The Sophists, Socrates, and Theoretical Philosophy

Were traveling (foreigners, metecos) teachers of rhetoric (the art of using argumentation and discourse effectively to convince others)

Charged for their services

Did not follow a specific ‘school’ but shared similar beliefs

Taught pupils how to use the power of persuasive speech (making the weakest argument seem like the strongest)

Goal to teach pupils how to become powerful

Justice and right and wrong are whatever those in power say they are, nothing more.

Athenian

He worked for free, helping people to discover the truth

Developed and practiced the ‘dialectic method’ (irony and maieutics)

Taught that people should evaluate their lives to discover truth, virtue (‘the unexamined life is not worth living’)

The goal of human life is to find the ‘good life’. Moral Intellectualism: if you know what is right (knowledge), you will do what is right (virtue) and you’ll be happy

Believed that truth, virtue, justice actually existed and could be discovered by humans.

‘Man is the measure of all things’: individual measures all things by his own standard

Truth about right and wrong is relative to the individual

Relativism: truth is whatever the individual/society thinks it is

Gorgias did not profess to teach arete (or virtue), believing that there was no absolute form of virtue but that it was relative to each situation

He believed that rhetoric was the king of all other sciences, since it was capable of persuading any course of action

Logic: studies the rules of thought. Can help others knowledges to think more clearly.

For example, it tells how to create a valid deductive argument.

Metaphysics: tries to understand the structure of reality. It embraces more specific branches like ontology, which tries to understand the nature of being, and cosmology, which is the study of the origins and eventual fate of the universe (at the beginning of the history of philosophy, these explanations were mythological).

Epistemology: It questions what knowledge is and how it can be acquired.

Philosophy of language: is the branch of philosophy that studies language. Its primary concerns include the nature of linguistic meaning, language use, language learning and creation, language understanding, communication and translation.

Ethics: also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.

Aesthetics: is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art; beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

Political philosophy: can be defined as philosophical reflection on how best to arrange our collective life – our political institutions and our social practices, such as our economic system and our pattern of family life.

Deductive reasoning is a basic form of valid reasoning. Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statement and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion.

It’s possible to come to a logical conclusion even if the generalization is not true. If the generalization is wrong, the conclusion may be logical, but it may also be untrue.

The term ‘inductive reasoning’ refers to reasoning that takes specific information and makes a broader generalization that is considered probable. The conclusion may not be correct.

Aristotle believed that the use of reason was the highest form of endeavor and that logic was the tool by which people came to know things. His pioneering system of logic featured syllogisms–conclusions made from two premises. For example, if the premises ‘All men are mortal’ and ‘Socrates is a man’ are accepted, then one can deduce ‘Therefore, Socrates is mortal.’

Aristotle’s scientific work ranged from astronomy to zoology. He was the first person to differentiate whales and dolphins from fish, and he dissected hundreds of creatures in an effort to understand how they worked. Using logic, he classified organisms into a pioneering Scala Naturae or Chain of Being – a huge classification system that was influential for 2,000 years.

Aristotle was initially expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, Nicomachus, who was the physician to Amyntas III, king of Macedonia. Instead, he studied philosophy in Athens, traveled to Turkey and Lesbos to study marine life, and in 343 BCE became the tutor of 13-year-old Alexander the Great, teaching him for eight years. Returning to Athens, Aristotle was prolific, writing as many as 200 works, of which about 30 survive.

Aristotle was 17 when he was sent to study at Plato’s Academy in Athens. He spent 20 years with Plato who called him ‘the mind of the school.’ Aristotle developed his own theories in opposition to his tutor, rejecting Plato’s theory of forms and insisting that universal qualities are found in things themselves. Aristotle left Athens shortly after Plato died in 347 BCE.

Aristotle returned to Athens in 335 BCE and founded his own school at the Lyceum gymnasium just outside the city. He stocked it with a substantial library of scrolls (possibly funded by Alexander the Great) and formed one of the very first zoos using gifts of exotic animals. Students at the school elected a new leader or representative every 10 days.