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Hellenic Philosophy: Pre-Socratics Through Aristotle (620 B.C.E. To 322 B.C.E)
Hellenic Philosophy: Pre-Socratics Through Aristotle (620 B.C.E. To 322 B.C.E)
Pre-Socratics through
Aristotle (620 B.C.E. to
322 B.C.E)
What is Philosophy?
A systematic, reason-based inquiry
into questions that concern human
existence and place in the universe
but that generally do not allow for
empirical answers.
Greek Philosophy
A Greek cultural phenomenon that first
appears in the early 6th and late 5th
century B.C.E., gets institutionalized
in the 4th century (by Plato) and the
tradition that follows it.
Studying Philosophy
The aim of the class is to come to
understand various views and
theories. Your understanding is tested
by your ability to explain in your
own words and by using your own
examples what a given theory
means, what arguments there are in
its favor and/or what arguments there
are against it.
What does it mean to explain
something?
you have to be able to provide
reasons, for why one should believe
some claim or theory.
you have to be able to illustrate it on
examples.
Philosophy is not an exercise in selfexpression. Your own view of things
has no traction unless you can give
some reasons for why others should
care about your view and consider
whether it is true or not.
The problem is, of course, that the
questions to which philosophy tries to
Arkhe
A fundamental principle, ultimate
orgin/source, basic element/matter.
Anaximander
Apeiron: boudless, indefinite,
eternal. infinite, limitless, boundless.
The Milesians
From the city of Miletus in Ionia.
6th century BCE:
c. 600 Thales active
c. 580
Anaximander active
c. 550
Anaximenes active
Thales
Everything is water. Why? Perhaps
because water can change into
various forms. Or because it is found
in all living beings.
Thales, the founder of this kind of
philosophy, stated it to be water. He
may have gotten this idea from seeing
that the nourishment of all of all
things is that from which they come to
things is moist, and that even the hot
itself comes to be from this and lives
on this (the principle be); perhaps he
said it for that reason, and also
because the seeds of all things have a
moist nature, and water is the
principle of the nature of moist
things. (2)
Thales naturalistic universe makes it
possible to explain all there is in
terms of material bodies and their law
governed interactions. Thales makes
it possible to uncover patterns and
laws and to use such laws as the basis
for stable predictions. Thales
predicted an eclipse.
Anaximenes
Arkhe is air.
Aer (dense mist) is indefinite enough
to produce the other things in the
cosmos but it is not as vague as
Anaximanders boundless.
Like Anaximander, he too thought
that there was a single underlying
nature, but unlike Anaximander, he
thought it was not undefined, but
rather definite, calling it air. When air
becomes rarified, it becomes fire,
when condensed it becomes wind,
then cloud, and further on water,
then earth, then stones, and other
things are formed from these. Air also
causes eternal motion, through which
change also occurs. (16).
Explained clouds, hail, and snow.
Xenophanes of Colophon
Born in Colophon, close to Miletus, c.
570 BCE
Theology
Gods have been anthropomorphized.
Homer and Hesiod have attributed to
the gods
all sorts of things that are matters of
reproach and censure among men:
theft, adultery, and mutual deception.
(3)
Monotheism
There is rather a single nonanthropomorphic god who is
Heraclitus of Ephesus
Interests in cosmology, morality,
theology.
Invites his readers/listeners to embark
to personal engagement with certain
philosophical questions using a proper
philosophical method that involves
Flux Theory
The River Fragments:
Diachronic Change
Things have contrary qualities at
different times.
Diachronic Interpretation: The material
world is constantly changing, so we
can never get to know it.
Implies the ones identity is constantly
changing, so no one is responsible for
their actions.
Cratylus ended up thinking that we
should not speak but instead simply
raised his finger. And he criticised the
Heraclitean statement that it is
impossible to step into the same river
twice, for he thought it was impossible
to step into it even once. (Aristotle,
Met.) (B91)
Synchronic Change
Things have contrary qualities at the
same time (conflation of opposites into
identity).
Change is relative. Change results
from shifting perspectives. something
being heavy depends on who is doing
the carrying.