MOC - Ancient Philosophers

Timeline of Philosophers

| Name | Date | | ———————————————- | ————- | | SocratesSocrates
Socrates

Beliefs of the Sophists

abandoning the mythical religions
appeal to just reason
found it futile to seek absolute truth

so instead studied the practical arts


embraced [[Empiricism]] & reason


Socrates' Values

true success has to take the soul into consideration
self-examination (Know thyself)
embodied his ideals


| 470 - 399 BC | | PlatoPlato
Plato
Athenian philosopher during the Classical period of Greece. Disciple of Socrates, and wrote down his (purported) dialogues.

Books

[[Plato, Meno|Meno]]
[[Plato, Phaedrus|Phaedrus]]
[[Plato, The Apology|The Apology of Socrates]]

| 428 - 423 BC | | AristotleAristotle
Aristotle

Books

[[Aristotle, Poetics|Poetics]]
[[Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics|Nicomachean Ethics]]
[[Aristotle, Categories|Categories]]
among many others


Aristotle's Paradigm (Middle Ages bkgrd)

Matter is eternal and exists w/o forms
Forms only exist with matter
No sensations, no imagination, no intellect w/o forms, phantasms, or species in the mind
Impressions on a passive mind

impressions are the things we see, sense


Active intellect perceives pas... | 384 - 322 BC | | Marcus AureliusAurelius, Meditations
Aurelius, Meditations
Background on Aurelius (Britannica)

Summary
In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius exhorts himself to live a good life and to begin to truly be a human being. It reads somewhat like a diary, with each paragraph or section being a disconnected thought, but with most promoting the same stoic philosophy. He strives to disregard pain, pleasure, fame, and everything else but his internal directing mind. As he says, the directing mind is the only thing he can fully control, so h... | 121 - 180 AD | | LucretiusLucretius, The Nature of Things
Lucretius, The Nature of Things
Background on Lucretius (Britannica)

Summary
Lucretius states that everything is made out of atoms, and that no atom could come into existence or leave off existing. However, in everything there is also some of the void. The void is simply empty space, and it is what allows things to be hard or soft. The void also enables movement. Atoms can only move because there is empty space to move into. Also, he says that atoms are unbreakable. He argues that if there w... | 100 BC - 1 BC | | CiceroCicero, On Duties
Cicero, On Duties
Background on Cicero (Britannica)

Summary
Cicero begins by admonishing his son to pursue philosophy before introducing the main topic of his writing: whether to choose the apparent right or the apparently advantageous. Using the various philosophies then common, Cicero concludes that the advantageous and the right can never conflict. This is because what is right is to live consistently with nature, and living consistently with nature will always be most advantageous. Then ... | 106 BC - 403 |