Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were three greek philosophers that
questioned the world. Each used their own minds in order to get
reasonable answers to questions, instead of those answered by
society; the greek society answered these questions by saying, “The
gods did this…” Socrates is the eldest of these philosophers and began
the questioning of the world. Plato followed and was Socrates’ most
famous student. Aristotle came last, student of Plato, and disagreed
with both philosophers theories. In the end, these three philosophers
had a similar acheivement, that is they all contributed to the rise of
philosophy.
The first “lover of wisdom” is Socrates. Socrates taught his
students that education was the key to personal growth and insisted
that the students be trained to think for themselves. He never used
memorization as a teaching tool. Eventually, his teaching method
became known as the Socratic Method. One of his most famous quotes
is, “wisest is she who knows, she does not know.” Socrates questioned
the public officials, criticized democracy, and mocked all the sophists
(Athenian teachers). He was falsely accused of denying the existence
of gods and corrupting the youth. Although, denying his teachings
could’ve saved his life, he did not deny anything and did little to
defend himself. He was executed, mainly he was pressured to
commiting suicide. Plato’s records are the evidence that we have of
Socrates and his teachings, though we have no evidence of any further
thoughts Socrates might have had.
Plato was once Socrates’ student and followed Socrates’s
teachings after he died. Plato founded a school called the Academy.
The Academy was a special school in Athens that taught philosophy.
Plato wrote imaginary discussions, that were said to people that dealt
with the government, education, justice, and religion. Though, he was
also interested in politics. His view of an ideal government was an
aristocracy,a government ruled by an upper class. Plato’s imaginary
discussions, dialogues, mainly featured Socrates teaching and asking
questions, but Plato would present his theories as well. Plato most
important idea was the the “Theory of Forms.” He believed that the
senses were easily misguided and that a true philosopher pursued
knowledge of the perfect form that lay beyond the senses. He also
believed that human being consisted of two parts, the body and the
soul. His ideal rulers were philosophers, chosen for their wealth,
ability, and high ideals.
The last of the great three was Aristotle, a widely known
philosopher who was also a biologist. Aristotle was one of Plato’s
students. Aristotle believed that every field of knowledge, he studied
almost every field known during his time, was to be studied logically.
He classified and defined objects and this process is important to
modern day science. He tried to find out what brings people happiness
and what makes a good or bad play. His views on politics reflect his
study of Greek culture. Unlike Socrates, he believed monarchy,
aristocracy, and democracy were equally good forms of government,
but felt that all three could be corrupted. He wanted to combine all
three forms of government to create a limited democracy.
These three philosophers had many opinions that could be
explained with science and tried to teach the world. These
philosophers had a similar acheivement, that is they all contributed to
the rise of philosophy. They’ve contributed to the world of philosophy
and influenced a curiousity people have. All three were connected and
in the end, inspired the world. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be
known for many generations to come.