Pre-Socratic Philosophers: From Thales to the Atomists
The Ionian School
The first school of philosophy is the Ionian school, named because it originated in the region of Ionia. The capital was Miletus. The Ionians were the first philosophers of ancient Greece.
Thales of Miletus
Thales of Miletus was a great sage known for Thales’ theorem. The Ionian school sought the Arkhe, which means “beginning”—the root of words like “archaic” and “archeology.” They understood it as the foundation of physis, meaning “nature.” They sought the foundation or principle
Read MoreHuman Nature: Unveiling Our Complexities and Origins
**Intelligent Human Being: A Human?**
Can you escape the confines of your environment and rise up to contemplate and comprehend? The fact that animals do not talk does not indicate a lack of reason, that they cannot think, or that they have a rational mind like ours. It follows that being rational and thinking about how you think does not require a voice. It is thought that animals speak. Animal communication systems can be compared to human language. This is a system of signs, open, articulate,
Read MoreEthics: A Study of Morality and Right Action
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that encompasses the study of morality, virtue, duty, happiness, and good living.[1]
The word ethics comes from the Latin Ethicus and from the Greek ??????. Etymologically, the words ethics and morality have the same meaning, with moral deriving from the Latin (mos) and ethics from the Greek (ethos). Accordingly, ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. Today, however, it is said that morality is one of the objects of study of ethics.
Ethics examines what is moral,
Read MorePlato’s Key Philosophical Concepts: A Comprehensive Analysis
Plato’s Philosophy: Core Concepts
Evolution of Plato’s Work
We see the evolution of Plato’s work through his dialogues:
- Early Dialogues: Apology (Socrates’ defense)
- Transitional Dialogues: Gorgias, Meno, and Cratylus
- Mature Dialogues: Republic
- Later Dialogues: Parmenides, The Sophist, The Laws
The Theory of Ideas
The central design of Plato’s philosophy is the assertion that abstract ideas from mathematics, ethics, and all perceptible reality exist and are real. They do not exist in the sensible world that
Read MoreMajor Philosophical Schools: From Antiquity to Modernity
Read MoreEpicureanism: A Hellenistic school from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD, whose main representative was Epicurus. It aimed for happiness, which is accessed through ataraxia. It divides philosophy into logic, physics, and ethics. Ethics provides the road to happiness. Physics is needed to banish the terrors that disrupt the mood and prevent one from achieving inner peace. Logic is needed to ensure that our knowledge is secure. Representatives include Zeno of Sidon and Lucretius. Epicureanism
Descartes: Philosophy, Method, and the Existence of God
Descartes’ Key Works and Philosophical Starting Point
The two most important works of Descartes are Discourse on Method (1637) and Meditations (1641). The starting point of Cartesian philosophy is: How to ensure that modern physico-mathematical science of nature is true? Is it possible to establish some absolutely certain and indubitable truth on which to build this new science in safety? To answer these issues, Descartes seeks to develop a method of research to advance knowledge for sure, based
Read More