The birth of philosophy originated in Ionia in the 6th century BC as a movement away from religious myths towards using reason to find truth. Early philosophers questioned the nature of reality and the cosmos and sought to understand the fundamental substances that made up the world. Thales believed water was the basic element, while Anaximander said it was an indefinite substance. Socrates used the Socratic method of questioning to teach virtue, and was later executed for corrupting youth. Plato and Aristotle established some of the first philosophical schools and made significant contributions to many areas of philosophy and early science. Various other schools of philosophy developed such as the Cynics, Skeptics and Epicureans, each offering different perspectives on

2. BIRTH OF PHILOSOPHY
Originated in Ionia
6th century B.C.
Movement away from
religious myths
Celebrated man’s
reason, ability to find Truth
Combined
religion, morals, and
metaphysics (the nature of
being)

3. MAN BEGAN ASKING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
Do gods cause everything?
Are the gods real? What is real?
Can man affect change?
How to live well =
 Right opinions about God, world, man, virtue

5. OVERVIEW OF THE COSMOLOGISTS
Questioned nature of the cosmos (universe)
“Single, eternal, imperishable substance = basis for reality”
Wanted to understand the “One”
 Everything emerges from the “One”

6. THALES: THE FIRST PHILOSOPHER
Contemporary of Solon
“Water = basic element for
everything in nature”
Omitted gods from origin of nature
Believed earth floated on water
First to predict eclipse of the sun

7. ANAXIMANDER
Rejected Thales belief
about water
“Indefinite substance
(Boundless) = source of
all”
“Boundless” contains
powers of heat and cold
 Heat and cold produced nucleus
(seed of world)
 Influenced ideas about evolution

8. ANAXIMENES
“Air is primary
substance”
Believed world was
orderly
“Rainbow = sun’s rays
falling on dense air”

10. OVERVIEW OF RELIGIOUS MYSTICS
Soul more important than body
Immortality
Transmigration of the soul (reincarnation)
 Ate no meat
 Influenced Plato

11. PYTHAGORAS: COINED THE TERM
“PHILOSOPHY”
Taught transmigration of souls
(reincarnation)
“Order in universe based on numbers”
Mathematical, geometrical, astronomical
science
Knew that earth is a sphere
Developed Pythagorean theorem

12. HERACLITUS
“You can never step
into same stream
twice”
“Material world is in
state of flux”
 Matter itself is constantly
changing
“Fire (constantly
changing) = source of
all things”

13. PARMENIDES
Disagreed with Heraclitus
“Change is an illusion of the
senses”
“Reality is fixed, unchanging”
Founder of formal logic
Believed in one True Being:
transcendent, permanent, perf
ect

14. EMPEDOCLES
Identified four basic elements:
Fire, Water, Earth, Air
“Reality is permanent but
mobile”
Four elements move by two
opposing forces
 Love and Strife
 Like magnet’s attraction or repulsion

15. DEMOCRITUS
Called the “laughing
philosopher”
World made of atoms:
 Innumerable
tiny, solid, indivisible, unchangeab
le particles
 Atoms move, create
shapes/colors
 Senses perceive shapes/colors

16. ANAXAGORAS
Friend of Pericles
“World made of tiny
fundamental particles:
seeds”
“Seeds unite on rational basis
by nous, or mind”
Made distinction between
matter and mind

18. HIPPOCRATES: FATHER OF MEDICINE
Started a school
Observed ill
patients, classified
symptoms
Predicted future
course of an illness
Rejected supernatural
explanations and
cures

20. SOPHISTS
Paid, traveling teachers of rhetoric, dialectic, argumentation
 Taught students how to win arguments
 Some claimed to teach wisdom
Socrates believed sophistry was wrong
 “Distracts people from pursuit of Truth”

21. CRITIAS
Sophist
“Law is contrary to nature”
“Law man-made, so weak controls
strong”
Extremist
“Gods invented, keep people from
acting independently” (There
are no gods.)

22. SOCRATES – “I AM NOT A SOPHIST!”
Never wrote anything
 Plato wrote “dialogues,” Socrates
was a character
 Xenophon also wrote about
Socrates
Did not consider himself
wise
Denied he was a teacher or
sophist

23. THE BAREFOOT PHILOSOPHER
Socrates walked around Athens, barefooted
Odd looking: Bulging eyes, large nose
 Successfully argued that he was superior looking
Taught by asking questions
 Socratic Method

24. THE SOCRATIC METHOD OF TEACHING
Leading questions get people to think (“Aha!”)
Believed people do wrong because of ignorance
 Don’t know what is virtuous
 Educate in virtue, right living will follow
BOTH student AND teacher learns

25. TRIAL AND EXECUTION
Angry Athenians accused him of:
 Corrupting youth + bringing new gods into city
Stood trial
Choice: exile or execution
Chose death: drank poison (hemlock)

27. THE CYNICS
Extremists
Based philosophy on Socratic teaching
Disdained worldly pleasure and wealth
Withdrew from political life

28. ANTISTHENES
Founded the Cynics
Follower of Socrates

29. DIOGENES: THE MOST FAMOUS CYNIC
Wore rags, lived in a tub
Performed shameful acts
in public
Made living by begging
Defined happiness:
 Satisfy natural needs in
simple, direct, public way

30. DIOGENES’ VIEW OF RELIGION
Ridiculed all
religious
observances
Plato said
Diogenes was
Socrates gone
mad.

31. CYNICS’ BELIEF ABOUT VIRTUE
“Virtue = wisdom and happiness”
“Virtue comes from proper style of life”
 Can’t be taught, does not come from philosophy
 (Socrates said the opposite)

32. CYNICS’ VIEW OF THE POLIS
Abandoned concept of polis altogether
Diogenes said he was kosmopolites
 “Citizen of the world”

34. PLATO
Socrates’ most important
student
Became greater than
Socrates
First systematic
philosopher
Applied philosophy to
political events, ideas

35. PLATO’S DIALOGUES
Wrote 26 philosophical
discussions
 Almost all were dialogues
 “Conversations” between
Socrates and various
people

36. BACKGROUND
Noble Athenian family
Wanted to participate in politics but didn’t
 Socrates’ execution
 Reign of Thirty Tyrants

37. PLATO’S SCHOOL: THE ACADEMY
Influential school
Purpose: train
statesmen, citizens
Closed by Justinian in
6th century A.D.

38. POLITICAL BELIEFS
“Truth can be discovered by REASON”
Disliked democracy because power given to “amateurs”
 Philosopher = “lover of wisdom”
should lead polis
“We should question, challenge authority”

39. COMMITMENT TO THE POLIS
“Polis is based on virtues: order, harmony, justice”
Goal of the polis: Produce good people
“Man was meant to live in community”
“Community helps man become good”

40. KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING
“Knowledge” (episteme)
 True, unchanging wisdom
 Only for a few philosophers
Philosophers need training (helps philosopher see “reality”)

41. PLATO’S PHILOSOPHER-KING
Only philosophers
qualified to rule
Prefer “life of
contemplation”
Will accept
responsibility from
sense of duty

42. JUSTICE & HOLINESS
Tried to define justice
and holiness
These are inherent in
the Good
Discovery possible
only through
philosophy

43. PRESERVING THE POLIS
“Preserve polis through moral + political reform”
Alleviate causes of strife:
 Private property, family
 Anything that comes between citizen and polis

44. THE GOOD
Man must have
knowledge of the
Good
Understand
philosophical
principles first
Right action follows

46. BACKGROUND
Plato’s student
Son of court doctor in
Macedon
Studied at the Academy
Joined Platonic colony in
Asia Minor
Taught Alexander the Great

47. ARISTOTLE’S SCHOOL
Founded Athenian
school: the Lyceum
Goal:
Gather, order, analy
ze all human
knowledge

48. ARISTOTLE’S WRITINGS
Wrote dialogues on
Platonic
philosophy; none
survive
158 collections of
information
 Served as basis for
scientific works
 Only the Constitution of
the Athenians remains

49. BIRTH OF SCIENCE
Philosophy led to
scientific studies:
 Logic, rhetoric
 Physics, astronomy, biology
(including marine biology
 Ethics, politics
 Literary Criticism
(categorized genres)

50. ARISTOTLE’S SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Observe evidence
 Physical evidence OR opinion
Apply reason; discover
patterns/inconsistenci
es
 Compare + contrast
Explain with
metaphysical
principles

51. THE GOOD LIFE
Emphasized balanced life
 Moderation in all things
Goal: “The Good Life”
 Contemplative but enough wealth to live comfortably

52. BELIEFS ABOUT THE POLIS
Sophists: “Polis is a
man-made
convention”
Aristotle said no:
 Polis is natural, necessary
 Polis will change over time
 Polis will improve

53. ARISTOTLE’S CORE BELIEFS
Everything evolves to final, perfected form
Institutions serve human needs, helps continue species
Marriage + household necessary to polis
Purpose of polis: moral (not military, economic)

54. ARISTOTLE’S MIDDLE CLASS
“Power should rest
with middle class”
 Most numerous and
stable
 Not arrogant from wealth
or malicious from poverty
Mixed Constitution
best
 Democracy AND oligarchy

55. ARISTOTLE’S LAST DAYS
Alexander died; Athenians rebelled from Macedonian rule
Aristotle fled
 Died in Calcis (in Euboea) the next year

56. ISOCRATES
Contemporary of Plato
and Aristotle
Headed important
rhetorical/
philosophical school
in Athens

57. POLITICAL BELIEFS
Supported Philip of Macedon
 Sought unity and leadership
Urged imperial conquest
 Plato said, “No – problem is moral”
 Aristotle said, “Apply virtue, moderation; empower middle class”

60. SKEPTICS
Founder: Pyrrho
Pointed out philosophical
fallacies in rival
schools
“Nothing can be known;
accept conventional
morality”

62. CYNICS
Denounced morality and status quo
Advocated crude, “natural” life
Shocked and outraged public

63. DIOGENES: THE MOST FAMOUS CYNIC
Diogenes reportedly walked
around the streets of
Athens, in broad
daylight, carrying a
lantern.
When asked why he was
doing this, Diogenes said
that he was searching for
an honest man.

64. DIOGENES AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alexander once had an
opportunity to meet
Diogenes, who was reclining
in the sunshine.
Thrilled to meet the famous
philosopher, Alexander asked
if there was any favor he might
do for him.
"Yes,” Diogenes replied. “Stand
out of my sunlight."

65. ACCOUNTS OF DIOGENES’ DEATH
Numerous reports:
 held his breath till he
died
 became ill from eating
raw octopus
 suffered an infected
dog bite

66. LAST WORDS….
Someone once asked Diogenes how he wished to be buried. He said he wanted
to be thrown outside the city wall so wild animals could feast on his body.
“Wouldn’t you mind that?” the man asked.
"Not at all,” Diogenes said, “as long as you provide me with a stick to chase the
creatures away!"
“But how could you use the stick? Wouldn’t you lack awareness?” the man
asked.
“If I lack awareness,” the philosopher replied, “then why should I care what
happens to me when I am dead?"

68. EPICUREANS
Founded by Epicurus
“Happiness achieved through
reason”
“Nothing after death, so no
need to fear death”
“Gods exist but uninterested in
human affairs”

69. EPICUREANS
Wanted to liberate people from:
 Reliance on the gods
 Belief in supernatural
 Fear of death

70. EPICUREANS
Emphasis on pleasure, good life (hedonism)
Pleasure = “absence of pain, trouble or responsibility”
Withdrew from society
Avoided business and public life
Advocated “restrained selfishness”

72. STOICS
Founder: Zeno
Established a school
Combined
philosophies of
Socrates, Cynics, Ea
stern thought

73. THE STOIC’S GOAL IN LIFE
“Live in harmony with yourself and with nature.”
“God and nature are the same.”
Logos = guiding principle in life, divine reason
“Everyone has spark of divinity”
“After death, spark returns to eternal, divine spirit”

74. STOIC IDEAS ABOUT VIRTUE
“Pursue virtue; differentiate between good, evil, indifferent”
Good: prudence, justice, courage, temperance
Evil: folly, injustice, cowardice
Indifferent: life, beauty, health, strength, pleasure, wealth
“Misery results from passion; passion = soul’s disease”