Natural Philosophy and Greece

Natural Philosophy and Greece by kaleb dumas

Philosophy in Greece started around 600 B.C.E. in the city of Ionia. The first group of thinkers were Thales, Anaimander, and Anaximenes. "Their main concern was to come up with a cosmological theory purely based on natural phenomena." (Ancient.eu) They opened up the first school of thought, but differed among themselves in what they taught. They all had different views as to what the principles of the cosmos were and what it came from originally. One of the most important Pre-Socrates philosophers was Pythagoras. Although mostly known for his math theorem, he incorporated mysticism into his philosophy with the cycle of reincarnation of souls and math. "Geometry, Pythagoras thought, is the archtecture of the universe." (Fernandez-Armesto)

Socrates was one of the first people to challenge the views of others with his philosophy. His schools taught to question everything and to rationally think about questions such as; what is virtue? and what is morality? To answer these questions he went around questioning everyone in each group about said issues and usually gained enemies from such debates. He was eventually put on trial for impiety and corrupting the youth, as he taught schools that encouraged questioning everything. Socrates knew he knew nothing and spent his life trying to find people who knew more than him as part of his prophecy foretold by the Oracle of Delphi as supported by the background picture. His death after being put on trial encouraged his students to start their own schools.

These views has begun to transform Greece from a religious state to a more secular one. They progressed from worshiping many gods to mainly focus on philosophy and how the world works without divine intervention. This helped bring about the Hellenistic period because it shifted focus on ethics, science, and logic. Most Greek cities participated in this and because of their trade, and warring states the thoughts spread throughout Afroeurasia. This led to thinkers such as DesCartes and Voltaire in other parts of Europe. The Greek philosophy has influenced that is continued today because of the science involved with their philosophy. Pythagoras' theorem is taught in current Geometry classes, and the theory of atoms is taught in science classes.

References

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe The World Vol II, 3rd edition. Pearson Education, 2016.
Graham, Jacob, Ancient Greek Philosophy. Retrieved from: http://www.iep.utm.edu/greekphi/
Violatti, Cristian (2013, Jun. 11). Greek Philosophy. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Philosophy/

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Credits:

Created with images by queulat00 - "586_didim_Apollo_temple" • sfmission.com - "The nature of God is a circle of which the center is everywhere. Empedocles" • JC0598 - "Oracle of Delphi Praises Wisdom of Socrates" • dSeneste.dk - "Thinker" • cmalinaric - "poseidon ocean sea" • QuotesEverlasting - ""The unexamined life is not worth living." -Socrates"

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Natural Philosophy and Greece by kaleb dumas

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