosophy, which involves the Milesian school, and Pythagoreanism, and classical Greek philosophy, which involves Socrates’, Plato’s, and Aristotle’s teachings; and then there was sophism and the sophists. Who are the sophists and why/how are their teachings relevant with the rest of ancient Greek philosophy?