The Greeks: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
How did he come to Athens?
brought up by a guardian, who sent him to Athens when he was 17 to be educated at Plato's Academy in 367
How does Plato use his Allegory of the Cave to show us how he felt about truth and ignorance? (what were the symbols in the story?)
darkness exists in direct correlation to ignorance—as light is to truth. Light produces a liberating effect for people who attempt to live the good life.
What was Socrates teaching style?
dialogue
Why do most people think Achilles will never catch the tortoise?
every time he reaches a point, the tortoise will have moved on by half that distance. So Achilles is never able to catch up to the Tortoise.
What about in the field of Meteorology?
"all the affectations we may call common to air and water, and the kinds and parts of the earth and the affectations of its parts." Helped create the water cycle.
Name three things that Socrates and Plato agreed on in their philosophy.
* Both felt very strongly that the only real harm that could come to a person is harm to the soul, and therefore, that it is better to suffer wrong than it is to commit it. *Both felt committed to thinking for oneself, taking nothing for granted, being ready to question everything and everybody. *The Democracy
What were the three things that led Plato to dislike Democracy?
*Plato thought much education is needed to make a good ruler. Especially mathematics, which he thought essential to having wisdom. *He thought leisure is essential to wisdom. One must have time and a stress-free occasion to study and become wise. )This would be tough for poor folks....It was largely an aristocratic viewpoint.) *Goodness and Reality are timeless, therefore the best state will be the one that best reflects the heavenly model, and its rulers should be those who best understand the eternal Good.
What is a Utopia? Did Plato feel we could have one?
an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect Yes
How did Aristotle differ from Plato and Socrates in his views about Democracy?
...
What were the two abstract things that Socrates felt were true of humans?
...
When was Socrates born?
470/469
How old was he when he died, and how old was he?
70/71
What famous ruler did he teach/tutor?
Alexander the Great
Example of Syllogism:
All birds are animals All parots are birds All parots are animals
What would be the conditions that would make man act/be at his worst?
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; seperated from law and justice he is the worst.
What did Aristotle think about habits? (why did he think they were important )
Believed excellence was not an act but a habbit
What was the form of Plato's ideal government? (describe it)
Best reflects the heavenly model, and its rulers should be those who best understand the eternal Good, Authoritarianism
What style did he use in his writing?
Dialogue
What did Aristotle do in the biology field that was so new and revolutionary?
He attempted, with some error, to classify animals into genera based on their similar characteristics
What did Socrates think was the worst thing that could happen to a person?
He thought real tragedy was in the corruption of a person's soul. He thought it worse to commit an injustice than to suffer it.
Why did he feel it was important for us to think first about something we are told without automatically believing it?
He thought we shouldn't just believe the first thing someone answers to, ask other people too to make sure you are getting the right information
What were the four subjects that Plato felt were the most important to teach kids and young adults who aspire to be educated rulers?
Music, gymnastics, ethical education, and mathematics
Zeno was a student of which Pre-Socratic philosopher?
Parmenides
Why did Plato feel that the rule of the initiate was a good for of training for a ruler?
Plato thought much education is needed to make a good ruler. Rulers should be those who best understand the eternal Good
Who lived the longest between Plato, Aristotle and Socrates?
Plato, 81
He could have saved himself from death, but chose not to. Why not?
Socrates held firm his belief in personal integrity. Duty to himself and not the gods.
Give the proper order of the three philosophers we studied, in terms of who taught who?
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
Where was Aristotle born?
Stagira
What was Plato's most famous work (book)?
The Republic (an overview of his philosophy, and the nature of justice)
Can you give an original example of a syllogism?
a logical argument where the conclusion is inferred from two or more other premises
What is deduction?
a reasonable argument in which "when certain things are laid down, something else follows out of necessity in virtue of their being so."
Define Nichomachean Ethics, and give an example
moral code of conduct for what he called "good living.
What main subject did Plato feel was crucial for a good ruler to understand?
rulers should be those who best understand the eternal Good, Wisdom
Why did Plato use Socrates as a character in his writings?
to instruct and educate others, to keep Socrates name alive
