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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Hesiod
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War Among the Gods Hesiod claims inspiration from the muses The origins of all things from chaos The Titans, overthrown by Zeus and his allies The (relative) orderliness of the Olympians and their rule over the universe
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Homer
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: Heroes, Gods, and Excellence The war against Troy The anger of Achilles Its terrible consequences Moderation the chief virtue Justice as each getting his due; the quest for honor The role of the gods Mortals are not gods. Hubris
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Archilochos (711 BC)
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The Double Cross
Let brawling waves beat his ship against the shore, and have the mop-haired Thracians take him naked at Salmydesos, and he will suffer a thousand calamities as he chews the bread of slaves. His body will stiffen in freezing surf as he wrestles with slimy seaweed, and his teeth will rattle like a helpless dog, flopped on his belly in the surge, puking out the brine. Let me watch him grovel in mud-for the wrong he did me: as a traitor he trampled on our good faith, he who was once my comrade |
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Thales 624 BC – c. 546 BC
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Primary material element of all beings and cosmic phenomena, which he identified as water.
Everything is water (one) Non mythical explanation, Looking to this world for explanation First Philosopher All things are filled with gods Abstraction- generalization |
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Protagoras 490– 420 BC
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Protagoras is the earliest known sophist. Protagoras was the first who called himself a Sophist, and taught for pay; and he practiced his profession for forty years. Pericles debated moral problems with him. His teachings were so highly valued that he sometimes received 100 minae from a pupil; Plato says that Protagoras made more money than Phidias (creator of the Parthenon) and ten other sculptors. On the Gods, he wrote: "Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life.
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Democritus (460-371 B.C.)
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Atoms & the void
Nothing can come from nothing and change is real, motion requires a void, reality must consist of atoms moving in the void. Sensations come from experiencing various kinds of atoms. Only qualities of atoms are size, shape & solidity Democracy is the best government |
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Gorgias (485-380 BC)
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A Greek sophist and rhetorician, known as "the Nihilist," He declined to assume the name of sophist, preferring that of rhetorician. He professed not to teach virtue, but the art of persuasion; in other words, to give his disciples such absolute readiness in speaking, that they should be able to convince their hearers independently of any knowledge of the subject
His position is summed up in three propositions: (1) Nothing exists; (2) If anything existed, it could not be known; (3) If anything did exit, and could be known, it could not be communicated. For proof of the first proposition, "nothing exists," Gorgias attached himself to Zeno. Since all existence is self-contradictory, it follows hat nothing exists. He also made use of the famous argument of Parmenides regarding the origin of being. If anything is, said Gorgias, it must have had a beginning. Its being must have arisen either from being, or from not-being. If it arose from being, there is no beginning. If it arose from not-being, this is im |
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Anaximander (612 B.C)
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The One as the Boundless
the world presents us with a series of opposites, of which the most primary are hot and cold, wet and dry. The formation of the world is due to the 'separating out' of the opposites. All life came from the sea, and that the present forms of animals were the result of adaptation to a fresh environment. He was much impressed by the observation of certain sharks or dogfish, and evidently regarded them as an intermediary between fishes and land animals. His proof that man must have been descended from an animal of another species has a curiously modern ring. |
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Pythagoras (570 B.C)
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Pythagoras (c. 550- c. 500 BC) founded a sect characterized by common beliefs and observances.
These included prescriptive rules (such as a ban on the eating of beans and certain meats), the preservation and pursuit of esoteric knowledge, and reverence for the founder himself. On this basis he asserted 'metempsychosis', a doctrine of repeated incarnations of souls, with punishments and rewards for behavior in previous lives. Some of his followers apparently attempted to reduce all knowledge to mathematics |
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Heraclitus (535-475)
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No Greek philosopher before Socrates was more influential than Heraclitus. He criticized conventional opinions about the way things are and attacked the authority of poets and others reputed to be wise. 'Everything is in flux', like the constant flow of a river. Although it is likely that he took this thesis to be true, universal flux is too simple a phrase to identify his philosophy.
He challenges people to come to terms with the fact that they are living in a world 'that no god or human has made', a world he describes as 'an ever-living fire kindling in measures and going out in measures'. 'All things are one', day and night, up and down, living and dying, heating and cooling – such pairings of apparent opposites all conform to the everlastingly rational formula (logos) that unity consists of opposites; remove day, and night goes too, just as a river will lose its identity if it ceases to flow. The implication is that unless people reflect on their experience and examine themselves, they are condemne |
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Parmenides
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His work was expounded in his poem, of which more than a hundred lines survive. The poem begins with a first-person narrative of an allegorical journey, at the end of which the narrator meets a goddess. The goddess tells him: 'you are to find out everything: both the steadfast heart of well-rounded Reality, and the opinions of mortals, which contain no genuine proof'. On this reading, Parmenides does not deny the reality of the ordinary world, but denies only the possibility of knowledge about it. It must therefore be identified, not with Reality, but with some non-essential aspect of it. For Parmenides denies the past and future tenses to Reality, so that temporal succession must be an illusion. Father of rationalism.
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Xenophanes
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Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 560 - c. 470 BC) He made point that, to claim knowledge, it is not sufficient to 'speak what is completely true', and seems have to have thought that there was no possibility of knowledge outside the realm of direct experience. In theology he satirized traditional anthropomorphism, remarking that each race represented its gods in its own image, and concluding that, if horses could draw, they would draw their gods looking like horses. He also attacked the traditional stories about the Greek gods as immoral. In its place he proposed a transcendent monotheism. He seems to have deduced the properties of his god from an overall principle of what is 'fitting'; the first known attempt at philosophical theology.
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Zeno 488 BC-?
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Zeno was a philosopher, favorite disciple of Parmenides. He was born about 488 BCE. He appears to have resided some time at Athens. Zeno devoted all his energies to explain and develop the philosophical system of Parmenides.
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Empedocles
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He accepts the doctrine of Parmenides that what is uncreated and indestructible, and he introduces the theory of elements or roots. Of these he assumed four -- fire, air, earth, and water, -- and in some respects this was a return to primitive views which the Milesians had already left behind them. It must be noticed, however, that Empedocles discovered that what we call atmospheric air was a body, and was quite distinct from empty space on the one hand or from vapor or mist on the other. This he did by means of an experiment with the water-clock. He showed that air could keep water out of a vessel, and that the water could only enter as the air escaped. Besides these four 'roots', Empedocles postulated something called Love (philia) to explain the attraction of different forms of matter, and of something called Strife (neikos) to account for their separation.
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Plato’s Akademeia
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(397BC) lasted 900 years. Above the door were the words “let none but geometers enter here”, however they must also be "intoxicated to learn what was in their souls“.
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Plato
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Socrates made him, at the age of twenty throw his lyrical poems and tragedies in the fire.
Plato means “broadness of the chest” Fought in the Corinthian campaign. Traveled to Egypt. Sold as a slave in Aegina Oral tradition “art” of conducting a discussion Only “special sciences” math and astronomy Educated youths should learn rhetoric and philosophy Dialogues are either: narrated or dramatic Most dialogues have no definitive result (not knowing) Later Dialogues theory of ideas (the forms) Recollection (soul pre and post existence), teaching virtue, allegory of the cave, divided line, challenges Sophists, MAN writ large, influence on world history ( strong pillar of Christian dogma: Augustine) |
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Epicurus 341-270 B.C.
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He was born on the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea just off the west coast of what is now Turkey (a region called Ionia). He later moved to Athens where he had a small house and a garden to house his circle of friends, and his school came to be known as "the Garden" because of their instructional sessions at the garden. The true spirit of the Garden can also be judged by an inscription on the gate that greeted those entering it:
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Cynics
Diogenes of Sinope 412-323 |
The goal of life is happiness which is to live in agreement with Nature.
Happiness depends on being self-sufficient, and a master of mental attitude. Self-sufficiency is achieved by living a life of Virtue. The path to virtue is to free oneself from influences such as wealth, fame, or power, which have no value in Nature. Suffering is caused by false judgments of value, which cause negative emotions and a vicious character. |
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Epictetus Roman Slave to teacher of Caesars
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Roman slave (broken leg story)
Roman student (of all philosophies) Stoic teacher with his own school Arrested and thrown out of Rome 89AD Discourses & Handbook It was said Epictetus was more popular in his day than Plato Originally 8 books today only 4 of the Discourses |
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ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETHIUS (480-524 A.D)
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Boethius is a political prisoner in a dungeon in Milan, and he complains to philosophy, who is a fair lady, that virtue is not rewarded and he questions god’s justice. Why does god allow the wicked to prevail? If there is a god why is there evil?
Philosophy answers that god is the source of all things, and that thru the study of philosophy we see gods nature, Boethius can discover his own nature. She reminds him of Socrates plight. Mans possessions come through good fortune, anyone who realizes this and who does not become attached can lose them with out care. Is there reason and purpose in the world or is everything random? |
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Saint (Aurelius) Augustine 354-430
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Teacher of Rhetoric in Carthage
Greatest Theologian of a fallen Roman Empire The essential nature of man is “Will” not reason. Faith cures the will’s thirst for certainty Knowledge of God via the senses is inferior to innate knowledge of God Theology is faith seeking understanding. I believe in order to understand Defended Rome after the fall. Pagan gods did not destroy Rome in 410 Evil is misdirected love. Things are inseparable from their essences. Platonist City of God (Rome & Heaven) & Confessions |
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Avicenna (c.980-AD)
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Persian scientist physician and philosopher, logician, & theologian
One of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history Muslim universalism The Book of Salvation Most Important Islamic philosopher |
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St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (1033-1109)
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Founder of scholasticism
First scholarly philosopher of Christian theology Relationship of reason to revealed truth (revelation) Ontological argument for Gods existence Committed to the monastic ideal of celibacy Grace (undeserving love of God) |
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Averroes (Abu al-Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd) ( 1126-1198)
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God is proven by being the first cause (Aristotle).
God did not create the world in time as god is changeless and perfect. Defense, translation and purification of Aristotle No conflict between religion and philosophy, rather that they are different ways of reaching the same truth Precursor to modern secularism Dante in The divine Comedy: he is with the great pagan philosophers whose spirits dwell in "the place that favor owes to fame" |
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Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
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In the scholastic tradition
Empiricist and Aristotelian Essence and existence Eudemonia, Aristotle's idea that the goal of life is happiness by reaching one's full potential |
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William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347)
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Summa of Logic (influenced by Boethius's interpretation)
Treatise on Predestination and God's Foreknowledge Exposition of Aristotle's Physics Ockham Razor :“Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate”, “entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily” |
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Niccolo Machiavelli 1469-1527
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He who rises to power by conquest or treachery makes enemies who must be eliminated.
Its best to be born to power. If a prince must be cruel – and sometimes he must to retain power- he should be cruel quickly, and he should cause great injuries, for small injuries do not keep a man from revenge. A prince should be concerned for the people he governs only to the extent that such concern strengthens his hold on the state. Although a prince can sometimes afford to be virtuous, flattery deceit and even murder are often necessary if the prince is to maintain himself in power. |
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Thomas More 1478-1535
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Philosophers ought not to advise princes, for rulers are not interested in advice, he would much rather have others assent to his fixed policies. An economic system that allows private property drives the poor from the land and thereby creates thieves who the existing laws require to be hanged. Such a system is neither just nor expedient. In opposition to the former ideas defended by Raphael Hythloday, a world traveler,
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Confucius ~600BC
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Chinese thinker regarded by many as a sage and worshipped in temples in certain parts of China. He advocated restoring traditional values and norms as a remedy for the social and political disorder of his times, and sought political office in an attempt to put this ideal into practice. His teachings are recorded in the Analects (Lun Yü), a collection of sayings by him and by his disciples, and of conversations between him and his disciples.
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Taoism
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Taoism was adaptable, evolving to fill spiritual gaps created by the vagaries of life. Taoism can also be called "the other way," during its entire history, it has coexisted alongside the Confucian tradition, which served as the ethical and religious basis of the institutions and arrangements of the Chinese empire. Taoism, while not radically subversive, offered a range of alternatives to the Confucian way of life and point of view. These alternatives, however, were not mutually exclusive. For the vast majority of Chinese, there was no question of choosing between Confucianism and Taoism.
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Sun Tzu Art of War
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All warfare is based on deception.
Strife is life. Political Philosophy |
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Zen
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Historically, Zen Buddhism originates in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Around 500 B.C. he was a prince in what is now India. At the age of 29, deeply troubled by the suffering he saw around him, he renounced his privileged life to seek understanding. After this he was known as the Buddha (meaning roughly "one who is awake"). In a nutshell, he realized that everything is subject to change and that suffering and discontentment are the result of attachment to circumstances and things which, by their nature, are impermanent. By ridding oneself of these attachments, including attachment to the false notion of self or "I", one can be free of suffering.
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Duhkha = “suffering”
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Birth
Decay Sickness Death To be parted from things we like Not getting what one desires Clutching |
