European History Marx 36- 65

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prehistory and the origin of the belief in the supernatural

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because were afraid of everything, they wanted to have something to believe in to not be afraid of the natural world. The thing they believed in was the supernatural.

Front 2

origin of philosophy

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criticism of religious beliefs by seeking logical reasons of the things in nature

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Xenophanes

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he refused to adore idols because he said if oxen could draw, they would draw gods that were like oxen.

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formation of the divine caste

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the first upper class was the priests. Witch doctors elevated themselves to the priesthood and said they were obeying the gods

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The Ancient Egyptians

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men were created by Osirus and must obey his will, they should put up with slavery so that they can have a better afterlife

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Ancient Greeks-- Thales

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considered father of philosophy and devoted himself to astronomy and scientific inquiry into nature

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Pythagoras

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concluded that numbers stand at the origin at all things.

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Heraclitus

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father of dialectics the art of argument . He taught everything exists and at the same time it doesn't exist and everything is in fluid change

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Socrates

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he denied morality as a synonym for morality. Human beings can be good without believing in the gods. People are bad only through ignorance. Living begins when you doubt things. If you know things for yourself by doubting what other people tell you, you will be a truly moral person.

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Plato

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used dialogue form to express his ideas. Posed three most basic questions of philosophy.

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Aristotle

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wrote on physics, ethics, biology, zoology, etc. Social conflicts arise from inequality in economic conditions. Some are rich and some are poor and the gods have nothing to do with it.

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Averroes and Avicenna

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refuted the Bible as fault or at best as symbolic tales meant for ignorant folk

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Thomas Aquinas

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Wrote 21 volumes of mental gymnastics to defend the Roman Catholic church, which are still studied today

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Machiavelli

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attacked the church and preached rebellion against the dictatorship of the clergy

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Vico

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philospher, proposed the idea that the history of mankind passes through three stages-- infancy like barbarians governed by magic, adolescence is feudalism with a minority of lords and a majority of slaves; adulthood is a new state, the adulthood of humanity.

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Descartes

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wanted to explain things from the materialistic point of view while still proving God's existence. He believed human being was only a machine, but with a soul and even located it in the pineal gland!

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Spinoza

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Was an atheist who said God does not exist in the way religion says; it exists only as an impersonal substance that constitutes the reality of the universe

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John Locke

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Englishman who opposed the divine right of kings, and the religion of the dogmas of the church. Free to think of god in your own way, not as your religion tells you.

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David Hume

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agnostic philosopher who defended the idea that nothing is certain. He scandalized all of Britian with his anti-religious ideas.

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Immaneul Kant

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every intent to define reality is nothing but pure hypothesis. Every effort to apprehend transcendental knowledge is impossible, since you can always polarize against anything. It is impossible to prove the existence of god through any normal means.