History of philosophy

Historical Period on Philosophy
1. Pre-Socratic Period
The Pre-Socratic philosophers
*The world’s first official Philosophers( Pioneer)
*shifted from traditional mythological explanations( rejected the
gods/ goddess and monsters) to natural law.
*They started to ask questions like:
Where did everything come from?
why is there such variety, and
how can nature be described mathematically?
*They tended to look for universal principles to explain the whole of
Nature.
*Monists( everything can be explained by single element)
*The ideas and philosophies of the Pre-Socratic philosophers were
written in stone.

1.1 The Milesian School
The Pre-Socratic school of philosophy founded on the 6th
Century B.C. in the Ionian town of Miletus (a Greek colony
on the Aegean coast of Anatolia in modern Turkey).
The major philosophers included under this label are
Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes.
Thales of Miletus:
Designated as the first Philosopher
He is regarded as the founder of natural philosophy.
He proposed that everything is composed of WATER, as the
source of life, indispensible, necessity for survival. Water and
other liquidities were tough force of nature.
Thales believed that the Earth was floating in water

Anaximenes
A pupil of Anaximander
Air is the root of all things
Anaximeness saw the sun and the moon as flat disks travelling
around a heavenly canopy, on which the stars were fixed.
Anaximander
A younger contemporary of Thales
He believed that all those elements and more comprised a
common element he called APEIRON or the BOUNDLESS. All things
arise from apeiron and all things return to apeiron.
Anaximander placed the Earth at the center of a universe
composed of hollow, concentric wheels filled with fire, and pierced
by holes at various intervals (which appear as the sun, the moon
and the stars);

1.2 The Ephesian School
is a Greek Pre-Socratic school of philosophy of the 5th
Century B.C., it refers to the ideas of just one man,
Heraclitus a native of Ephesus in the Greek colony of
Ionia.
his view was that the world witnesses constant change, rather than no
change at all. The dictum: "everything is in a state of flux",(change) . Life is
never ending sequence of birth and death, creation and destruction; cycle of
combustibility
The transformation of material from one state into another does not happen
by accident, he held, but rather within certain limits and within certain time and
according to law or "logos", according to which all things are one. He
considered that the basis of all the universe is an ever-living fire (although this
is used more as a symbol of change and process, rather than actual fire), so
that the world itself consists of a law-like interchange of elements,
symbolized by fire.

1.3 Pluralism
is a Greek Pre-Socratic school of philosophy of the 5th
Century B.C., consisting of three major philosophers:
Anaxagoras, Archelaus (5th Century B.C.) and Empedocles.
Pluralism as a philosophical doctrine is a concept used many different
ways, but, in general terms, it is the theory that there is more than
one basic substance or principle, whether it be the constitution of the
universe, of the mind and body, the sources of truth, etc .
Archelaus, a student of Anaxagoras , asserted
that air and infinity are the principles of all things, that primitive
Matter is air mingled with Mind, and that the principle of motion
was the separation of hot from cold, from which he
endeavored to explain the formation of the Earth and
the creation of animals and humans.

Empedocles (c. 490 - 430 B.C.) was a
Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, usually
considered a member of the poorly-
defined Pluralist school in that he was
eclectic in his thinking and combined
much that had been suggested by
others.
He is perhaps best known as the
originator of the cosmogenic theory of
the four classical elements of the
ancient world: earth, air, fire and
water, which became the standard
dogma for much of the next two
thousand years.
Empedocles believed that the
organic universe sprang from
spontaneous aggregations of
parts, and only in those rare
cases where the parts were found
to be adapted to each other, did
the complex structures last. He
assumed a cyclical universe,
whereby the elements would
return to the harmony of the
sphere in preparation for the next
period of the universe.

Anaxagoras (c. 500 - 428
B.C.) was an early Pre-Socratic
Greek philosopher from Ionia,
although he was one of the first
philosophers to move to Athens
as a base.
He is sometimes considered to
be part of the poorly-defined
school of Pluralism, and some of
his ideas also influenced the
later development of Atomism.
Many of his ideas in the physical
sciences were quite
revolutionary in their day, and
quite insightful in retrospect.
He is best known for his cosmological theory
of the origins and structure of the universe.
He maintained that the original state of the
cosmos was a thorough mixture of all its
ingredients, although this mixture was not
entirely uniform, and some ingredients are
present in higher concentrations than others
and varied from place to place. At some
point in time, this primordial mixture was set
in motion by the action of nous ("mind"),
and the whirling motion shifted and
separated out the ingredients, ultimately
producing the cosmos of separate material
objects (with differential properties) that we
perceive today.

1.4 Pythagoreanism
is an early Pre-Socratic Greek school of philosophy based around
the metaphysical beliefs of Pythagoras and his followers.
Pythagoras proposed that life was a numbers game.
He taught that everything could be explain through mathematical theorems and
formulae. Though Pythagorean thought was dominated by mathematics on the
other hand it was also profoundly mystical.
He also believe in reincarnation and his follower were vegetarian. They believe
in metempsychosis (the transmigration of the soul and
its reincarnation after death)
He also subscribed to the views of another of his teachers,
Anaximander, that the ultimate substance of things is what he
described as "apeiron" (variously described as "the boundless" or
"the undefined infinite")

Pythagoreanism developed at some point into two separate schools of
thought:
•the "akousmatikoi" (or "listeners"), who focused on the more religious and
ritualistic aspects of Pythagoras teachings;
•the "mathematikoi" (or "learners"), who extended and developed the
more mathematical and scientific work he began.
The akousmatikoi claimed that the mathematikoi
were not genuinely Pythagorean, but followers of
the "renegade" Pythagorean Hippasus (c.
500 B.C.)
The mathematikoi, on the other hand, allowed that
the akousmatikoi were indeed Pythagorean, but felt
that they were more representative of Pythagoras '
real views. The mathematikoi group eventually
became closely associated with
Plato and Platonism and much of Pythagoreanism
seems to overlap Platonism. The akousmatikoi
became wandering Ascetic and cynic movement of
the 4th Century B.C.

1.5 Sophism
is an early Pre-Socratic school of philosophy in ancient
Greece. It is the name often given to the so-called Seven
Sages of 7th and 6th Century B.C. Greece, but also to many
other early Greek philosophers who were more concerned
with Man himself and how he should behave than with big
questions about the Universe. Rather than a well-defined
school or movement, however, it is more of a loose grouping
of like-minded individuals.
The term "sophism" comes from
the Greek "sophos" or "sophia"
(meaning "wise" or "wisdom"), and
originally referred to any expertise
in a specific domain of knowledge
or craft.
sophists held relativistic views on
cognition and knowledge (that there
is no absolute truth, or that two
points of view can be acceptable at
the same time), skeptical views on
truth and morality, and their
philosophy often contained
criticisms of religion,

Protagoras
He is regarded as the first sophist
Man is the measure of all
things was the famous credo of
Protagoras.
It is actually an extreme case of
relativism. It is a dismissal of Big picture
of Universal Truth. Where what is true for
me may not be true to you and vice versa.
Anything goes was the natural devolution
of such principle. If its feel good . Do it . If
it gets you ahead even at the expense of
another, go for it anyway.
His being apathetic view toward gods cause him to be charge of
impiety and subsequent death sentence

The Seven Sages of ancient Greece were seven wise
men (philosophers, statesmen and law-givers):
1. Thales of Miletus , famous for his maxim "To bring surety
brings ruin".
2. Solon of Athens (c. 638 - 558 B.C.), famous for his maxim
"Know thyself".
3Chilon of Sparta (6th Century B.C.), famous for his maxim "Do
not let one's tongue outrun one's sense".
4. Pittacus of Mytilene (c. 640 - 568 B.C.), famous for his
maxim "Know thine opportunity".
5. Bias of Priene (6th Century B.C.), famous for his maxim "All
men are wicked".
6. Cleobulus of Lindos (died c. 560 B.C.), famous for his
maxim "Moderation is impeccable".
7. Periander of Corinth (7th Century B.C.), famous for his
maxim "Forethought in all things".

1.6 Atomism
is a Pre-Socratic school of thought from ancient Greece, established in
the late 5th Century B.C. by Leucippus of Miletus (5th Century B.C.) and
his more famous student, Democritus .
Atomism is the theory that all of reality and all the objects in
the universe are composed of very
small, indivisible and indestructible building blocks known
as atoms (from the Greek "atomos", meaning "uncuttable").
This leads logically to the position that only atoms exist, and
there are no composite objects (objects with parts), which
would mean that human bodies, clouds, planets, etc, all do not
exist.
There is no room in this theory for the concept of a God, and
essentially it is a type of Materialism and Physicalism .

Leucippus and Democritus
Were the first to theorize that the world was composed of tiny
particles called ATOMs( these particles were invisible, indivisible to
the human eye yet Ubiquitous( universal, omnipresent)

Parmenides of Elea (c. 515 - 450 B.C.)
was an early Pre-
Socratic Greekphilosopher
and founder and chief representative of
the Eleatic School of ancient Greek
philosophy.
He is one of the
most significant and influential of
the Pre Socratic philosophers, and he is
sometimes referred to as
the father of Metaphysics.
He particularly influenced Plato, who
always spoke of him with veneration.
Perhaps his greatest contribution to
philosophy was his method of reasoned
proof for assertions.
Parmenides asserted
that change is
impossible, and that
coming-into-existence
or ceasing-to-exist are
likewise impossible, so
that everything that
exists is permanent,
ungenerated,
indestructible and
unchanging.

After the Sophists, perhaps ancient Greece was ready to
raise the bar of Philosophy and take it to the next level.
Ready or not along came three of the most influential and
revered thinkers of their or any age.

Socrates in essence was using a form of Sophistry but never accepted a
drachma(monetary) unlike the sophists.
He didn’t gloat(self praise) when he handily bested his debating opponent.
He was in search of Truth.
He was not in it for the self-aggrandizement, wealth, fame and power
cravenly.
He also modestly claimed no wisdom, only ignorance and ever-questioning
nature.
For him the true wise person has the capacity to admit that he really know
nothing at all.
Socrates was accused of impiety and corrupting the mind of the
Athenian Youth by the politicians. He was sentenced to death .
Socrates met his end like a secular martyr, he took hemlock and died
in accompany of his adoring entourage.

Socrates' Credo has been the rallying
cry of every Philosopher who
followed Socrates

Socrates believed fervently
in the immortality of the
soul, and he was convinced
that the gods had singled
him out as a kind of divine
emissary to persuade the
people of Athens that their
moral values were wrong-
headed, and that, instead of
being so concerned with their
families, careers, and political
responsibilities, they ought to
be worried about the
"welfare of their souls”
Socrates' political views, as
represented in Plato's dialogue
"The Republic", were strongly
against the democracy and
indeed against any form of
government that did not conform
to his ideal of a perfect republic
led by philosophers, who were
the only type of person suitable
to govern others.
He believed that the will of the
majority was not necessarily a
good method of decision-making,
but that it was much more
important that decisions be
logical and defensible.

He had also attended courses of philosophy
This life-changing event occurred when Plato was about twenty years
old, and the intercourse between master and pupil probably lasted
eight or ten years.
As a youth he had loved to write poetry and tragedies.
He became a student of Socrates and turned to philosophy in earnest
his theory of Forms or
Ideas, which refers to his
belief that the material world
as it seems to us is not the
real world, but only a shadow
or a poor copy of the real
world.
This is based on Plato's concept of
hylomorphism, the idea that
substances are forms inhering in matter. He
held that substance is composed of matter
and form, although not as any kind of a
mixture or amalgam, but composed
homogeneously together such that no
matter can exist without form (or form
without matter). Thus, pure matter
and pure form can never be
perceived, only comprehended
abstractly by the intellect.

In the allegory, Plato saw the outside world, which the cave's
inhabitants glimpsed only in a second-hand way, as the timeless realm
of Forms, where genuine reality resides. The shadows on the wall
represent the world we see around us, which we assume to be real,
but which in fact is a mere imitation of the real thing.

He represented man's condition as being chained in the
darkness of a cave, with only the false light of a fire behind him.
He can perceive the outside world solely by watching the
shadows on the wall in front of him, not realizing that this view
of existence is limited, wrong or in any way lacking (after all, it
is all he knows).
Plato imagined what would occur if some of the chained
men were suddenly released from this bondage and let out into
the world, to encounter the divine light of the sun and perceive
“true” reality.
He described how some people would immediately be
frightened and want to return to the familiar dark existence of
the cave, while the more enlightened would look at the sun and
finally see the world as it truly is. If they were then to return to
the cave and try to explain what they had seen, they would be
mocked mercilessly and called fanciful, even mad.

One of Plato’s famous woks
is called THE REPUBLIC
1. Participatory government: everyone
needed to be part of the state and
contributing member of the state.
2. Citizens were the cells within the a body of
politic. Then the state determined the job
and responsibility of the citizens.
3. Classes of citizens:
1. Philosopher class will rule the state
Philosopher-King
2. Warrior class will protect the state
3. Producer class will serve the state
with goods and services and skills .
They will be denied the benefits of
public schooling. But people would
study art.
4. The Republic doesn't sound very democratic

In the Republic, Plato
says that art imitates
the objects and
events of ordinary
life. In other words, a
work of art is a copy
of a copy of a Form.
... Art was a copy of
reality .He believe
that art did not
belong in an ideal
state.
On Art

It speaks of the heart and inflames emotions, things that further
entrench people in the material world . Plato did not see art and
poetry as inspiring and uplifting the human spirit. He viewed them
as corrupting influence.

Plato would also have children taken away from their
parents and raised in state-run foster homes supervise d by
the philosopher class.
Plato also believe in NO PRIVATE PROPERTY, YES to
COMMUNITY PROPERTY. Only the Philosopher and warrior
classes while the producing class, manual labors and the
workers could keep their kids and their meager
possessions.

In Ethics,
Plato had a teleological or goal-orientated worldview, and the
aim of his Ethics was therefore to outline the conditions under which
a society might function harmoniously.
He considered virtue to be an excellence of the soul,
the soul has several components (e.g. reason, passions,
spirit), there will be several components of its excellence: the
excellence of reason is wisdom; the excellence of the passions are
attributes such as courage; and the excellence of the spirit is
temperance.
Finally, justice is that excellence which consists in a harmonious
relation of the other three parts. He believed, then, that virtue was a
sort of knowledge (the knowledge of good and evil) that is required
to reach the ultimate good (or eudaimonia), which is what all human
desires and actions aim to achieve, and as such he was an early
proponent of

Aristotle studies under Plato as student.
Then one of the Aristotle’s pupil was Alexander the Great
Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.) was an important Greek philosopher from the
Socratic (or Classical) period, mainly based in Athens.
Aristotle was born to an aristocratic family in Stageira on the Chalcidice Peninsula
of Macedonia (a region of northern Greece) in 384 B.C. His father, Nicomachus,
was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon, and Aristotle was trained
and educated as a member of the aristocracy. Aristotle's mother, Phaestis, came
from Chalcis on the island of Euboea, and her family owned property there.

For Aristotle the Theory of Form of Plato is Illogical and
impossible to prove. Aristotle held that the substantial here
and now was quite realm and the Form are not separate
things.

The Theory of POTENTIALITY
Potentiality means that within everything, people included, there exists
a natural progress towards fulfilling its own potential, in essence
becoming its own Form. A movements in nature and in human from
imperfection to perfection, or as close as anything can get to perfection
Things have both potentiality (what it is capable of
doing or becoming, if not prevented by something
else)

Aristotle speaks of causes in the process form
potentiality to actuality
Things have both:
Potentiality : what it is capable of doing or becoming, if not
prevented by something else and
Actuality:the fulfillment or the end of the potentiality.
Thus, the matter of a thing is its potentiality, and the form is its
actuality.
Essence is what provides the shape or form or purpose to matter, and
the movement from formless stuff to complete being results from four causes:
material cause (what something is made of, the coming
together of it parts),
efficient cause (the motion or energy that changes matter),
formal cause (a thing’s shape, form, essence or definition) and
final cause (a thing's reason or purpose or the intention behind
it).

Friendship
True friendship are to
be cultivated and
treasured. Aristotle
promotes a virtuous
buddy system.

His several treatises on Ethics, most notably the
"Nichomachean Ethics", outline what is commonly
called Virtue Ethics or Eudaimonism.
He argued that Man must have a specific or proper function, which
is uncommon to anything else, and which is an activity of the soul.
The best activity of the soul is eudaimonia (happiness or joy or the
good life), which can be achieved by living a balanced life and
avoiding excess by pursuing a golden mean in everything between
the two vices of excess and deficiency.
His "De Anima" ("On the Soul") is perhaps the first ever
book on psychology. In it, he argued that the mind is essentially the
purposeful functioning of the nervous system, and he described the
struggle of the id and ego (desire and reason).

On Government
Aristotle stated that the three best forms of
government:
1.Monarchy: works only when rulers make decisions based
on what is for the greater good, such as increasing wealth for all
citizens through job creation or increased trade.
2.Aristocracy When a few elite ruled the government
by making decisions in the best interests of all citizens,
Aristotle considered that an aristocracy.
3.Polity, the supreme power being vested in the hands
of a large proportion of the population.

Versus
1. Tyranny is a kind of monarchy which has in view the interest of the
monarch only;
2. oligarchy has in view the interest of the wealthy;,
3. Democracy Aristotle considered democracy a despotic form of
government because he felt that it caused competition between the
classes, and it was vulnerable to leaders ruling by emotion rather than strict
adherence to the law.

Art and drama
Aristotle did not believe that the art was a weak imitation of
reality. He saw art as a means to enhance and idealize
reality, therefore striving in our limited human way to touch
the Ideal. He thought it was ennobling and not a waste of
time.
In Drama, Aristotle believe that comedy helped people see
human absurdity and foolishness and tragedy in the classical
sense allowed the audience to achieve a catharsis- that is
cleansing emotional response within the sake confines of
the Greek amphitheater. Seeing mankind represented in all
its splendor and stupidity has a therapeutic effect.
According to Aristotle

The Decline and Fall of the
Hellenistic Period
Ancient Greece was one of
the dominant civilizations in
the Mediterranean and the
world for hundreds of years.
Like all civilizations, however,
Ancient Greece eventually fell
into decline and was
conquered by the Romans, a
new and rising world power.

Primary Causes There were many factors that went into the
decline and fall of Ancient Greece. Here are some of the primary
causes:
1. Greece was divided into city-states. Constant warring between
the city states weakened
2. Greece and made it difficult to unite against a common enemy
like Rome.
3. The poorer classes in Greece began to rebel against the
aristocracy and the wealthy.
4. The city-states of Ancient Greece had different governments
and were constantly changing alliances.
5. Greek colonies had a similar culture, but were not strong allies
to Greece or any of the Greek city-states.
6. Rome rose to power and became stronger than the individual
city-states of Greece.
7. The deaths of Aristotle and Alexander the Great more or less
coincide with the beginning of the end of Greek prominence in
world affairs.

Epicurus (341 - 270 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher of the Hellenistic
period. He was the founder ancient Greek philosophical school of
Epicureanism, whose main goal was to attain a happy, tranquil
life, characterized by the absence of pain and fear, through the
cultivation of friendship, freedom and an analyzed life. His
metaphysics was generally materialistic, his Epistemology was
empiricist, and his Ethics was hedonistic(pleasure-seeking).
The philosophy of Epicureanism was based on the theory
that the moral distinction between good and bad derives from the
sensations of pleasure and pain (what is good is what is pleasurable,
and what is bad is what is painful). Epicureanism advocated the
rampant pursuit of pleasure, its goal was actually the absence of pain
and suffering: when we do not suffer pain, we are no longer in need of
pleasure, and we enter a state of perfect mental peace (or ataraxia),
which is the ultimate goal of human life.

Stoicism is a Hellenistic school of philosophy,
developed by the Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium around 300 B.C.,
which teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a
means of overcoming destructive emotions in order to develop clear
judgment and inner calm and the ultimate goal of freedom from
suffering.
The Stoics saw the passionate side of human nature as evil and something to be
eradicated
For the stoics, if you were consigned to a life of suffering, you could deal with it and
still live a life of goodness.
Pleasure is not good. Pain is not evil. Virtues is the only good and vice the only evil.
Stoics were antiapathe. (pathe) apathy (indifference). Zeno preached that "man
conquers the world by conquering himself". He lectured his students on the value
of "apatheia" (or the absence of passion), arguing that only by controlling one's
emotions and physical desires could one develop wisdom and the ability to apply it.
He held that the practicing Stoic could suppress the influence of the passions by
developing an indifference to both pain and pleasure by means of meditation.
Stoics were also pantheists. Pantheism is the belief that god is present in
everything, not bearded figure seated imperiously on his throne on the other side
of the pearly Gates.

The term "skeptic" derives from a Greek noun, skepsis, which means examination,
inquiry, consideration
Skepticism
Skepticism holds that one should refrain from
making truth claims, and avoid the postulation of final truths. This
is not necessarily quite the same as claiming that truth is
impossible (which would itself be a truth claim), but is often also
used to cover the position that there is no such thing as certainty in
human knowledge (sometimes referred to as Academic
Skepticism). See the section on the doctrine of Skepticism for more
details.

In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or the Medieval
Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with
the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the
Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.

Initially, the Middle Ages were dismissed as a "dark age" of brutality
and ignorance, but later scholars began to appreciate medieval
architecture, medieval philosophy, and the particular brand of
religious devotion that caused some 19th-century scholars to label
the era "The Age of Faith."
The Rise to prominence of the Christians
Church can be divided into three periods
1. The Evangelization Period: faith spread
through the known world by
missionaries
The
Christians
Church and
Philosophy

2. Patristic period: comprises 2nd -8th century. The
Church leaders codified and systematized church dogma.
The Church was in defense against heresy.
3. Scholastic Period: 9th to 16th
century
In this period , Christian
Philosophy evolved base on
platonic and Aristotelian
principles.
Philosophy and Theology was
the main school of thought of
the medieval Age.

St. Augustine of Hippo
(A.D. 354 - 430) The first major
Philosopher of the Christian era.
He is one of the most important
early figures in the development of
Western Christianity, and was a
major figure in bringing Christianity
to dominance in the previously
pagan Roman Empire.
Augustine developed a philosophical and theological
system which employed elements of Plato and Neo-
Platonism in support of Christian orthodoxy.

Aurelius Augustinus ( as simply Augustine) was born on
13 November 354 in Tagaste , a provincial Roman city in Algeria, North
Africa, His father Patricius was a pagan, but his mother Monica was a
devout Catholic, so he was raised as a Catholic.
At the age of 17, he went to Carthage, Tunisia
to continue his education in rhetoric.
There he came under the influence of the
controversial Persian religious cult of
Manichaeism.
He lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time,
including frequent visits to the brothels of
Carthage, and developed a relationship with a
young woman named Floria Aemilia, who
would be his concubine for over fifteen years,
and who bore him a son, Adeodatus.

In the summer of 386, he
officially converted to Catholic
Christianity, abandoned his
career in rhetoric, quit his
teaching position in Milan,
and gave up any ideas of the
society marriage which had
been arranged for him, and
devoted himself entirely to
serving God, the priesthood
and celibacy. He detailed this
spiritual journey in his famous
"Confessions", which became
a classic of both Christian
theology and world literature.

Work
Augustine wrote over 100 works in Latin, many of them texts on Christian
doctrine and apologetic works against various heresies.
He is best known for the:
"Confessiones" ("Confessions", a personal account of his early
life, completed in about 397),
"De civitate Dei" ("The City of God", consisting of 22 books started
in 413 and finished in 426, dealing with God, martyrdom, Jews and
other Christian philosophies) and
"De Trinitate" ("On the Trinity", consisting of 15 books written
over the final 30 years of his life, in which he developed the
"psychological analogy" of the Trinity).

On God and Free Will
God is exists in an Eternal realm where linear time has no meaning. There is no
past and future . There is only Eternal Present.
According to Augustine, this is God’s natural state. Linear time is illusion and
limitation that does not afflict God. God’s infinite wisdom and omniscience(all
knowing) has no bearing on our free will. Personal responsibility still rules in
human condition. Yet God is there to guide us if we seek Him out. Hence we can
only take part partial credit when we are good and assume all the blame when we
are evil .
Augustine struggled to reconcile his beliefs about free will and his belief that
humans are morally responsible for their actions, with his belief that one’s life is
predestined and his belief in original sin (which seems to make human moral
behaviour nearly impossible). He held that, because human beings begin with
original sin and are therefore inherently evil (even if, as he believed, evil is not
anything real but merely the absence of good), then the classical attempts to
achieve virtue by discipline, training and reason are all bound to fail, and the
redemptive action of God's grace alone offers hope. He opined that "We are too
weak to discover the truth by reason alone".

Faith comes first: understanding the world around you is
secondary and must be infused with faith in order to
truly get to the bottom of things.

Anselm's philosophical proofs of God are the main contents of his
"Monologion" and "Proslogion". Following from St. Augustine, he
believed that relative concepts like "good", "great" and "just" would
be meaningless without some absolute standard, and the absolute
being which represents these absolute standards is what we know as
God. However, Anselm was aware that this argument uses inductive
reasoning from a posteriori grounds, and was dissatisfied with it.
What has become known as the Ontological Argument for the
existence of God, Anselm's attempt to prove the existence of God
through a priori abstract reasoning alone, was presented in his
"Proslogion". Briefly, if (as he believed) God can be defined as "that
than which nothing greater can be conceived", then God cannot be a
merely abstract, intellectual notion because a God that really exists
would be greater. Therefore, God’s existence is implied by the very
concept of God, and to say that God does not exist is a contradiction
in terms.

St. Thomas Aquinas (AKA Thomas of Aquino) (c. 1225
- 1274) was an Italian philosopher and theologian of the
Medieval period.
He was the foremost classical proponent of natural
theology at the peak of Scholasticism in Europe, and the
founder of the Thomistic school of philosophy and
theology.
Aquinaswas born around 1225 to a noble family in the small town
of Roccasecca, near Aquino, Italy, in what was then the Kingdom of
Sicily. His father was Count Landulph and his mother was Theodora,
Countess of Theate. His uncle, Sinibald, was abbot of the original
Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and Aquinas was expected
to follow his uncle into that position. At the age of 5, Aquinas began
his early education at a monastery, and at the age of 16 he continued
his studies at the University of Naples.

Thomas Aquinas rejected both
illumination and the double
truth .
He believe that religion and
reason did not each represent
a separate truth.
Philosophy and Theology are
not in opposition.
.
His two great works are the "Summa Contra Gentiles" (often
published in English under the title "On thr Truth of the Catholic Faith"), written
between 1258 and 1264, and the "Summa Theologica" ("Compendium of
Theology"), written between 1265 and 1274. The former is a broadly-based
philosophical work directed at non-Christians; the latter is addressed largely to
Christians and is more a work of Christian theology.

From his consideration of what God is not, Aquinas proposed
five positive statements about the divine qualities or the nature
of God:
God is simple, without composition of parts, such as body and
soul, or matter and form.
God is perfect, lacking nothing.
God is infinite, and not limited in the ways that created beings
are physically, intellectually, and emotionally limited.
God is immutable, incapable of change in repect of essence and
character.
God is one, such that God's essence is the same as God's
existence.

Aquinas believed that the existence of God is neither self-evident nor
beyond proof. In the "Summa Theologica", he details five rational
proofs for the existence of God, the "quinquae viae" (or the
"Five Ways"), some of which are really re-statements of each
other:
1. The argument of the unmoved mover (ex motu):
everything that is moved is moved by a mover, therefore
there is an unmoved mover from whom all motion
proceeds, which is God.
2. The argument of the first cause (ex causa): everything
that is caused is caused by something else, therefore there
must be an uncaused cause of all caused things, which is
God.

4. The argument from degree (ex gradu): there are various degrees
of perfection which may be found throughout the universe, so there
must be a pinnacle of perfection from which lesser degrees of
perfection derive, which is God.
5. The teleological argument or argument from design (ex fine): all
natural bodies in the world (which are in themselves unintelligent)
act towards ends (which is characteristic of intelligence), therefore
there must be an intelligent being that guides all natural bodies
towards their ends, which is God.
3. The argument from contingency (ex contingentia): there are
contingent beings in the universe which may either exist or not exist
and, as it is impossible for everything in the universe to be contingent
(as something cannot come of nothing), so there must be a necessary
being whose existence is not contingent on any other being, which is
God.

Aquinas defined the four cardinal virtues as prudence,
temperance, justice and fortitude, which he held are natural
(revealed in nature) and binding on everyone.
In addition, there are three theological virtues,
described as faith, hope and charity, which are
supernatural and are distinct from other virtues in that their object
is God.
Furthermore, he distinguished four kinds of law: eternal
law (the decree of God that governs all creation),
natural law (human "participation" in eternal law,
which is discovered by reason), human law (the
natural law applied by governments to societies)
and divine law (the specially revealed law in the
scriptures).

or St. Thomas Aquinas, the goal of human existence is union and
eternal fellowship with God.
For those who have experienced salvation and redemption through
Christ while living on earth, a beatific vision will be granted after
death in which a person experiences perfect, unending happiness
through comprehending the very essence of God.
During life, an individual's will must be ordered toward right things
(such as charity, peace and holiness), which requires morality in
everyday human choices, a kind of Virtue Ethics.
Aquinas was the first to identify the Principle of Double
Effect in ethical decisions, when an otherwise legitimate act
(e.g. self-defence) may also cause an effect one would normally be
obliged to avoid (e.g. the death of another).

Aquinas also concurs with the Aristotelian view that physical
reality is simultaneously composed of both actuality( what it
is) and potentiality (what it will become) .
Physical reality composed of both matter and form.

Aquinas divided knowledge into two statges:
1. Sensitive : is simple awareness of something ex. rock
2. Intelligent: is grasping the abstract concept of rock.
He divided intelligence into three processes:
1. Abstraction : Judgment: Reasoning
Thomas Aquinas did for Aristotle what Augustine
did for Plato, making the pagan philosopher
appear to seamlessly blend right in with the
teaching of the Christian church.

John Duns Scotus (c. 1266 -
1308) was a Scottish philosopher
and Franciscan theologian of the
Medieval period.
He was one of the most important
Scholastic theologians of the High
Middle Ages, along with St.
Thomas Aquinas, William of
Ockham and St. Bonaventure (1221
- 1274), and the founder of a
special form of Scholasticism,
which came to be known as
Scotism. He was also an early
adopter of the doctrine of
Voluntarism
Scotus devised perhaps the earliest
formulation of Voluntarism (the
view that regards the will is the
basic factor, both in the universe
and in human conduct),
emphasizing the divine will and
human freedom in all philosophical
issues.

William of Ockham (c. 1285 - 1348)
was an English Franciscan friar, philosopher and
theologian of the Medieval period.
Along with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Duns
Scotus and Averroës, he is one of the major
figures of late medieval Scholastic thought, and
was at the center of the major intellectual and
political controversies of the 14th Century.
He is sometimes called the father of
Nominalism, strongly believing that universals
are merely mental concepts and abstractions
which do not really exist, except in the mind.
his famous methodological principle commonly
known as Occam's Razor, considered the
simplest explanation is the truest one.

The Renaissance is named for the
rebirth or revival of classical
civilization and learning.
It is usually considered to have
begun in Italy in the mid-14th
Century and rolled across Europe
over the succeeding two
centuries.

In philosophical terms, the renaissance represents a
movement away from Christianity and medieval
Scholasticism and towards Humanism, with an
increasing focus on the temporal and personal over merely
seeing this world as a gateway to the Christian afterlife.
A new sense of critical enquiry arose that looked back to
the ancient Greeks but also set the stage for the birth of
modern philosophy in the Age of Reason.

The list of giants who enriched the world during
renaissance is an impressive who’s who of genius
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo,
Christopher Columbus, and Shakespeare….
And not only the mind of man was
expanded. The New World was
discovered, leading to unprecedented
economic progress and race to exploit the
natural resources

Humanismis a
Renaissance movement in
philosophy towards a more
human-centred (and less
religion-centred) approach.
It has an ultimate faith in
humankind, and believes that
human beings possess the
power or potentiality of
solving their own problems,
through reliance primarily
upon reason and scientific
method applied with courage
and vision.

Throw back:
In ancient Greece, Thales, who is credited with
creating the maxim "Know thyself" in the 6th
Century B.C., is sometimes considered a proto-
Humanist.
Xenophanes of Colophon (570 - 480 B.C.),
Anaxagoras, Pericles (c. 495 - 429 B.C.),
Protagoras, Democritus and the historian
Thucydides (c. 460 - 375 B.C.) were all instrumental
in the move away from a spiritual morality based on
the supernatural, and the development of free
thought (the view that beliefs should be formed on
the basis of science and logic, and not be
influenced by emotion, authority, tradition or
dogma).

Renaissance Humanism was a movement in Europe, roughly covering
the 15th and 16th Centuries.
The revival of the study of Latin and Greek, and the resultant
interpretations of Roman and Greek texts, affected the whole cultural,
political, social and literary landscape of Europe.
Humanists were opposed to the dominant Scholastic philosophy of the
day (derived from St. Thomas Aquinas). ,
Revival of Plato’s ideas and the Platonic dialogues.
Renaissance Humanists promoted human worth and individual dignity
The practice of the liberal arts for all classes.
Such Renaissance thinkers as the the Dutch theologian Erasmus, Sir
Thomas More, Francois Rabelais, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola can
all be considered early Humanists.

He challenge the rigidity of
Scholasticism
Three stages of knowledge
Fantasy
Reason
Knowledge intellective
(which he describe as divinely
inspired intuition.)
He used a paradox the he called
learned ignorance. Belief
that the wise man is only
wise when he admits to
himself the he really knows
nothing at all.

Desiderius Erasmus (AKA Desiderius Erasmus
Roterodamus or Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam)
(1466 - 1536) was a Dutch philosopher and theologian of the
Renaissance. He is best known as an early Humanist (sometimes
known as "Prince of the Humanists" or "the crowning glory of the
Christian Humanists"), and the intellectual father of the Reformation.
He was instrumental in rescuing Christian theology from the
pedantries of the Scholastics.

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (1469 - 1527) was an
Italian philosopher, political theorist, diplomat, musician and writer of the Renaissance
period. He was a central figure in the political scene of the Italian Renaissance, a
tumultuous period of plots, wars between city states and constantly shifting alliances.
Machiavellianism, named after Niccolo Machiavelli, has come to mean any
form of political ruthlessness wherein the end justifies the means
Niccolo’s political Philosophy can be reduced to the credo
The end justifies the means
He rejected the Platonic and Aristotelian notion of ideal state
as fanciful and unattainable.
He also believe that the infusion of the Christian ethos into the mix was
impractical and counterproductive
The Prince is a basic primer for the renaissance ruler. Patriotism was the premier
morality of the Prince, My country right or wrong meant wrongdoing was perfectly all
right if it furthered the goals of the state. Power and control were the objectives of a prince,
not justice and compassion. Lying was acceptable . All this is done for the greater good of
the citizenry.

Cosimo to found the
Platonic Academy, an
institution for the
translation of Plato's
works and the
propagation of his ideas.
Cosimo de' Medici
The Italian merchant prince Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464) was the unofficial
and benevolent despot of Florence, contributing much to making it the
intellectual and cultural jewel of 15th-century Europe. The dynasty he founded
ruled Florence until 1494.

Sir Thomas More
(AKA St. Thomas
More) (1478 - 1535) was an
English philosopher, scholar,
statesman and writer of the
Renaissance period.
His writing and scholarship earned
him a great reputation as a Christian
Humanist scholar in continental
Europe, and was famously described
by Robert Whittington as "a man for
all seasons". He occupied many
public offices under King Henry VIII,
rising to the position of Lord
Chancellor of England.

Italian philosopher, b. at Nola in Campania, in the Kingdom of
Naples, in 1548; d. at Rome, 1600. At the age of eleven he
went to Naples, to study "humanity, logic, and dialectic", and,
four years later, he entered the Order of St. Dominic, giving up
his worldly name of Filippo and taking that of Giordano. He
made his novitiate at Naples and continued to study there. In
1572 he was ordained priest.

Bruno’s views on Cosmos
Heliocentricism
The theory of Heliocentrism means that the earth was not the
center of the universe. This theory maintained the facts that the earth and other
planets revolved around the sun. Therefore the Sun is the center. This theory
challenged the accepted belief during the ancient times and was adamantine
dogmatic doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church .

After centuries of religious dogmatism throughout the Middle Ages,
Skepticism again resurfaced during the Age of Reason and the
Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th Century..
Skepticism
The term is derived from the Greek verb "skeptomai" (which means
"to look carefully, to reflect"), and the early Greek Skeptics were
known as the Skeptikoi. In everyday usage, Skepticism refers to an
attitude of doubt or incredulity, either in general or toward a
particular object, or to any doubting or questioning attitude or state
of mind. It is effectively the opposite of dogmatism, the idea that
established beliefs are not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from.
Michel de Montaigne the most famous skeptic of the Renaissance period.
Montaigne believe that our senses were inherently suspect, hence we should doubt
just about everything. People were entitled to their opinions and all opinions were
valid becuase we can never be really sure of facts.

History of philosophy

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