Socrates And Aristotle's Impact On Their Culture And Ideas

Philosophy in Ancient Greece greatly influenced future civilizations and generations to come. The definition of Philosophy is lover of wisdom. Socrates who lived from around 470 B.C to 399 B.C was known as the “father of philosophy”. Socrates taught the people of Greece to question everything. One of his most famous quotes is in Document 3 which states, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Socrates suggests that people who don't analyze, question, or examine their lives, beliefs, ideas and culture they do not deserve to live. The Socratic Method is used ask and answer questions with critical thinking. Socrates inspired many, even after his execution in 399 B.C where he

Great Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean –Jacque Rousseau had been deeply concerned about the Social Contract Theories on the people. The main theories include safety, security, equal rights and have an organised society without any foreign interference. The use of non-violence and war against mankind. Society as a whole was the main priority for all these three philosophers. Both John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau had different views when compared to Thomas Hobbes on Society. Each of these men had their own theories on how to protect the rights of human beings. John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau have better ideas than Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes believed that only a true and clean government can rule the people and protect their

Locke and Hobbes started with a central notion that people with similar “state of nature” would on their own accord come together as a state. Locke believed that individual would not perpetually be at war with each other. He believed humans began with a state of natural characteristics of absolute freedom with no government in site. Hobbes work differs from that of Locke’s because he felt people needed a strong central authority to ward off the inherent evil and anarchic state of man. Locke believed that within the state of nature man would have stronger morals and thus limit their actions. Locke also, credited people with the ability to do the right thing within a group. And the natural rights and civil society where Hobbes differentiated with this by believing that people had to resolve their natural rights and the their were privileges granted by the sovereign. Locke believed the relationship between citizens and government took the form of a social contract, in which in exchange for order and protections provided by institutions the citizens agree to surrender some of the freedoms within the state of nature. This was also, agreed that power of the state was not absolute but exercised according to law. If broken by the state it forfeits and the contract becomes void. This allots for the citizens of the state to have a “voice” and power for change to replace the government with moral obligation by the governed. Hobbes believed absolute power was the price man should

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Another well-known Greek achievement was their advancements in philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, were great philosophers who expanded their knowledge by studying the world around them. Each philosopher came up with different discoveries about the world, all revolving around different subjects, but they all had one common goal. Like most other successful people during Golden Ages, these three philosophers wanted to help people. Socrates achieved this by questioning everything with the Socratic Method. His teachings essentially consisted of looking at the world through inquiring eyes and trying to seek as much knowledge about a specific topic as humanly possible. Plato’s teachings involved the perfect government and society. He wrote The Republic, a book about how the different parts of society should work together to form a perfect justice system and how that is connected to living a happy life. Aristotle was known for his development of a formalized system of reasoning and logic. His logic was based on the fact that if the premises were true, then the conclusion must be true. This new way of thinking

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were two English philosophers who greatly impacted the government we know today. Locke was a largely influential Enlightenment thinker and even possessed the nick name of “Father of Liberalism”. Hobbes was not as highly praised, but he was still important as he was considered one of the founders of modern political philosophy. While their way of thinking was quite the opposite of each other, the foundation of what they believed on was the same. They both believed that everybody is born equal, and that a government is important. As well as believing that human motivation is a basic state of nature (Middleton).

How the Greek Mind Changed the World Ancient Greece had a major impact on modern day society. Had we chosen to follow in the footsteps of a different civilization and culture, our world would look completely different. Many of their influences have shaped the human mind; how we think and how we view the world. Some of aspects of their culture whose influences are seen in modern day society include art and poetry, philosophy, and religion.

“Freedom is the alone unoriginated birthright of man, and belongs to him by force of his humanity.”-Immanuel Kant. The Enlightenment period was all about mankind deserving freedom to each and his own. Several philosophers had their own ideas about how freedom should be distributed. John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft were the main philosophers of this time who shared their opinion about freedom and who deserved it and who shouldn’t have the rights compared to a wealthy upper class white male citizen. They all thought strongly about the idea of freedom and that the government should be controlled by the citizens, along with laws and trials. They were philosophers or thinkers that believed in natural laws, the truths that

Socrates was after the pursuit of truth. Because of this he called everything into question(Philosophypages.com). He believed that ultimate wisdom came from understanding oneself. He believed that the perfect government would come about if it was led by people that had a complete understanding of themselves because they would be able to make the best choices. He believed that knowledge and virtue were inseparable. He said that you could define virtue as right knowledge, and that right thinking and right doing can be distinguished from each other, but they can not be separated.(Sproul 31) Socrates also developed the Socratic Method which is still used to this day. The Socratic Method is the method in which you ask provocative questions in order to try to get your opponent and your audience to think through the problem and to develop their own conclusion(Biography.com). He searched for specific definitions by asking people around the city, from the common to the richest of nobles. Socrates also created ethics based on human reasons. He was deemed the wisest man in Athens by an oracle, but after much thought he realized that he was ignorant but unlike the common man, was wiser for accepting his ignorance and he came to the conclusion that ignorance was the beginning of knowledge. He believed that logic was what was left when the facts are exhausted.

Aristotle was one of the most important western philosophers. He was a student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. I found that his biggest impacts on modern society were in the subject areas of ethics, and zoology.

The intellectual movement of Enlightenment was a very intricate movement that was centralized on the concepts of progression, reasoning, and the scientific method. The Enlightenment thinkers believed they could implement some of these ideas to create a better influence towards societies and people. These ideas changed how humanity viewed the government, politics, and society. Although each philosopher had their own individual concept, they all centered on the themes of equality and freedom. Thomas Hobbes believed that religion should be separate from politics and supported a strong government based on reason. However, John Locke’s concept differed with Thomas Hobbes’ about human nature. Hobbes felt humanity was selfish and greedy. While on the other hand, Locke believed that every individual was born good and were given natural rights by God. John Locke’s philosophies were also composed on the ideas of life, freedom, and owning property. Locke believed that the king’s power should be limited by laws enacted by the people. Baron de Montesquieu shared similar ideas with John Locke towards the subject of government. Montesquieu admired the system that limited the power of a king and liked the idea of a government broken into different sections and that each should have some power to control the others. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that individuals should have certain rights and just like Locke’s ideology, he believed people were good, but were corrupted by society. Rousseau

There are many differences in the views of these three men on the topic of human nature and government, but it was ultimately these philosophers who used natural law to explain the aspects of humanity, it was these men’s ideas who were key to the era of Enlightenment and life beyond it. Born on April 5 1588, Thomas Hobbes came to be known as one of the greatest philosophers in the world. In his most famous work, the Leviathan, he sets forth his ideas on government and law. Thomas Hobbes believed that all humans were born with sin. He believed that all humans were evil, cruel, greedy, and selfish. Even though he thought we were naturally evil, his theories also stated how they can be kept under control. He argued if countries were establish powerful and strict government, the people would have no choice but maintain order. He also believed that they should enter a social contract. When signing the Social Contract, you agree to give up your freedom for the better of the society. In other words, the government places limitations on you for everything. In the quote from Leviathan, he talks about the transfer of power and strength from the common people to one man, or one legislature. This is because Thomas Hobbes thinks the only type of government that is capable of keeping order in society is an absolute monarchy. In opposition to Hobbes’s ideas, a man with the name of John Locke came about with

As the Greek philosopher Aristotle is widely thought to have said, "The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival." The earliest accounts of human history chronicle the struggle for survival against all odds. It is therefore remarkable that roughly 2400 years ago the question of virtue was raised, let alone contemplated at great length, forming a foundation upon which Western philosophers build to the present day. Socrates and Aristotle were two key individuals credited for their roles in the advent of Classical philosophy. Men in ancient Greece lived relatively privileged lives (save for war, disease, and lack of indoor plumbing), giving rise to a class of people able to devote time to leisurely pursuits and intellectual inquiry. Indeed, Socrates and Aristotle were far from the only free men in ancient Greece to contemplate truth and virtue, but their respective contributions afford them contemporary relevance. While they both were philosophers, they led tremendously different lives. Socrates lived from 469 BC to 399 BC, while Aristotle from 384 BC to 322 BC; despite the overlap in their lives, Aristotle was never directly under Socrates 's tutelage. Rather, Aristotle was a pupil of Plato, who was a pupil of Socrates. As a testament to the intellectual climate and diversity of thought characteristic of this era in Hellenic Athens, the two philosophers differed in their fundamental understanding of the

Locke argued that the natural rights were life liberty and property, and no one could take these rights away from you especially property. "the supreme power cannot take from any man any part of his property without his own consent" he believed that the government should not have one complete power there should be multiple people in charge and the people should have control also. Locke states, "and the community put the legislative power into such hands as they think fit" Locke favored the representative government like the English parliament. On the other hand, Hobbes argued that government should have one complete power to keep peace. Hobbes states "which amongst them that have no common power to keep them in quiet" with one sovereign there could be more consistent power to restore peace.

History isn’t made by statues. Real people make history. When one understands the person represented by the statue, the story of history begins to unfold. Two of the most important thinkers in world history were Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle studied under Plato and learned many lessons from his teacher. An area one can easily see the similarity between Plato and Aristotle is their beliefs on responsibility. Plato lays the groundwork for Aristotle to develop his own theory. The two are not identical, however, Plato’s work made a lasting impression on Aristotle’s work regarding responsibility