Philosophy is a Greek word, meaning “love of wisdom”. It is the study of existence, morality, and truth. Philosophy was a way of trying to make sense of the world without guidance through religion. Instead of myths and legends, logic and reason were used to find answers. Through the writings of ancient Greek philosophers and…
Everyone strives toward a place in their life in which they feel satisfied with what they are accomplishing. Whether people are striving for excellence in academics, finances, morality, etc., they desire to reach a level of success that pleases them. Most would say that this success defines their happiness in their lives. Throughout the course…
Aristotle’s thoughts on Zeno’s Arrow Argument as represented in Chapter 9 of Aristotle’s Physics: A Guided Study can be understood in such a way that it might not be “next door to madness”. In this chapter, Aristotle interprets Zeno’s argument of the Flying Arrow as “missing the mark”. There are four premises for this argument,…
When Plato died in 347 bc, Aristotle moved to Assos, a city in Asia Minor, where a friend of his, Hermias (died 345 bc), was ruler. There he counseled Hermias and married his niece and adopted daughter, Pythias. After Hermias was captured and executed by the Persians, Aristotle went to Pella, the Macedonian capital, where…
Metaphysics asks the question – ‘What is Reality?’ It examines the nature of existence; god; and whether we have free will The meaning of life What is the definition of a mind, a person, a soul What is the nature/relationship of substance – the physical form essence – the fundamental nature of the thing Rationalism…
Plato’s greatest pupil, never found Socrates His beliefs contrasted Plato & Socrates Plato & Socrates tries to deduce things using his mind, what is love? As if trying to explain something very abstract, the form of love Aristotle uses raw data, would interview people, use information, say this is love, first great research scientist that…
Substance can be most directly defined as what something is. Man is a substance, a horse is a substance and a rock is a substance. Going in-depth of the substance one is introduced to a secondary substance which is when something is in essence. For example, man has certain attributes to accentuate a man’s individuality.…
In Aristotle’s previous extract, he explained the notion of the soul as a separate entity distinct from the body. This troubled Christian philosophers-theologians for they wanted to re-unite Aristotle’s philosophy with the doctrines of the church. In the “Summa Theologiae” one can see that there are pieces of Aristotelian philosophy like the description of the…
There are two Platonic ideas that Aristotle places pressure on in this extract. The first is that knowledge is superior to mere opinion and that there is a more abstract level of rational justification. The second and more skeptical element of thought is both about the notion of innate sources of knowledge and also the…
Self Affects (affectivity, emotions) Own (property) Perceptions Knowledge Centre (ego, “I”) Aristotle’s Thesis: There is no modern sense of self; rather there is a soul that perceives, thinks, and nourishes. Background to Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE) Macedonia Tutor of Alexander the Great Life separated into three phases: Travels with Alexander Return to Athens which…
He must be a person of some stature or high position such as a king, general, or nobleman. He must be a good person. He must matter to us and we must see him as a worthwhile person. Because of his position, his actions usually have far-reaching effects. He must possess a character trait or…
If good is to be rewarded and evil is to be punished, how do we define good and evil? Should we be obeying the law no matter what the content? What if the law itself is evil? The philosophers we will be looking at are a few of the influential thinkers of their day. Ancient,…
Socrates 470-399 B.C,- NEVER wrote anything Gave philosophy its preeminent method- Socratic method or questioning (form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate rational thinking and to illuminate ideas) Believed knowledge does not come from memorizing facts & repeating them True wisdom comes from being…
Since the days of ancient Greece, tragedy has been regarded as the highest form of literary art. But what is tragedy? Many definitions have been offered, but the most influential is the one presented by the philosopher Aristotle in his work entitled Poetics. Having read Oedipus the King, to which Aristotle frequently refers, you might…
Introduction, Purposes and Approaches Social and political philosophers are concerned with defining and interpreting concepts like justice, freedom, authority and democracy in a modern context as well as in the past. These two branches of philosophy overlap so much they are usually treated as one area of philosophy. If there is an actual difference it…