Philosophy

Philosophy! The ways of thinking about the world: knowledge, reality, existence. 

Philo - from the greek word "love"
- soppy from the greek word "wisdom"
"philosophy is the love of wisdom, philosophers those that love wisdom"

When I think of the beginning of my academic pursuits of philosophy, I remember falling in love with Socrates. He was known to be an "ugly" fellow, who often wore the same clothes on a daily basis. He walked around the streets and lived in fourth century BCE, and people say he had a "fat nose and bulging eyes." (What a way to be remembered....) In Athenian society during the time he lived, he was especially looked down upon because they truly valued male beauty.

But I fell in love with Socrates because of the way he intentionally used his life, every moment, every conversation. He isn't afraid to go against social norms, and really contemplate the "why" behind everything. He's famously known for influencing his student, Plato. Here, let's just recall some facts about these two!

Socrates
- Socratic Method: Socrates questioning dogmatic intellectuals and demonstrating that they held contradictory beliefs. This dialectic reversal of asking questions and using someone else's claims against them became a staple fo education and philosophy
- he was the one known as the wisest man in athens (oracle of Delphi)
- but he famously claimed "all I know is that I know nothing"
- he was brought to court on the charges of corrupting the youth and doubting the gods of the city. (Plato's "apology") - he followed the laws of Athens and was convicted and sentenced to death. willingly Drank the poison hemlock and died.
- he never wrote anything. he was ugly, and still a hero.
- he was still a hero to many philosophers and help up as an example of what philosophy can do. He stood up for the right of the people to question authority and doubt those in power.

Plato
- first academic, inventor of the forms, and founder of all western philosophy
- the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to plato - his expansive work addresses most if not all of the topics studied by philosophy
- his work cannot be understated
- socrates: known for his deeds, actions and temperament
- plato was known for his ideas and writings. IF socrates showed us a way to live, plato told us what to think
- plato was the son of one of the wealthiest families in athens
- he studied under socrates, but left athens to travel around the mediterranean after the trial. When he returned to athens he founded the first recorded institute of higher education: The academy
- many revolutionary ideas: one of the most important: theory of forms. All individual particular concrete objects are imperfect copies of perfect forms. We see imperfect trees which are simply shadows of the form of tree.
- plato explains this idea with his famous Allegory of the Cave. - imagine prisoners chained in a cave where they can only see the shadows of objects that pass in front of a fire and hear echoes of voices off the cave wall. They think that the shadows are real things, and that the sounds come from them. Only by moving out of this cave we come into contact with the true perfect reality the world of pure reason and the forms
- searching for the perfect form of society and government: he wrote The Republic: he envisions a society where everyone uses the skills that they have for the benefit of the society. It was ruled by Philosopher Kings according to plato, democracy put too much faith in the common man to rule. The republic represents a utopian society ruled by reason. at its worst it envisions a totalitarian state with little regard for personal freedom or choice
- his most famous student: Aristotle
- he had a profound influence on theology of Christianity.
- his idea of forms: was the inspiration for the doctrine that man was made in the image of some perfect form of man, God****
- nietzche famously chided christianity as merely platonism for the masses
- *the most influential philosopher of all time