Big Ideas - Ancient World 700bce-250ce Flashcards
What is philosophy?
Name as many philosophers as you can that had a significant impact on the ancient world according to mainstream popularity.
Philosophy is the study of ideas about the meaning of life, knowledge, truth and the nature of life.
What is a debate? What is a dialogue?
A debate is a method of formally presenting an argument in a discilpined manner.
A dialogue is a writing technique in which 2 or more characters carry on a conversation, on a specific subject, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement.
Metaphysics?
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things. Often times metaphyisicians are thought of as quacks, creating abstract theories about the world with no basis on reality, but metaphysics seeks to answer the questions of being and knowing, existance and understanding.
- Ultimately what is there.
- What is it like.
Superstition vs philosophy, explain the contrast.
The argument for greeks birthing the first real philosopher is that before thales the thinking of egyptian scholars and chinese scholars and the like all wholly based on spirituality and superstition. All educated theorists at the time of thames and before thames believed that in order to answer deeper questions of existence it was necessary to look to religion, or at least that is what modern day academics believe.
What is logic?
Reasoning conducted through strict adherrance to strict principles of validity.
What was the point of socrates asking questions such as ‘what is beauty’?
Many of the questions asked by greek philosophers such as socrates were based on two things: the philosopher believed deeper understanding was needed of the concept, and that language was imprecise so it was necessary to be as precise with these concepts as possible.
What are the five branches of philosophy? Hint: Think food for thought.
MEEAL. Metaphysics, Ethics, Epistemology, Aesthetics, and Logic. These were the main 5 branches but many of these can be combined and rach of these can be broken down further to give things such as political philosophy, philosophy of science, etc.
Cogito, ergo sum?
‘I think therefore I am’ Descartes.
The philosophy book breaks down its areas of topic into 6 eras, what are they?
1) Ancient times 2) Medieval World 3) Renaissance age of reason 4) Age of revolution 5) Modern world 6) Contemporary philosophy
Who is this guy?
Thales of Miletus.
Aristotle accredited Thales the glory of being the first person to investigate the basic principles, the question of the originating substances of matter and therefore thales was the declared greek founder of natural philosophy. Little is known of Thales, his family was probably well to do as he studied under an egyptian priest in Africa. Many of thales’ ideas would come from egypt as he observed egyptians working. Ancient Egypt was the center of advanced knowledge.
Thales’ claim to fame and relevance is that he was one of the first (greek) philosophers to argue the reality of natural things through rational methods rather than giving idiosyncratic (individual) explanations of natural phenomena using religious dieties or mythologies.
Thales believed all matter was water, and he would die of thirst.
He would help pave the way, through his philosophy, for science. His theories were new and bold.
What else did Thales do of interest.
Thales was a philosopher, but he was also a businessman and politician and a teacher. He is said to have taught his ideas (including monism - the belief that attributes oneness to all things, in this case matter and water, all life is water) to a teacher called Anaximander, who taught Anaximenes, who taught the young mathematician Phythagoras.
What do you know of the hundred schools of thought?
The hundred schools of thought was produced at the same time as Greece was developing its philosophies. In 6th century before the common era (‘common era’- a term coined by jewish scholars and secularists in the 19th centry to deemphasize Christ when writing on history) China was going through a state of warfare, the Zhou dynasty died off, and the new social class had to decide on new strategies for ruling effectively.
The strategies coincided with greek philosophy because they sought to make sense of the world while also taking a more pragmatic approach to it rather than depending on religiousity.
Who is this
Laozi or Lao Tzu (the old master) was a chinese philosopher during the time of the hundred schools of thought. His claim to fame is that of being a adviser to Confucius and the writer of a famous book called the Doade Jing. Lao Tzu is said to have been an archivist at the Zhou court, and after the war to journey west in search of solitude. As he was leaving a guard asked him for wisdom and Laozi then wrote the Doade Jing (or the Tao Te Ching).
The Doade Jing prescribed the wisdom of living in tune and at peace with nature. Dao means the way, and forms the philosophy known as Daoism.
In ancient China time was considered to be cyclical (history tends to repeat) and not linear (the future always being unknown and new). All humans can do or should do to follow Dao is to be one with nature and act without desire, ambition or recourse to social conventions.
Who is this man
Pythagoras was born just when western philosophy was taking root. He is said to have grown up close to miletus and learned of Thales work and the milesian school. He, like Thales, is said to have schooled in Egypt where he learned geometry, and he would approach philosophy in a highly scientific and mathematical way.
He was very superstitious and deeply religious and would start his own cult.
He would discover square numbers and cube numbers. The law of octaves. The priniciples of deductive reasoning and his own theorem. His followers wh=ould go on to believe the pythagorean theorem of a squared + b squared = c squared to be divine revelation.
According to the book Pythagoras’ most significant contributuion to philosophy, and something later accepted by Aristotle, was that abstract thinking was superior to the evidence of the senses.
Who is Siddharta Gautama?
Siddharta Gautama was born in lumbini, modern-day Nepal, to a wealthy royal family. He grew up in a time where a religion called vedism was prevalent, a relision based on the vedas text, a religious script. His approach to spirituality was one of reason, much like the philosophers in greece (Pythagoras) and China (loa Tzu and Confusious) at the time.
He was called buddha, he who is awake, and would usher in the religion of buddhism. He meditated at the trunk of a bodhi tree and afterwards devoted his life to preaching. His teachings would later be written down in the Tipitaka(Three baskets).
Buddhism spread the message of the 4 noble truths and the 8fold path to Nirvana. Buddhism would later spread around india and into China and Southeast Asia and would replace in popularity Daoism and Confucianism.
Describe the
The Eightfold path of the dharma wheel (dharma in buddhism means the teachings of buddha) represents in Buddhism the path to Nirvana. It can be broken down into three principles: morality, wisdom and concentration.
Gautama believed that the ultimate goal in life was to conquer death and to break out of the forced cycle of suffering (birth, death, rebirth) so as to become one with nature. By following the dharma wheel or the eightfold path an human could reach enlightenement and their own nirvana.
