The Greek

Philosophers
Founders of Western Thought
Map of Ancient Greece
Athens
Parthenon: Built between 447 & 438 BCE with adornments
continued to 432 BCE.
Parthenon on Acropolis
Artist's rendition
Athens
Temple of Zeus (from Parthenon)
Athens
Temple of Zeus
Athens
Temple
Minoan Civilization(2000-1200BC)

Homeric Age
Mycenaean Civilization
(1500-1200BC)
Creation Myths

The Dark Age (1150-700BC)

Greek Archaic Age

(700-600BC)
(Renaissance )
Greek Philosophy
Greek Golden Age
(600-400BC)
(Golden Age)
Homer, Iliad and Odyssey
Hesiod, Theogony
Mythos → Logos
 WHAT IS A MYTH?
• A myth is a kind of story.

• Most myths have one or more of these

characteristics:
1. Myths are usually about gods or
supernatural beings with greater powers
and abilities than ordinary humans.
 WHAT IS A MYTH?

2. Myths explain the origins of the world

and how humans came to be
(cosmogonies).
 WHAT IS A MYTH?

3. Myths take place a long time ago,

usually in the earliest days of humanity
(or just before humans showed up on
Earth).
 WHAT IS A MYTH?

4. Myths were usually thought to be true

by their original tellers--no matter how
wild or strange they seem to be.
 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MYTHS?
• Myths…

– Explain how things came to be--like the origin of

the universe or the creation of humans.
– Teach people about the values and beliefs that
are important in their society.
– Contain deep religious significance to the people
who tell and believe them.
Studying myths can teach us about people
around the world -- their cultures and what
is (or was) important to them.
Filipino Cosmogony:
Malakas at Maganda
Japanese Cosmogony:
Izanagi and Izanami
Jewish Cosmogony:
Adam and Eve
Cosmogonies: Structural Format
Cosmogonies, though cultural, follow a
universal three-fold structural format:

1. They begin with an imaginary space-time

different from our present space-time;
2. Presence of supernatural characters; and
3. A rapture, changing the imaginary space-
time to present space-time.
 Greek Protogenoi: Nyx (Night) aka
Chaos, Ouranos (Sky) and Gaia (Earth)
 Tell me these things, Olympian Muses,
From the beginning, and tell which of them
came first.
In the beginning there was only Chaos,
But then Gaia, the Earth, came into being….
Hesiod’s Theogony
Gaia and Ouranus gave birth to the
Titans, who looked just like humans
but were huge. They were the first
gods and goddesses. Ouranus
banished some of them to the
Underworld, which upset Gaia. She
encouraged them to rise up against
him. They were led by Cronus who
attacked and overthrew his father. Gaia
 Cronus married his sister Rhea and they
had five children. Before they were born,
Cronus was warned that they would
overthrow him, the same way he had
overthrown his father. When each child
was born, he swallowed them whole.
When Rhea gave birth to Zeus, she
wrapped a rock in blankets and pretended
Zeus it was her son. Cronus swallowed the
rock, and Zeus grew up hidden in a cave.
Zeus grew up and visited his parents in
disguise. He gave Cronus a drink that
made him throw up all the babies he had
swallowed. Zeus led his siblings in a
revolt against Cronus and the other
titans. The younger gods won and
divided the world among themselves.
Poseidon took the sea, Hades took the
Hades
Underworld, and Zeus ruled the sky,
becoming the King of all the gods.
The new gods were known as
the Olympians. They lived on
Mount Olympus, high above
the clouds. No humans could
visit Olympus unless by special
invitation. The gods did visit
the earth and some married
humans. Their children, who
were half-god and half-mortal
often became heroes.
Ancient Ionia
Subject Matter
Four Periods

Greek Philosophy
(585 B.C.-322 B.C.)

Pre-Socrates Socrates Plato Aristotle

Thales (585 B.C.) (469-369 B.C.) (429-347 B.C.) (384–322B.C.)

Anaximander
Anaximenes

Xenophanes
Pythagoras
Heraclitus (535-475 B.C.)
Parmenides (515-440 B.C.)
 PreSocratics
(7th - 5th century B.C.)
• Milesian School

• The power of the elements rather than just

the gods.

• Developed at the same time as Democracy—

rationalization rather than mythical
 THALES (624-560 BCE): The first Pre-Socratic
“What is the Urstoff of the world?”
“Could it be water?”
The discovery of nature and the rejection of mythopoeic
explanations
 Thales of Miletus
c. 624 - c. 546 B.C
• Thales started asking questions about the nature of the
world and wanted to know what was the principle behind
it: What was it made of, how was it made and what made
it.
• This is both a scientific and philosophical question.
• The Greeks made no distinction between what we now
see as different disciplines: Maths, Science, Philosophy,
Music, Arts etc were all part of intellectual thought.
• The title they used was not philosopher (lover of wisdom)
but Sophos (wise-person)
• Crucially, Thales was trying to move away from the
mythical explanations of the world (Gods, Titans etc) to a
natural explanation of the world.
 What did he decide?
• He concluded that there must be an
underlying principle to all things and he
concluded that this was water.
• In fact we don’t know that he said this
himself, only that Aristotle says that he
said it:
– Why would he say this?
 Water?
• ‘[Thales's] supposition may have arisen from
observation . . . ‘ (Aristotle Metaphysics 983 b22)
• It was Aristotle’s opinion that Thales may have
observed, ‘that the nurture of all creatures is moist,
and that warmth itself is generated from moisture and
lives by it; and that from which all things come to be
is their first principle’ (Metaphysics. 983 b23-25).
– Spontaneous Generation!
• He declared: ‘Besides this, another reason for the
supposition would be that the semina of all things
have a moist nature . . . ‘ (Metaphysics. 983 b26-27).
 Anaximander (610-545
B.C.)
- Greek astronomer and philosopher,
pupil of Thales.

- Introduced the apeiron (infinite

element).
 Anaximander (610-545 B.C.)

- Formulated a theory of origin and evolution of

life, according to which life originated in the sea
from the moist element which evaporated from
the sun (On Nature).

- Was the first to model the Earth according to

scientific principles.

- Separates concrete and infinite.

According to Anaximander, the
Earth was a cylinder with a
north-south curvature,
suspended freely in space, and
the stars where attached to a
sphere that rotated around Earth.
 ANAXIMENES
(570-500 B.C.)

- Pupil of Anaximander
- Basic principle of the universe is air.
- According to him, the rainbow is a
natural phenomenon, rather than
the work of a god.
 PYTHAGORAS
572-500 B.C.
• The universe could only be
understood thru numbers.
• Sun, moon, and earth revolved
around a central fire.
• Each planet produces a tone!
• Famous for the Pythagorean
Theorem: a2 + b2 = c2
 Pythagoras
582-500 B.C.
c2
a2
b2

• Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b2 = c2
Xenophanes
 From the city of Ephesus,
HERACLITUS (535-475 B.C.):
- It is not possible to step into the same
river twice—ceaseless transformation
and change
- Considered fire to be the primary form
of the real world.
- According to him, everything is in the
process of flux (panta rhei).
 Heraclitus,
“No one steps on the same river twice.”
PARMENIDES
 PARMENIDES
• Many believed everything changed, Parmenides
thought the exact opposite of that. Everything
never changed. Instead our senses deceive us to
believe in the idea of changing.

“ the perception of movement and change is an illusion

and says that everything that is, has always been and
will ever be, since it can always be thought and spoken
of.”
 EMPEDOCLES
(5TH C. B.C.E)

• One of the first Pluralists.

• Reality must be “completely full,” a

plenum, without any gaps; all motion and
changes take place within existing reality.
• Reality consists of six basic components:
four basic “roots” (earth, air, fire, water)
and two basic “motions” (Love, which
unites different things and Strife, which
breaks things up into basic elements).
 Anaxagoras
• 500-432 BC
• First to introduce philosophy to
Athenians (encouraged by
Pericles)
– Athenians prosecuted him so he left
• First to suggest Mind (Nous) as
primary cause of physical
changes
• First to explain moon shines by
reflected light
ANAXAGORAS
(500 - 428 B.C.E)

• Nous is the all-pervading “mind”

which imposes an intelligible
pattern in an otherwise
unintelligible universe; nous affects
things without being in them.
 THE ATOMISTS:
Leucippus of Miletus (5th c. B.C.E)
Democritus of Abdera (460-370 B.C.E)

• Leucippus is credited as originator of Atomism: the

universe consists of empty space and simple
entities that combine to form objects.
• Democritus argued that atoms must be so small
that they are invisible to the naked eye, that atoms
are eternal, and constantly moving.
 THE SOPHISTS
• The Greeks quickly commercialized
the spirit of intellectual liberation
– Men trained in philosophy set
themselves up as teachers of
various fields
• Their basic premise was that
men were capable of self-
improvement through education
and education would make men
more successful
• Offered idea of human progress
through one’s own efforts
– Became very popular and were
concentrated in Athens
 Who were the Sophists?
• In the modern definition, sophism is a confusing
or illogical argument used for deceiving
someone.

• But in Ancient Greece, the sophists were a

group of teachers of philosophy and rhetoric.
• Many of them taught their skills for a price. Due
to the importance of such skills in the litigious
social life of Athens, practitioners often
commanded very high fees.

• Their attacks against Socrates (in fictional

prosecution speeches) prompted a vigorous
condemnation from his followers, including
Plato and Xenophon, as there was a popular
view of Socrates as a sophist.
• Their attitude, coupled with the wealth garnered by
many of the sophists, eventually led to popular
resentment against sophist practitioners and the
ideas and writings associated with sophism
Did the Pre-Socratic philosophers leave
a legacy of confusion or clarity?
SOCRATES
469-399 BC

– Born to a middle class family

and began adult life as a
stone mason
• Soon gave this up to
devote life to finding out
what was the right way to
conduct one’s life
• The wealthy Athenian Crito
took him out of the stone-
mason’s workshop and
paid for his education
 EDUCATION

• He was a pupil of Anaxagoras

• Attracted to the topics raised by the
Sophists.
• One dialogue of Plato has a young
Socrates listening to Zeno of Elea and
talking with him and Parmenides.
• Socrates was a widely recognized and
controversial figure in his native Athens,
so much so that he was frequently
mocked in the plays of comic
dramatists.
(The Clouds of Aristophanes author of
Lysastrata, produced in 423, is the best-
known example.)
• Although Socrates himself wrote
nothing, he is depicted in conversation
in compositions by a small circle of his
admirers—Plato and Xenophon first
among them.
 The "Socratic Problem"
• The knowledge of the man, his life, and his
philosophy is based on writings by his
students and contemporaries.
• Foremost among them is Plato; however,
works by Xenophon, Aristotle, and
Aristophanes also provide important insights.

How sure are we that what Plato wrote was what

Socrates meant?
Athens
The Agora where Socrates ‘lectured’
CRITICISM OF THE
SOPHISTS
• Felt that Sophists had taught
skills but had no insight into
the questions that really
mattered:
– What is the purpose of
life?
– What are the values by
which man should live?
– How does man perfect his
character?
 Philosophical Mission
• Chaerephon, went to the Delphic oracle, asking
if there was anyone who was wiser than
Socrates, oracle responded that there was not.
• Not feeling wise, Socrates cross-examined the
‘wise’ men of society. (statesmen, poets,
artisans, and others.) He did NOT find them
wise.
• The pursuit of wisdom became Socrates’ full-
time job
 CENTRAL CONCERN
• Central concern was the perfection of individual
human character
– Believed moral values were
attained when the individual
regulated his life according to
objective standards arrived at
through rational reflection

– An individual would be able to ascertain the

values necessary to live a good and just life
when reason became the formative, guiding,
and ruling agency of the soul.
 SOCRATIC SAYINGS…..

“The unexamined life is

not worth living.”

“Know Thyself.”
 THE POWER OF REASON I
• Wanted to subject all human beliefs and
behavior to the clear light of reason
– thereby removing ethics from the
realm of authority, tradition, dogma,
superstition, and myth
– believed reason was the only proper
guide to the most critical problem of
human existence: the question of good
and evil
 THE POWER OF REASON II

• Socrates taught that rational inquiry was

a priceless task that allowed one to test
opinions, weigh the merit of ideas, and
alter beliefs on the basis of knowledge
 THE POWER OF REASON II
• Believed that when people engaged in
critical self-examination and strove to
perfect their characters, they liberated
themselves from accumulated opinions
and traditions and based their conduct
instead on convictions they could
rationally defend.
 SOCRATIC METHOD I
• Believed that knowledge was innate in
the human mind
– To extract it out into the conscious,
he developed a question-and-answer
method
• Attracted loyal audience of young men
– Mostly from well-off families
– Encouraged them to debate the most
fundamental concepts of human
behavior in an attempt to define the
guidelines of ethical conduct
SOCRATIC METHOD II

• Would begin debates

with students with
searching questions
into traditional
assumptions that
everyone took for
granted and then
proceed to show that
these assumptions
were rooted more in
custom and prejudice
than they were in logic
SOCRATIC METHOD III
• Socrates never formulated
rules of conduct
– Instead he believed that
by giving his followers
the habits of rigorous
questioning and logical
though processes, he was
creating a mentality that
could perceive correct
conduct under all
conditions
 Socrates
469 - 399 B.C.

Socratic Method:
I. Admit ignorance.
II. Never rely on tradition.
III. Continuously question.
IV. Formulate your own opinions.
V. Test your opinions with others.
 Aim: What is the Socratic method?

Read dialogue with Socrates and respond to the question:

Socrates: Is lying a bad thing?

Student: Certainly. The gods tell us that lying is a terrible sin.
Socrates: So lying is always a terrible sin?
Student: Absolutely
Socrates: Well then… Let us suppose that a father’s son is terribly
sick, but refuses to take his medicine. The father puts the medicine
in his son’s drink and tells his son there is only water in his drink. Is
the father’s lie a terrible sin?

• Question: How would you respond to Socrates question? Why?

What does this dialogue tell you about Socrates

and his teaching method?
 ATTITUDES TOWARDS
SOCRATES
• Most in Athens dismissed Socrates as a eccentric
sophist
– But his students developed a fanatical loyalty
to him
– Political leaders, whose ability and judgment
he continually questioned, hated his guts
– It was this conflict that ultimately did him in
 SOCRATES’ STUDENTS
• Many of his students
were enchanted by his
criticism of their elders
and the establishment

– They also affected an ill-disguised admiration

for Sparta during the Peloponnesian War
 DEATH OF SOCRATES
• After war was over, some enemies brought
Socrates to trial on charges of “not worshipping
the Athenian gods” and “corrupting the youth of
Athens”
– During his trial, Socrates denied the charges
but refused to beg forgiveness
•Instead he boldly spelled out what he stood
for
– Was found guilty and ordered to kill himself by
drinking hemlock
 Refused to disobey the laws
• He was declared guilty and condemned to
death.
• Though influential friends offered means of
escape (and there is reason to think the
Athenians would have been glad to see him
go), Socrates refused to disobey the laws; in
any case he had already, in his court speech,
rejected the possibility of living in some
foreign city.
 Execution
• The sentence was duly carried out. And
in Plato’s account of the execution, we
can see the calmness and kindness of a
man who has led a useful life and who is
secure in his faith that, contrary to
appearances, “no evil can happen to a
good man, either in life or after death…”
DEATH OF SOCRATES
 The Apology of Socrates*
• Socrates begins by saying he does not know if the men
of Athens (his jury) have been persuaded by his
accusers.
• This first sentence is crucial to the theme of the entire
speech. Plato often begins his Socratic dialogues with
words which indicate the overall idea of the dialogue;
in this case, "I do not know".
• Indeed, in the Apology Socrates will suggest that
philosophy consists entirely of a sincere admission of
ignorance, and that whatever wisdom he has comes
from his knowledge that he knows nothing.
• Socrates asks the jury to judge him
not on his oratorical skills, but on the
truth. Socrates says he will not use
ornate words and phrases that are
carefully arranged, but will speak the
chance thoughts that come into his
head.
• He says he will use the same words
that he is heard using at the agora
(marketplace).
• In spite of his disclaimers, Socrates
proves to be a master rhetoric who is
not only eloquent and persuasive,
but who plays the jury like an
impresario.
• The speech, which has won readers to his side for
more than two millennia, does not succeed in winning
him acquittal. He is philosophy’s first martyr.
• Socrates is famously condemned to death, and has
been admired for his calm conviction that the gods
are doing the right thing by him.

The Death of
Socrates, by
Jacques-
Louis David
(1787).
Plato described Socrates' death in the Phaedo:
"The man … laid his hands on him and after a while
examined his feet and legs, then pinched his foot hard and
asked if he felt it. He said ‘No’; then after that, his thighs;
and passing upwards in this way he showed us that he was
growing cold and rigid. And then again he touched him and
said that when it reached his heart, he would be gone. The
chill had now reached the region about the groin, and
uncovering his face, which had been covered, he said —
and these were his last words — 'Crito, we owe a cock to
Asclepius. Pay it and do not neglect it.' 'That,' said Crito,
'shall be done; but see if you have anything else to say.' To
this question he made no reply, but after a little while he
moved; the attendant uncovered him; his eyes were fixed.
And Crito when he saw it, closed his mouth and eyes."
 Plato
(428/427 BC – 348/347 BC)

• Plato, with his mentor, Socrates, and

his student, Aristotle, helped to lay the
foundations of Western philosophy.
• Plato was also a mathematician, writer of
philosophical dialogues, and founder of the
Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher
learning in the western world.
• He was originally a student of Socrates, and was as
much influenced by his thinking as by what he saw
as his teacher's unjust death.
• Plato's sophistication as a writer can be
witnessed by reading his Socratic dialogues.
Some of the dialogues, letters, and other works
that are ascribed to him are considered spurious.
• Although there is little question that Plato
lectured at the Academy that he founded. The
pedagogical function of his dialogues, if any, is
not known with certainty.
• The dialogues since Plato's time have been used
to teach a range of subjects, mostly including
philosophy, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, and
other subjects about which he wrote.
• After Socrates’ death in 399 B.C.,
Plato left Athens with some friends
and traveled for the next 12 years
while studying geometry, geology,
astronomy, and religion.
• Plato’s studies were directed toward
the question of virtue & the
formation of noble character
 Academy 388 BCE

• It was during this time when Plato visited

Italy and Sicily, where he seems to have
come into contact with Pythagorean
philosophers.
• In 388 Plato returned to Athens and
founded a school of his own, the Academy,
where young men could pursue advanced
studies.
 The first university
• In 388 BCE Plato founded the Academy in
Athens, often described as the first
university.

• It provided a comprehensive curriculum,

including astronomy, biology, mathematics,
political theory, and philosophy.
 Pre-eminence of Mathematics
• Though planned as a school for future
statesmen, Plato had become convinced that
the road to knowledge lay in exact reasoning,
as in mathematics.
• The famous inscription over the entrance
read:
“Let no one who does not know
geometry enter here.”
 The End of Plato
• Plato died in 347 B.C.,
leaving the Academy.

• The Academy remained a

model for institutions of
higher learning for over
900 years until it was
closed in 529 CE by
Emperor Justinian.
Body and Soul
 The Body The Soul
- Works based on - Guided by
senses Reason
- Sees individual - Considers the
things universals
 Who am I?
A soul trapped in the body!
The Republic
 Plato

•The Republic discusses the notion of justice

and the ideal state and includes the allegory
of the cave.
•The Apology discusses the death of Socrates.
•The Symposium, takes place at a dinner
party, at which each guest (drunken or not)
was required to expound upon the nature of
love.
 Plato
1. Not his intention to answer specific question or to propose
final & dogmatic solutions to any of the problem that were
being discussed
2. Plato preferred instead to do something that would stimulate
original thinking on the part of the reader.
3. This method of presentation enabled him to present
contrasting points of views as they would likely to occur in a
series of conversations taking place among individuals having
different points of views.
4. Finally, by using conversational method, it would be possible
to illustrate the way in which current issues of the day were
related to one another.
 Plato’s Republic
• Theory of government
• The ideal
• In a later & considerably longer dialogue called
The Laws, Plato proposed a less idealistic but
more practical alternative for the organization
of state government.

– Timarchy (Sparta)
– Oligarchy
– Democracy (Athens)
– Tyranny
 Democracy
• Democracy
• Plato：control by the ignorant
majority
• No order/discipline
• Political struggle, disorder, wars
Plato’s Republic
perfect polis
→wisdom
→benevolence
→bravery
→to curb desires

1. Rulers/Guardians (gold)
2. Auxiliaries/Soldiers (silver)
3. Artisans (iron)
Plato’s Republic
1. The Ideal Ruler:
– Search for ideal, truth & perfection
– soul > body
– philosopher-king
– Plato believed that only those
persons who possessed
intellectual as well as moral
qualities should be entrusted with
the power to ruler over others
Plato’s Republic

2. Auxiliaries
– Bravery
– Obedient to the philosopher – king
– Warrior
– Little desire
Plato’s Republic

3. Artisans (farmers & workers)

– A lot of desires
– Duty = to obey
– to produce accordingly
Plato’s Republic

• ideal state [utopia] “perfect polis”

• the world of phenomenon is not the
real world BUT pale, imperfect
reflections of ideal models.
 Plato’s Republic
• VII: “The Allegory of the Cave”
– Cave --- shadows
• Philosopher --- sense of duty
• “Objects that we perceive through our senses are merely
pale, imperfect reflections of ideal models that exist in a
world invisible to us.”
• Reality – not by observing experiments, etc. (Aristotle’s
science)
BUT by thinking contemplating
 Books influenced by The Republic
• Plato, The Republic
↓
• St. Augustine, City of God
↓
• Thomas More, 1478-1535, Utopia
↓
• Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis
↓
• James Hilton, The Lost Horizon
 Literature Criticizing
Plato’s Utopia:
• Aristophanes, Birds

• Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels

• Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

• George Orwell, 1984

 Aristotle
 384 - 322 BCE
 Born in Stagira, in Thrace,
near Macedonia.
 The “Stagirite.”
 Son of Nichomacus,
prominent physician.
 Aristotle was likely trained in
medicine.
 Plato’s Student
At age 17, Aristotle was
sent to study with Plato
at the Academy.
He became Plato’s most
important student,
remaining at the
Academy 20 years, until
Plato’s death.
 Aristotle
(384-322 BC)
• He was the first to create a comprehensive system of
Western philosophy, encompassing morality and
aesthetics, logic and science, politics and
metaphysics.
• Aristotle's views on the physical sciences profoundly
shaped medieval scholarship, and their influence
extended well into the Renaissance, although they
were ultimately replaced by modern physics.
• In the biological sciences, some of his observations
were only confirmed to be accurate in the nineteenth
century.
• His works contain the earliest known
formal study of logic, which were
incorporated in the late nineteenth century
into modern formal logic.
• In metaphysics, Aristotelianism had a
profound influence on philosophical and
theological thinking in the Islamic and
Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it
continues to influence Christian theology,
especially Eastern Orthodox theology, and
the scholastic tradition of the Roman
Catholic Church.
• Though Aristotle wrote many elegant
treatises and dialogues (Cicero described his
literary style as "a river of gold"), it is
thought that the majority of his writings are
now lost and only about one third of the
original works have survived.
 Aristotle becomes a royal tutor

• When Aristotle left the Academy in 347, he settled briefly

on islands near the Ionian coast, studying biology. In 342,
he accepted an invitation to teach the son of the
Macedonian king, Philip II, whose father had been
attended by Aristotle’s own father.
 Life, Legacy, and Times -
Continued

• Aristotle became Alexander the Great’s

tutor though his philosophy focused on the
polis and Alexander embraced the vision
of a cosmopolis.
 The Lycaeum
• In 335 BCE, Aristotle returned to Athens
and established his own school, in
competition with the Academy.
– Named the Lyceum, as it was adjacent to the temple
to the god Apollo Lykaios.
• Morning serious lectures
• Evening public lectures
• Inclusive curriculum
• Classification approach
 Life, Legacy, and Times -
Continued

• His teaching method, peripatetics,

involved walking about and talking.
 Life, Legacy, and Times -
Continued
• With Alexander’s death, anti-Macedonian
riots broke out in Athens, and Aristotle fled
lest “Athens commit the same crime
twice.”
• We have over 2,000 pages of writings
attributed to Aristotle including his great
book, Politics.
 Background to Political
Teachings
• Aristotle’s works are grounded in Greek
traditions, and he acknowledged those
with whom he disagreed in search of
objective truth and validity.
• Aristotle advised us “to love Socrates, to
love Plato, but to love the truth more”.
• Aristotle’s political philosophy focused on
the small-city state as the necessary arena
for human excellences.
 Aristotle’s Division of the Three
Sciences
Theoretical Practical Productive

Contemplation of things Knowledge of things that Knowledge of rational

that are permanent and can be “otherwise” or production or the science
cannot be “otherwise.” In variable given human of making, producing
the theoretical sciences, freedom, choice, and things.
understanding is pursued circumstance.
for its own sake. Example: technological
Example: politics, ethics. know-how, carpentry,
Example: metaphysics and pottery. The productive
logic. sciences result in the
making of some “product.”
 Aristotle’s Critique of Plato

• The Problem of Chorismos

– Chorismos is Greek for separation.
– In Plato’s metaphysics, there is too much
of a separation between the Forms and
sensible objects for the Forms to be the
sources of material objects.
– Plato’s attempts at explaining the
relationship between the Forms and
sensible objects are merely “empty words
and poetical metaphors.”
 Relationship to Plato
Plato Aristotle
• Soul-Society Analogy
Soul-Society Analogy
• Soul: 2 parts: reason and
• soul: 3 parts: reason, appetite
spirit, appetite • Society: rulers and ruled (all
• Society: rulers, citizens)
guardians, people • Method: empirical: examine
• Method; determine the phenomena & opinion
Form of the Good; • Relativist: different regimes
for different cities
Absolutist: the • Democracy not best, but
philosopher-king best of worst regimes.
should rule the city;
No democracy!.
 Hylomorphic Composition

• From two Greek words

– hyle, meaning matter
– morphe, meaning form
• There is only one world, the world of
substances.
• Substance: A fundamental entity. It results
from the union of matter and form.
– Matter: That which gets organized and
structured.
 – Form: That which organizes and
structures.
• Plato maintained that the Forms are
transcendent realities.
• Aristotle maintained that form is
immanent in particular substances.
• Stuffed animal analogy
– Matter is like the stuffing.
– Form is like the outer skin.
 The Nature of Thought
• A person = body + soul
• (body + soul) = (matter + form)
• Hence, a person = (matter + form)
• Soul = form
– soul is that which gives life in virtue of
giving rational animality
– soul = essential form

164
 Aristotle’s Hierarchy of Beings

• 3 kinds of soul:
– Vegetative: plants
– Sensitive: animals
– Rational: man
These ideas still used in the 17th century by Descartes.

What is unique to man is reasoning ability and his

highest good/goal/telos is to exercise that ability.

Plants and animals have different goals than man

because they have different natures/souls.
 The Parts of a Human Being:
• Rational and Non-rational
• Non-rational includes both Appetitive and
Vegetative.
• Appetitive: Desires and emotions
• Vegetative: controls involuntary functions
like breathing and digestion
 Rational:

• Rational: thinks and deliberates. Knows right

from wrong. Distinguishes humans from
animals.
• A person’s character is determined by the
relationship between the rational and
appetitive parts.
• The rational brings the appetitive under
control with discipline and the formation of
good habits.
 Universal Soul

• Soul = essential form

• Essential forms are Universals
– Plato’s essential form = Socrates’
essential form
– So, Plato’s soul = Socrates’ soul
• This generalizes for all people
• So, there is but one soul!
168
• Immortality is not personal!
 Thought and Form

• Soul is seat of cognition/thought

• Thought = recognition of form
• Recognition of form = reproduction of form in
the soul
• So, to think of a cat is to have the form of the
cat in the soul

169
 The Four Causes

• Aristotle is convinced in the reality of

sensible objects & change
• Thus, he must offer a theory of how it is
possible to understand the structure of
sensible objects and change
• Aristotle proposes four basic types of
causation or explanation aiming at
showing why, of necessity, things are as
they are by showing them to be instances
170
of Universal Laws
 Fourfold Causation

• Material Causation: that from which there is

coming to be
– based in the varieties of matter
• Efficient Causation: that by which there is
coming-to-be
– based on who is responsible
• Formal Causation
– based in the varieties of form 171
 Material cause
That from which there is coming to
be.

the clay
 Efficient Cause
That by which there is coming-to-be.

the artist is the agent

of change
 Formal cause
that for the sake of which there is coming to
be.

the agent is acting for the

sake of bringing about
the form of a certain
personage (Moses?)
 Final cause
That for the sake of which there is coming to be.

To honor Moses
 Aristotle’s Ethics

The Nichomachean Ethics is a collection of Aristotle’s

notes, apparently edited by his son, Nichomachus.

The work is famous for being accessible, if not well

organized.

Modern ethics is focused on rights and duties

Aristotle is interested in them too, but he is more

interested in
– what is good for humans, and
– how we ought to live
 The Nature of Ethics according to
Aristotle

• Ethics refers primarily to character

• Emphasis is on character and human
excellence, the virtues
• The criterion for moral rightness is good
character
 Happiness (eudaimonia)

• Greeks debated: what is good life, or what is

happiness?
• It is not merely a subjective state of pleasure or
contentment but the kind of life we would all want
to live if we understood our essential nature.
• Man on the street’s answer: wealth, fame, beauty.
• But what is man? What is his function (goal/telos),
I.e. what is natural for him?
 Happiness
• Man’s function (essence) is to live according to
reason and thereby become a certain sort of
highly rational being.
• Key premise: man has reason, and his telos
(final end) is to use that reason;
• When we fulfill the ideal of living the virtuous
life, we are truly happy.
• Happy life is directed toward worthwhile goals.
 Human Nature

Aristotle says that the good of a thing is its unique function:

❑ the good of the eye is seeing, and it’s a good eye if it sees well
❑ the good of a pen is writing, and it’s a good pen if it writes well

Aristotle then asks, what is the good of human beings?

❑ the good of a human is reason, and it’s a good human if it reasons
well.
Humans are rational animals (common definition of humans in ancient
Greece).
 Virtue
• Everything has a virtue
• Virtue means acting well, in accordance
with one’s nature;
• Slaves, plants, animals, humans all have
virtues, just as they have goods;
• Man’s particular virtue to act from reason,
and unless he is a philosopher, to act for
his community.
 The Golden Mean

• The morally good persons live a life of

moderation, the “mean” between two
extreme type of actions
• The life of moderation is one that:
- Avoids the excesses and the deficiencies of
behavior
- Is governed by reason
- Is not directed by uncontrollable desires and
passion
 The mean is relative to us

• The mean is not the same for everyone.

• Some people get drunk on two beers, for others
two beers would be the mean
• For some people going into a burning building
would be reckless, for others it would be
courageous.
• The mean is the appropriate way of acting
given our individual nature and situation
 Psychology of Virtue
Ethics
• Becoming virtuous=doing virtuous things

• Doing virtuous things=liking one’s self

• Liking one’s self=happiness

 Character

• The virtuous person acts out of a set

disposition to do the right act in the right
way, at the right time, and for the right
reason
• If you don’t know what the right thing to
do is, find the good person and watch
what he does
 We can form our character:
• Practice makes permanent!
• When we are controlled by our appetites:
anger, sexual desire, self indulgence,
vanity, cowardice, laziness-we lack reason
and virtue.
• We become virtuous by practice and
repetition of virtue-by controlling our
appetite with reason and self-control.
 Four Major Characters

• Virtuous-Has created habits of doing what is right.

Being virtuous comes naturally because of habit.
• Continent-Knows right from wrong, but struggles
against bad habits to be virtuous.
• Incontinent- Knows right from wrong, but is too
weak to do what is right.
• Vicious-So corrupted that the rational part is no
longer able to tell right from wrong. Hopeless case.
 Friendship is essential to
happiness

Three forms of friendship:

• Friendships of utility
• Friendships of mutual advantage
• True friendships: based on mutual
recognition of virtue
 Aristotle’s Biology
• Biology informs Aristotle’s view of human
happiness, the good life and telos;
• Major idea: teleology (study of purpose); we
understand things by their purpose or end;
• Telos = goal or end; the end of an acorn is to
become an oak; that is natural for acorns.
• This can be done for man and society as well as
organisms, i.e. what is the final end of man?
 Aristotle the biologist
• Major Works in Zoology:
– Parts of Animals
– History of Animals
– Movements of Animals
• Recall that Aristotle’s father was a
physician;
• Aristotle studied marine organisms and
other animals!
 Problems of Politics and the
State
• Do not expect to much certitude from political
science since it is not like a theoretical science
that cannot be otherwise.
• Ethics is the rule of ourselves over ourselves.
• Politics is concerned about the common good –
the collective moral and intellectual flourishing of
society.
• Aristotle’s ethical and political works are meant
to be put into action.
 Problems of Politics and the State -
Continued
• Aristotle did not believe human nature varied
radically from place to place but believed his
philosophy was universally valid.
• Aristotle believed human beings are political
animals and require the city to be “self-sufficient”
and live “well.”
• Nature (physis) is the standard for Aristotle’s
thought.
• This standard revealed the essences of things
including human life.
 Problems of Politics and the State -
Continued
• Human essence included the possession
of a rational soul and cognition.
• The end (telos) of a human being was a
person of excellence just as the end of an
acorn was fully developed oak tree.
• Human essence implied limits such human
beings are neither beasts nor gods.
• Nature is always so regardless of what
human will, custom, or agreement are.
 Problems of Politics and the State -
Continued
• Logos, or the capacity for reasoned speech and
how this enables us to think, judge, and make
moral decisions is essential to human nature.
• The law must be based upon the common good.
• Politics enables human beings to cultivate logos.
• Politics ministers to the life of the mind since that
life deals with the highest, unchanging, and
eternal things.
 What Is the Common Good?
Perhaps the common good of the political
community can be illustrated by an analogy of a
rowboat that develops a leak. The common
good of all is served by making decisions,
combining resources, setting priorities to fix the
leak before the boat sinks. The common good
also dictates that anyone who attempts to
undermine the enterprise must be prevented
from doing so through coercion if necessary.
(This is a view that both Aristotle and St.
Thomas Aquinas share.)
 Aristotle’s Understanding of Nature
(Physis)
• Essential characteristic – The essence of something
that makes it what it is. This essential characteristic is
discovered by logos or reasoned speech.
• Terminal and peculiar excellence of a thing: The
developed form of that thing, its terminal excellence,
the objective perfection of that things character-that is,
its highest manifestation. The terminal and peculiar
excellence of a thing is not necessarily what that thing
actually is in its present condition, but how it ought to
be in its perfected state.
 Aristotle’s Understanding of Nature
(Physis) - Continued
• Limitation on being: The limits or
boundaries that distinguish one thing from
another.
• Universal: Unchangeable, objective,
timeless.
• Distinct from convention: Not merely the
product of custom or human will or
prejudice.
Man Is a Political Animal, From Politics,
Book I, Chapter 2
Now , that man is more of a political animal than
bees or an other gregarious animals is evident.
Nature, as we often say, makes nothing in vain,
and man is the only animal whom she has
endowed with the gift of speech… The power of
speech is intended to set forth the expedient and
inexpedient, and therefore likewise the just and
the unjust. And it is a characteristic of man that
he alone has any sense of good and evil, of just
and unjust, and the like and the association of
living beings who have this sense makes a
family and a state.
 Nature of Politics and the Role of the
State
• Aristotle’s Ethics examines a human being’s
capacity or incapacity for self-governance.
• Ethics requires us to rule ourselves by an
objective standard of right and wrong.
• Human happiness and flourishing require a high
level of physical security, stable family life,
friendships, education, and the enterprise of
politics.
 Nature of Politics and the Role of the
State - Continued
• Aristotle had collected and classified 158 regimes or
constitutions.
• The city is a reflection of the inner purposes of its
citizens.
• Politic I, Chapter 2 deals with economics or
management of the household.
– Discussion of what is sufficient for the development of the
human soul
– Parental rule (royal rule) is a good that protects children
from their unreasonable state.
– Constitutional rule defines the relationship between
husband and wife
 The Polis as the Most Comprehensive
Community From Politics, Book I, Chapters
1-4
When several villages are united in a single
complete community, large enough to be
nearly or quite self-sufficing, the state
comes into existence, originating in the
bare needs of life, and continuing in
existence for the sake of a good life. And
therefore, if the earlier forms of society are
natural, so is the state, for it is the end of
them, and the nature of a thing is its end.
 Nature of Politics and the Role of the
State - Continued
• Two Kinds of Slavery:
– Slaves by law – Anyone captured by war even if they
had the capability to govern themselves could become a
slave by law.
– Slaves by nature – A person lacking the capability of
self-governance and requiring rule by others would be a
slave by nature.
• Difficult, dirty, dangerous work necessary for
society’s survival created slavery in the ancient
world. Aristotle speculated this institution could
be done away with if machines could be
invented to do this work.
 Aristotle On Slavery, From Politics,
Book I, Chapters 5-6
We see then that there is some foundation for this difference
of opinion, and that all are not either slaves by nature or
freeman by nature, and also that there is in some cases a
marked distinction between the two classes, rendering it
expedient and right for the one to be slaves and the others
to be masters: the one practicing obedience, the other
exercising authority and lordship which nature intended
them to have. The abuse of this authority is injurious to
both; for the interests of part and whole, of body and soul,
are the same, and the slave is a part of the master, a living
but separated part of his bodily frame. Hence, where the
relation of master and slave between them is natural they
are friends and have common interest, but where it rests
merely on law and force the reverse is true.
 Question for Reflection
Does Aristotle’s distinction between natural
and conventional slaves cast doubt on the
moral legitimacy of slavery as it was
actually practiced in Athens? Has modern
technology made the natural slave
obsolete?
 Nature of Politics and the Role of the
State - Continued
• Aristotle criticized Plato’s community of wives
and children as a tragedy of the commons.
• A citizen is ready to rule and be ruled.
• Law is reason without passion and is necessary
to coerce the unruly.
• Justice is the virtue of human relationships and
requires us to treat equals equally and unequals
unequally.
 Aristotle’s Critique of Plato, From
Politics, Book II, Chapter 1-3
That all persons call the same thing mine in the sense in
which each does so may be a fine thing, but it is
impracticable; or if the words are taken in the other
sense, such a unity in no way conduces to harmony.
And there is another objection to the proposal. For
that which is common to the greatest number has the
least care bestowed upon it. Every one thinks chiefly
of his own, hardly at all of the common interest; and
only when he is himself concerned as an individual.
For besides other considerations, everybody is more
inclined to neglect the duty which he expects another
to fulfill; as in families many attendants are often less
useful than a few.
 Nature of Politics and the Role of the
State - Continued
• Book V of Aristotle’s Ethics divides justice into
two:
– Legal Justice – any act that could affect others could be
a proper object of law.
– Special Justice:
• Commutative justice – rendering what was due.
• Distributive justice – rendering what is due in proportion
to what is born for or contributed to the community.
– Friendship is more important than justice for a polity
 Aristotle’s View of Justice
When a decision has to be made about awarding a
Stradivarius violin-the rarest and very best kind of
Italian Renaissance violins-what would be a just basis
for determining who should receive it? Should the
decision be based on ability to play? Family
connections? Or talent alone? For Aristotle, what
would it mean to treat equals equally and unequals
unequally concerning talent for playing the violin?
Using the principle, what do you think Aristotle’s
position would be concerning affirmative action in
higher education, which justifies special preferences
for historically discriminated-against minorities?
 The Six Forms of Regimes
Number of Rulers Rule Serving the Rule Serving Private
Common Good Interest or Those Who
Rule

One Kingship or monarchy Tyranny

Few Aristocracy Oligarchy

Many Polity Democracy

The Best Possible Regime - Continued

• The best regime could be an actual regime.

• The polity would be the practically best regime
since it was a mixed regime that included
aristocratic and democratic elements.
• Envy and greed are balanced in the mixed
regime.
• The mature man, spoudaios, plays a role in
balancing these forces through the practice of
the practical virtue of prudence.
The Best Possible Regime - Continued

• A large middle class is also an important

feature of the best regime.
– The middle class would be a golden mean
between the masses (envy) and the oligarchs
(greed).
• The mixed regime was favored by Cicero,
Polybius, Aquinas, Montesquieu, and the
American founders.
 Middle Class/Mixed Regime, From
Politics, Book IV, Chapters 8-11
…Wherefore the city which is composed of middle class-
citizens is necessarily best constituted in respect of
the elements of which we say the fabric of the state
naturally consists. And this is the class of citizens
which is most secure in a state, for they do not, like
the poor, covet their neighbors’ goods; nor do others
covet theirs, as the poor covet the goods of the rich;
and they neither plot against others, nor are
themselves plotted against others, nor are themselves
plotted against, they pass through life safely. Wisely
then did Phocylides pray – “Many things are best in
the mean; I desire to be of a middle condition in my
city.”
The Best Possible Regime - Continued

• Leisure for the higher things is a

component of the best state.
• Aristotle states, “a state exists for the sake
of a good life, and not for the sake of life
only: if life only were the object, slaves and
brute animals might form a state, but they
cannot, for they have no share in
happiness or in a life of free choice.”
The Best Possible Regime - Continued
• Politics is not the highest thing to be pursued,
but it lays the foundation for the pursuit of the
highest including the theoretical virtues of
wisdom, first principles, and science.
– Political happiness consist of the activities of all the
moral virtues in a full life.
– Theoretical happiness is grounded in the contemplative
life.
– The philosopher must find a protected place in the polity
to pursue this happiness though some regimes do not
permit the division between the political and the
theoretical.
The Best Possible Regime - Continued

• Leisure (skole, from which are word school

derives) consists of free activities of the
human faculties in search of and in finding
truth.
– Leisure is not amusement or sport.
– Leisure is not fooling around.
– Pleasure must have a proper object
 The Best Possible Regime -
Continued
• Friendship could be for:
– Utility
– Pleasure
– The highest good
• The best city would facilitate the friendships in
pursuit of the highest good and the
contemplative life.
• Politics and prudential statesmanship is not a
substitute for philosophical life but requires it
and leads to it.
 The Best Possible Regime -
Continued
• Democracy is a weak and disordered regime.
• Some modern regimes that call themselves democracies
are either polities or tyrannies.
• Aristotle helps us to see past rhetoric and understand the
essence of a regime.
• Tyrannies would want to destroy private friendships from
emerging to preserve themselves.
• Public works and wars are essential to the preservation of
tyrannies.
• Most regimes are oligarchies or democracies according to
Aristotle.
• Change from better to worse and from worse to better is an
essential possibility of regimes.
On Revolution, From Politics. Book
V, Chapter 1-2
Oligarchy is based on the notion that those who are
unequal in one respect are in all respects unequal;
being unequal, that is , in property, they suppose
themselves to be unequal absolutely. The democrats
think that as they are equal they ought to be equal in
all things; while the oligarchs, under the idea that they
are unequal, claim too much, which is one form of
inequality. All of these forms of government have a
kind of justice, but tried by an absolute standard, they
are faulty; and therefore, both parties, whenever their
share in the government does not accord with their
preconceived ideas, stir up revolution.
 Contributions and Influences
• Aristotle has been in the Medieval Latin and
Muslim worlds, as well as in modern European
thought though much of modern science has
been built upon refuting Aristotle.
• Henry Veatch contends that the reasons for
rejecting the legitimacy of Aristotle’s approach
are now themselves under assault opening the
doors for reconsidering Aristotle.
• Aristotle’s understanding of the relationship of
principles to prudence is a lasting contribution to
politics.
 Contributions and Influences
• The cyclic nature of history that the Greeks
understood indicates we are likely to see the things
described by Aristotle repeated.
• Aristotle is a realist who has not given up on the good
and the best.
• Aristotle acknowledges there is more to life than
politics.
• Aristotle was committed to the small polis because
larger political bodies made the practice of virtue
difficult.
• Aristotle allowed space for both the mature human
being and the philosopher in his best regime.
 Hellenic Philosophy

• Epicurus (341– 271 B.C.)

• Lucretius (c. 99-c. 55 B.C.)
 Stoicism
• Pyrrho (c. 360-c. 270 B.C.)
• Cleanthes (331-232 B.C.)
• Chrysippus (c.280-207 B.C.)
• Cicero (c. 106-143 B.C.)
• Epictetus (c.55-c. 135 A.D.)
• Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.)
 The Cynics
Diogenes searches for a
human being. Painting
attributed to J. H. W.
Tischbein (c. 1780)

• Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life
of Virtue in agreement with Nature.
• This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth,
power, health, and fame, and by living a life free from all
possessions. As reasoning creatures, people could gain
happiness by rigorous training and by living in a way which
was natural for humans.
• Many of these thoughts were later absorbed into Stoicism.
Diogenes of Sinope

• Defied all convention

lived in a tub—lived
life as an exemplum.
• Cynic actually means
“dog” which was a
nickname given to him
by Plato

• When Plato defined “man” as a hairless biped,

Diogenes tossed in a plucked chicken and said
here is Plato’s man!”
Epicureanism
 Epicurus (341-271 BCE)

 A life devoted to worldly happiness

based on materialist account of
nature.

 Encouraged withdrawal from political

life into communities of like-minded
individuals (Gardens in Athens)

 Rational humanism, influence on

Romans, revived in 16th/17th century
with rise of science and renaissance
humanism.
 Materialism (Atomism)
◦ All things are atoms & void; shape & size
◦ Atoms are eternal (nothing from nothing),
universe is boundless

 Ethics
◦ Aim: eudaimonia = happiness is a mind free
from disturbance (ataraxia) and a body free
from pain.
◦ Means: fear and ignorance cause disturbances
in mind and body, so ataraxia achievable by
understanding the true nature of things;
removal of source of fear and disturbance.
• Pleasure and pain natural and necessary sensations
– Can reduce pain by avoiding painful things
– Increase pleasure by pursuing pleasurable
things.

• But, a prudent life (virtuous) tells us not all pleasure

is good, nor all pain bad.
– Moderation in pursuit of pleasure and avoidance
of pain
– Friendship and other social/intellectual pleasures
included.

“Moderate Hedonism”
Body free from pain
 Fear punishment and arbitrary interference
◦ a type of superstitious belief…

 But, gods are immortal and blessed,

◦ Not celestial bodies aiming to pass judgment;
◦ Not vengeful;
◦ Only concerned with their own domain, not
humans.

 So, no need to fear gods

What causes fear? The gods

 Fear the pain and misery of life after death.
◦ Either the punishment or dreary ‘life’ of death

 But, death is nothing but cessation of life.

◦ Atomism (death is separation of body and soul;
only through body is sensation possible;
dissolution of material components, including soul.

 So, in life there is no death; in death there is

no life to be concerned with.

What causes fear? Death

 Hedonism
 To a considerable extent, Stoicism is a refutation of the
belief that happiness is determined by means of pleasure
and pain. This kind of philosophy is called hedonism (from
the Greek root hedone, meaning pleasure).

 One of the earliest schools of hedonism was started on the

coast of North Africa by Aristippus (c.430-350 B.C.E.),
who felt that, because sensory pleasures are more intense
than mental or emotional ones, they are the best of all.

 Also, actual pleasures in the present are more desirable

than potential pleasures in the future, since the latter may
or may not come and things may be different for us then.
 Stoicism
• Origins
– Zeno of Citium (333-264 BCE)
– Chrysippus (280-270 BCE)
– Epictetus* (~130-50 BCE)
– Seneca (3-65 CE)
– Marcus Aurelius* (121-180 CE)

• A life resigned to ‘fate’,

acknowledging limits of self-control
and obligations of duty. Aiming for a
tranquility of mind and evenness of
emotional life.

• Extremely influential in Roman era,

as well as in early Church doctrine.
Influence on Stoicism Cynicism
 Another influence on the origins of Stoicism was Cynicism, a
philosophic “school” in the loosest sense.
 Founded by Antisthenes (c.455-360 B.C.E.), who formed a
school called the Cynosarges (The Silver Dog), the Cynics
revolted against the rules and rigidity of Plato and Aristotle
(while admiring Socrates’ disdain for fashion).
 The Cynics believed that the very essence of civilization is
corrupt, and so lived austere, unconventional lives. They
distrusted luxury as a “hook” that always brought
complications and frustration into people’s lives.
 What happiness there is could only come from self-discipline
and rational control of all desires and appetites, with minimal
contact with conventional society.
 Stoicism
 Aim: to achieve a tranquility of mind (ataraxia) and
emotional stability (apathe)

 Means: to understand the nature of things

◦ Understand what is or isn’t under one’s control
◦ No control over the events of life, but one’s reaction to those
events
◦ So, reason-guided life in accord with the nature of things

 Precepts:
◦ Fatalism: world determined by divine providence
◦ Conventionalism in moral action and social responsibility,
including modesty
◦ Cosmopolitanism: reason is divine spark that unites individuals
• A wise man is like an archer who cares less about actually hitting
the target than about doing his best to hit it; wisdom includes
understanding the difference. (apathê)

• So, if a perfectly wise man saw his child in danger of drowning he

would try to save the child; but if he failed (or succeeded) he would
accept this without feeling distress or pity (or pride or relief), and
without his happiness being diminished (or enhanced).

• Moral virtue is the only good, wickedness the only evil: child’s death
or survival is not a good or an evil; so long as the wise man tried his
best, he has nothing to regret.

Archer Simile
(apathe)
 Some Philosophy Comparisons
Aim Means Comments
A just or well-order Each part of the soul Knowledge of the
Plato soul doing its part well; good is paramount;
reason rules… wisdom

Eudaimonia: Virtues: character Hierarchy of goods

happiness as a well traits that are means and necessities of
Aristotle ordered life as a between extremes… good life; a whole life
whole
Eudaimonia: Moderate Hedonism: Materialism and
Ataraxia or mind and Prudent action and removal of irrational
Epicureanism body free from understanding of fear as cause of
disturbance nature; avoid pain, distrubances
moderate pleasure
Eudaimonia: Moderate Fatalism: Pantheistic, fatalistic,
Ataraxia or pathe: Knowing what is/is not moral
Stocisim rational constancy in within one’s control; conventionalism,
accord with nature adjusting desires to modesty;
nature of things. cosmopolitanism
• If you had to pick one of these, which
would you favor? Why?

• Are there any contemporary parallels with

any of these views?

Thoughts