Running Head: Preservation and Transmission of Greek Philosophy in the Middle Ages Preservation and Transmission of Greek Philosophy In the Middle Ages Antilkumar Gandhi Professor Fleming Religion and Philosophy Introduction Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry in the study of the natural world. Many philosophers today concede that Greek philosophy has shaped all of Western thought since its inception. As Alfred Whitehead once noted, with some exaggeration, "Western philosophy is just a series of footnotes to Plato," (Brickman, 1961). Clear and unbroken lines of influence lead from Ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers, to medieval Muslim philosophers, and to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment. Early Greek philosophy, in turn, was influenced by the older wisdom literature and myths of the Near East.
These Greek philosophers used observation and reason to answer life's questions. Their works in philosophy gave them the title "lovers of wisdom." One of these philosophers, who was the first and considered greatest, was Socrates. Socrates was born in 469 B.C. in Athens, Greece.
(Lawhead 2011:15-16). However, the pre-Socratic philosophers brought about change through discrediting the accepted mythical thinking that all things can be explained by means of the nature of the Greek gods. They went about removing the negativity surrounding knowledge at the time in order to facilitate human beings to determine truth for themselves instead of blindly believing explanations of a blind nature. This opened up a consideration for knowledge from a naturalistic standpoint (Curd & Graham 2008:8). The theories of the pre-Socratic philosophers were generally characterised by their link to perception.
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, was a curious man. His questions brought an entire new perspective into people’s lives, leading some to become inspired and innovative. “The unexamined life is not worth living,” (Doc. 1) Socrates had once said, continuing to support the concepts of innovation and knowledge. Ironically though, Socrates was put to death because of some of his thoughts.
the oral argument. He explains that both methods have different ways of communicating ideas to an audience, speech as the notable form in ancient Greece, where only philosophers were basically allowed an opinion on a subject. And writing as a new media where it can be directed to a certain audience instead of everybody and it can help lessen miscommunication. It does come across that Socrates prefers one, speech, over the other but regardless in today’s time written arguments is the more popular media. As stated above many of the rhetoric tools that we use today was also used back in Socrates time.
The Greek worshiped the gods of mount Olympus, including Zeus, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Apolla, and Poseidon. The Romans worshipped the same gods just under different names, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Minerva, Pluto, and Neptune. Education was also important to the Romans, although they only sent their male children to school. Both Rome and Greece had key philosophers. Greece had Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.
Many people know the name Aristotle and that his ideas and beliefs are well known, however, people do not know anything about him or the ideas and beliefs he taught. Aristotle lived more than two-thousand years ago. He was a Greek philosopher that studied under Plato. Aristotle was Plato’s most brilliant student and thought that he would take over Plato’s academy after he passed away. Unfortunately for Aristotle, that did not happen.
Christina Politis Mr. Lambropolous HZT4U1 Sunday, April 10, 2011 The Ideological Shift From Metaphysics to Ethics Like most things in life, philosophy been evolving throughout history. One of the original, well-recognized philosophers was Plato who was mostly concerned with the metaphysical. His beliefs extended beyond the perceivable world. At one point in time, Plato’s philosophy was the standard viewpoint of society. However, as philosophies such as Epicureanism started to develop, the opinions of society were revolutionized.
The common explanation is that local organizers were afraid of loosing important historical documents and started their organization in a direct effort to counter this trend. Now at the very same time a number of these organizations also claim to be national in scope. Certainly there is nothing inherently wrong with this kind of dual approach. But such motivations are often sparked not so much by local interests as by Greek psychology. Greek notions of hierarchy and self-aggrandizement often require grandiose plans.
Philosophy as we understand it on the other hand was invented by the Greeks in the 6th century BCE. Plato is seen as one of the greatest philosophers of all times with his discourses shaping intellectual debate for over two thousand years. One of the principle elements of his school of thought dubbed Platonism is the existence of two distinct worlds, the world of ideas and the world of appearances. This is chiefly illustrated in his metaphor of the cave wherein he proposes that those who have been raised in shadows would come to understand shadow as their reality. All the things we understand as material are but a vague approximation of idea.