CHAPTER 6 SECTION 2
PHILOSOPHERS AND WRITERS OF THE GOLDEN AGE
RISE OF PHILOSOPHY
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Philosophy—study of basic questions of reality and human existence
o Better understand themselves and world around them
Philosopher—“lover of wisdom”
o All nature is based upon certain natural laws, or truths
 Discover truth through reason
First Greek philosopher was Thales of Miletus
o Wanted to understand nature of the cosmos—or universe
o Known as cosmologists
Parmenides of Elea set up formal logic for argument
Democritus developed atomic theory by using logic and mathematics
o Everything is made up of tiny bits of matter called atoms
SOCRATES
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Taught that education was the key to personal growth
o Did not use memorization as a teaching tool
 Insisted that students think for themselves
 Asked questions that forced them to test own values and ideas
o Way of teaching became known as Socratic Method
Greatly loved but with powerful enemies
o Questions made public officials look foolish
 Criticized democracy—unskilled people should not hold positions
of power
o Mocked the teachings of the Sophists as little more than untested
assumptions
Falsely accused of denying the existence of many Greek gods
o Teachings corrupted the minds of Athenian youth
Brought to trial—did little to defend himself—convicted and sentenced to commit
suicide by hemlock
PLATO
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Later generations learned of Socrates teachings from writing’s of Plato
Plato was a wealthy young aristocrat and greatest student of Socrates
Founded the academy—special school in Athens for teaching philosophy
Wrote dialogues—or imaginary conversations among several people
o Dealt with government, education, justice, and religion
 Most featured Socrates teachings but also expressed Plato’s ideas
as well
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o One of most important ideas was “Theory of Forms”
 All material things were imperfect expressions of perfect and
universal ideas, or “forms”
 Perfection could never be reached in the physical world
 Because human senses could be fooled—a true philosopher
pursued knowledge of the perfect form that lay beyond the senses
 A geometric figure such as a square could be expressed as
perfect in a mathematic formula—but in practical terms it
is almost impossible to make a perfect physical square
o Realm of perfect forms had been conceived by the “divine worker”
 This realm of perfection existed apart from the physical examples
of form
 The soul was the creation of God—through reincarnation soul and
form would eventually reunite
The Republic is a long dialogue describing Plato’s perfect society
o His ideal government would be an aristocracy—government ruled by
upper class—not by birth or wealth
 Ideal rulers would be philosophers chosen for wisdom, ability, and
high ideals
ARISTOTLE
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One of Plato’s students in Academy
Founded his own school in 335 BC
o Believed that every field of knowledge could be studied logically
 Collected as many facts as possible and organized them into
systems
 Had special skills for defining and classifying things
o Investigated almost every field of study known during his times
 In Ethics tried to learn what brings people happiness
 In Poetics—analyzed Greek drama to show what makes a play
good or bad
o His political views showed his study of Greek culture
 Ideal government would be equally a monarchy, aristocracy and
democracy—called limited democracy
MATHEMATICS, MEDICINE, AND SCIENCE
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Philosophy covered all areas of knowledge including math and science
Pythagoras believed everything could be explained in terms of mathematics
o Best remembered for development of Pythagorean theorem a + b = c
Greek philosophers did not specialize in one field of study
o Kept them from developing scientific knowledge until much later
Aristotle laid groundwork for anatomy, botany and zoology
o Helped pioneer classification principles
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Greek approach to scientific thought differed in important ways from ancient
Mesopotamia and Egypt
o These earlier thinkers made little distinction between natural and
supernatural worlds
o They explained natural events as the work of gods and other supernatural
forces
The Greeks believed the natural world could be explained in terms of natural laws
o Rules that govern our universe could be identified, observed and defined
o Approach depended on objectivity and reason rather than superstition
Hippocrates lived between 460 and 377 B.C.
o Considered to be founder of medical science
o Believed to have written 60-70 medical studies based on observation,
experiment and experience to collect medical knowledge in a usable form
 Disease came from natural causes not as punishment from gods
 Believed that rest, fresh air and proper diet made the best cures
o Medical treatment should be based on reason rather than magic
HISTORY
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Herodotus was first historian of the western world
o Traveled to Babylonia, Egypt, and Phoenicia
o Interesting writer and wonderful storyteller—prone to exaggeration at
times
o Noted if first or secondhand knowledge
o Called the Father of History
Thucydides wrote History of Peloponnesian War
o Studying the past helps us understand human nature
 Tried to make history accurate and fair
GREEK THEATRE
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Many of today’s literary styles were developed by the Greeks
DRAMA
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First to write dramas—plays containing action or dialogue involving conflict and
emotion
Plays always written in poetic form
o 2-3 actors spoke or sang lines for an audience
 Male actors played female roles
 Group of actors called chorus described the scene and commented
on the action
Carved theatres into hillsides
o At bottom created a flat area or orchestra—where chorus and actors
performed
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o Greek dramas featured little scenery—relied on chorus to describe time
and place
Often performed during religious festivals—especially festival of Dionysus—god
of wine and fertility
o Became major dramatic competition—judges were drawn by lottery—
awarded prizes based on beauty or wisdom of each play
TRAGEDIES
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Main character struggles against fate or events
Usually a combination of outside forces defeated the main character
Tragic heroes were punished for displaying hubris—sin of pride—which offended
the gods and doomed the hero
Aeschylus wrote about religion and relationship between gods and people
o 3 most famous plays centered on Agamemnon—king who led Greeks
against Troy
Sophocles defended many traditional Greek values—Oedipus Rex
Euripides—more of a realist than Aeschylus or Sophocles
o Questioned many old beliefs and ideas
 The Trojan Women—showed pain and misery of war
COMEDIES
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Also originated at Great Dionysia festival
o Made fun of ideas and people
o Included both tragic and humorous figures—but solved their problems
Aristophanes—known for sharp wit
o Clouds poked fun at Socrates for his theories about education
o Used comedy to make Athenians think about causes and effects of war