Religion and Philosophy Flashcards
Presocratic philosophers
lived before Socrates (born 469BC)
discussed traditional Greek gods and sometimes criticised them (normally criticised traditional conceptions of the gods)
Xenophanes
6th century BC
Colophon
from Asia Minor
first to suggest one ‘cosmic’ god
Evidence from philosophers
theological texts of philiosophers from before Plato have come to us in fragments
Plato
429-437 BC
Athenian
follower of Socrates
Aristotle
384 - 322 BC
from northern Greece
student at Plato’s academy
Views of Presocratic philosophers
in 6th and 5th century BC there was no clear division between science and philosophy
Aristotle names Thales as first Presocratic (looked at world from scientific approach and therefore questioned traditional ideas of the gods as presented in Homer and Hesiod)
Who was the most outspoken of the Presocratics?
Xenophanes
How do we have Xenophanes’ work?
in fragmented form, often taken from sources that were critical of him
he wrote in various metres and genres
How do we have Xenophanes’ work?
in fragmented form, often taken from sources that were critical of him
he wrote in various metres and genres
Xenophanes’ cosmology
suggests that the origin of everything is to be found in water and earth alone “we all came from earth and water”
stars were to be explained by clouds originating in the sea
he undermined supernatural interpretations of natural phenomena
Xenophanes on Homer and Hesiod
some sources suggest he criticised them for portraying the gods as behaving in ways that mortals would be blamed for
-> sources are fragmentary and come from times much later than Xenophanes (do not accurately discribe what he was trying to express - probable that he was not criticising H&H and polytheism as a whole)
Xenophanes and anthropomorphism
“each after its own kind”
-> the reason the gods are like humans is because humans are human-like (if horses had gods they would look like horses)
Xenophanes and gods
one god who is greatest among gods and men
single and eternal
does not resemble humans and is able to effect anything by mind alone
Scholars on Xenophanes’ views
henotheistic (religious system in which there exists one almighty god but the existance of other divine being is acknowledged
Stoics
followers of philosophical school founded in late 4th century that advocated belief in one cosmic god
Socrates
469 - 399 BC
Athenian philosopher
charged by state for impiety (irreverence to the gods of the polis)
to prosecute impiety was to act in the public interest of Athens as Athenian law forbade impiety
charge against Socrates was then specified to argue that he did not believe in the right dieties and that he introduced new ones
charged with corruption of the youth
Plato’s defence of Socrates (Apology)
Plato makes it clear that Socrates was not an atheist but was engaged in theological thinking
Socrates’ life
local man born in Athens and lived there most his life
did not leave any written work but we can reconstruct his philosphy from various sources (e.g Plato and Xenophon - both pupils who wrote diff things- and Aristophanes)
-> all knew him personally
Aristophanes and Socrates
likened him to the sophists (teachers and philosophers who charged for their services and many of whom specialised in rhetorical argument)
Xenophon and Plato
distinguished Socrates from the sophists
their Socrates engaged in dialectical arguement using Socratic method (question-and-answer cross-examination) but he refused to take money for his teaching.
share same goal in refuting formal charges under which Socrates was tried but their portraits of him differ
Plato’s Socrates
ambivalent about own views and never sees himself as a teacher of anything
tend to turn to Plato’s Socrates for info about his character and thought
What to remember when looking at Socrates’ ideas about the divine
he respected the gods and believed in their existance
aware that they were superior to humans in wisedom and power
What was Socrates looking at?
through Plato, Socrates’ was assuming the existance of the gods but never felt the need to prove their existance and never needed to specify his ideas of the divine as it appears to have been a given
To Socrates, the gods help those who are virtuous which is in line with his philosophical thinking
-> a most pious act is rational self-examination leading to the acknowledgement of the power and wisdom of the divine
Socrates’ through Plato
religiously pious
obeys god Apollo at the oracle at Delphi (fact that he acknoewledged he knew ‘nothing’ made him wisest among men) and ordered him to practise philosophy
