TOK: GREAT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS

Socrates’ philosophy

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher and he was known for laying the foundation for modern Western philosophy. Socrates’ main mission was to educate the citizens of Athens.

Socrates actually wrote nothing as he felt that knowledge was something to be gained by interacting with the world. Most of our knowledge of his philosophy came from the writings of Plato. Socrates was known for his contribution in teaching concepts. First, Socrates felt that life was not worth living unless you know whom you are, what you believe and what you want to become. Secondly, Socrates felt it was imperative to care for your soul. He thought that intelligence is based on the condition of your soul because it is the basis for your decisions. Lastly, Socrates taught that a truly good person is incapable of being harmed by others.

Socrates taught people that self-understanding was the way to happiness, so he was more of a guide than a teacher. He used the philosophical approach to help people turn inward, and in so doing, to better themselves.

Socrates’ most important idea was what is known as the Socratic Method. It is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. There are others institutions now that applies the Socratic method, for instance : law schools, psychotherapy, human resource training and development.

Plato, the Academy and his Works

Not only was he a philosopher, he was Aristotle’s mentor, Socrates’ student and a mathematician. Plato founded the Academy an institution devoted to research in philosophy and the sciences, when he was about 30 years old. It is thought to be the ancestor of modern universities, and was associated with many famous mathematicians, i.e. Eudoxus of Cnidos and Theaetetus. It was also thought to be a school to train young men to become better statesmen. His educational theories include education for all and that education should be provided by the state not by parents. The highest goal of education, Plato believed, is the knowledge of Good; to nurture a man to a better human being.

Central to Plato’s thought is the theory of forms, which implies that the perfect ideals of things in the world are nothing but imperfect copies. The world we perceive is merely a pale shadow of the harsh reality. Plato, arguing for immortality, suggested that we know certain things that we cannot possibly have learned in this life, and hence we must remember things that we knew previously.

During his lifetime, it is recorded that he has written 36 dialogues and 13 letters. One of his most famous piece of work is called ‘The Republic’. It is a dialogue between Socrates and his peers and features then defining justice and describing the just environment and person.

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who had a towering influence on the advancement of all Western philosophical theories. His contributions included creating a system for deductive logic and writing on physical subjects. As an ingenious writer and polymath, Aristotle thoroughly reconstructed most areas of knowledge he came in contact with.

Aristotle emphasized on good reasoning and believed in the scientific method. This resulted in his developing a formalized system for reasoning. He discovered that the legitimacy of any argument can be deduced by its configuration rather than its content. Aristotle’s syllogism states that given the structure of this argument, as long as the premises are true, then the conclusion will definitely be true.

Working on psychology and the soul, Aristotle individualizes sense perception and reason. This interprets that sense perceptions are the source of all knowledge. His objectives for building the Organon was to establish a universal method of reasoning, making it achievable to learn everything there is to know about reality.

His view on the physical sciences profoundly shaped medieval scholarship and their influence extended to the Renaissance although they were ultimately replaced by Newtonian physics. In the middle ages, Aristotelian metaphysics had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions, and on Christian thought. All aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today.