Ch. 2 Philosophy before Socrates

Thales

"Father of Western Philosophy". Greek philosopher who taught that the universe had originated from water.

Xenophanes

6th century B.C. Greek thinker who cited the amorality and anthropomorphism of Greek Gods as evidence against their existence

Parmenides

A pre-socratic Greek philosopher born in Italy. Denied the existence of time, plurality, and motion. NO Change. Founder of Metaphysics.

Heraclitus

A presocratic Greek philosopher who said that fire is the origin of all things and that permanence is an illusion as all things are in perpetual flux (circa 500 BC)

Atoms and the void

A quote by Democritus.

Logos

An appeal based on logic or reason

Seeking

An attempt to acquire or gain something

Epistemology

BRANCH OF PHILOSOPHY THAT EXAMINES THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE

Not-being

In philosophy, being means the existence of a thing. Anything that exists has being. Ontology is the branch of philosophy that studies being

One God

Monotheistic

Convention

Practice widely observed in a group; custom; accepted technique or device

Vortex motion

The circular motion of the Boundless that individuates and sorts things according to their kind.

the One

The conclusion that there is no "many" and only the "one" exists.

Soul

The spiritual life principle of human beings that survives after death.

Reality/Apperance

The way things or situations really are. The way that someone or something looks

Democritus

(460-370 BCE) A Greek philosopher who theorized that all matter could be reduced to particles that could not be divided, which he described as "atomos."

reductio ad absurdum

the Latin for "to reduce to the absurd." This is a technique useful in creating a comic effect and is also an argumentative technique. It is considered a rhetorical fallacy because it reduces an argument to an either/or choice

Opposition

a resistance; a disagreement

Flux

a state of continual change or movement

Truth

candor/candid, fealty, frankness, indisputable, indubitable, legitimate, probity, sincere, veracious, verity

Zeno

Greek philosopher who founded the school of philosophy called Stoicism

non-action

Giving up control, letting the Tao bring forth actions, flowing along in "the way."

Rationalism

A belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response

Argument

A statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Atomism

A theoretical approach that regards something as interpretable through analysis into distinct, separable, and independent elementary components.

The Boundless

According to Aristotle and Theophrastus, the first Greek philosophers were looking for the "origin" or "principle" of all things. Anaximander is said to have identified it with "the Boundless" or "the Unlimited"

Anaximander

Early Greek naturalist who advocated spontaneous generation as the origin of life.

Wisdom

Expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life

Valid

Well-founded on evidence and corresponds accurately to the real world.

Change

to make or become different

Tao

way or path