Ancient Greek Philosophy: Ethics, Soul, and Politics
Ancient Greek Philosophy: Ethics, Soul, and Politics
Moral Relativism vs. Moral Universalism
The Sophists, skilled in the art of Rhetoric and part of the Athenian political elite, believed in Moral Relativism (the idea that objective truth doesn’t exist). Protagoras, one of the Sophists, believed that “man is the measure of all things”, implying that individuals can never be wrong. However, Socrates opposed this idea, arguing that it had turned politicians into manipulators who twisted the truth to control Athenian citizens. Instead, he advocated for Moral Universalism (the belief in a definite, universal truth). To guide others towards this truth, he developed the Socratic Method, based on irony and maieutics.
The Socratic Method
The Socratic Method was ironic because Socrates would feign ignorance about a topic and then question his companion until they realized their own lack of knowledge. Through “maieutics”, Socrates saw himself as a midwife, helping people give birth to their own understanding.
Plato’s Moral Universalism and the World of Ideas
Plato, like Socrates, defended Moral Universalism and expanded upon it by connecting knowledge to “the world of ideas.” He believed the world of ideas was a perfect, unchanging realm from which our souls originated, while our bodies were tied to the ever-changing material world. Due to our soul’s prior contact with the world of ideas, it could discover the perfect, objective truth through reminiscence and dialectics.
Reminiscence and Dialectics
Reminiscence involves observing the sensible world, leading the soul to contemplate and recall the truth it encountered in the world of ideas. In Plato’s “Meno”, Socrates guides a slave to deduce a mathematical theorem, demonstrating that even without formal education, the soul can lead us to truth. Dialectics is the method of progressing from ignorance to true, scientific knowledge. Plato explained this through the simile of the line, divided into unequal segments: “doxa” (imagination and belief) and “episteme” (discursive thinking and intelligence).
Aristotle’s Empiricism
Aristotle’s approach differed significantly. He believed knowledge originates from experience. Humans are born as a tabula rasa (blank slate). We first acquire sensible knowledge through our senses, then the nous (intellect) extracts common characteristics, leading to intelligible knowledge and the formation of concepts. These concepts have comprehension (essential features) and extension (applicability) and are grasped by our passive and active intellect.
Ethics in Ancient Greece
Socrates and Plato believed that being virtuous meant being wise, as the wise always know what is good. Plato emphasized the purification of the soul through knowledge and defined justice as the soul’s supreme virtue, achieved through balance among its rational, irascible, and appetitive parts.
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
Aristotle defined virtue as behavior demonstrating high moral standards. He believed ethics should focus on the person as a whole, not individual actions. The “golden mean” was the middle ground between two extremes, and virtue involved avoiding excess and deficiency. Humans achieve virtue by fulfilling their purpose (fertility and reason) and practicing it until it becomes ingrained in their behavior. We also learn from “moral exemplars” who embody virtue.
The Soul in Ancient Greek Philosophy
The Pythagoreans believed in anthropological dualism, the separation of body and soul. They saw the soul as immortal and subject to transmigration and reincarnation. The body, however, corrupts the soul, and our purpose is to purify it through knowledge.
Plato’s Tripartite Soul
Plato also believed in anthropological dualism and divided the soul into three parts: rational, irascible, and appetitive. He used the myth of the winged chariot to explain the soul’s descent into the sensible world and emphasized the need for purification through knowledge to return to the world of ideas.
Aristotle’s Hylomorphism
Aristotle, in contrast, believed in hylomorphism, where all living beings are composed of matter (hylé) and form (morphé). He saw the soul as the form of the body, making them inseparable. He divided the soul into vegetative, sensitive, and intellectual parts, with the intellectual soul further divided into theoretical, practical, and productive functions.
Politics in Ancient Greece
Plato believed ethics and politics were inseparable, with law and politics arising from societal values. His ideal state, described in “The Republic”, consisted of producers, soldiers, and philosopher-kings, each with specific roles and duties. He also theorized about the state’s degradation over time, from aristocracy to timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and finally tyranny.
Aristotle’s Political Philosophy
Aristotle emphasized the importance of the polis (city-state) for human flourishing. He believed humans are political animals by nature and that the polis provides the framework for ethical development and the pursuit of the good life.