 Reaction on Ancient Greek Philosophers (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle)

There have been many very important philosophers in the past that have made great contributions to
the way we live life today. Majority of those mentioned and recognized were men, women at one
point in history were not recognized the way men were. Also, when we think of ancient Greece, we
think right away of Athens. Several of the philosophers we have already discussed considered it the
pinnacle of their careers to come and teach in this great city.

The philosophy of the idea has a propensity to allow thought to withdraw into its own inner form, to
develop an account of experience solely in terms of dialectical distinctions and categories. When this
approach is extended to ethics the result is a comprehensive system of the existing forms of moral,
social, and political life, but no vision of the good or the best is forthcoming from philosophy itself.
Thus, Philosophy plays no role in the making of the day.

Moving forward, the Ancient Greek philosophers have played a pivotal role in the shaping of the
western philosophical tradition. This article surveys the seminal works and ideas of key figures in the
Ancient Greek philosophical tradition from the Presocratics to the Neoplatonists. It highlights their
main philosophical concerns and the evolution in their thought from centuries ago.

The Ancient Greek philosophical tradition broke away from a mythological approach to explaining
the world, and it initiated an approach based on reason and evidence. Initially concerned with
explaining the entire cosmos, the Presocratic philosophers strived to identify its single underlying
principle. Their theories were diverse and none achieved a consensus, yet their legacy was the
initiation of the quest to identify underlying principles.

This sparked a series of investigations into the limit and role of reason and of our sensory faculties,
how knowledge is acquired and what knowledge consists of. Here we find the Greek creation of
philosophy as “the love of wisdom,” and the birth of metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics.
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were the most influential of the ancient Greek philosophers, and they
focused their attention more on the role of the human being than on the explanation of the material
world. The work of these key philosophers was succeeded by the Stoics and Epicureans who were
also concerned with practical aspects of philosophy and the attainment of happiness.

Lastly, their science is not that good, but their math was the best. Greek mathematicians went about
math unlike all other people in recorded history. They found the underlying rules, and this created a
math system that could be both concrete and abstract. The methodicalness of it allowed for complex
deductions but also intuitive leaps that could later be proven.

Greek math influenced Greek philosophy by creating a logical system of argument. The Greeks had
more time and inclination for philosophical debate than other cultures for many reasons. Therefore
they covered more ground, and had their arguments refuted, supported, praised, and attacked by
others. No culture had ever before supported such a large group of people whose purpose was to
logically deduce the great questions of life, through argument and reason, and gave them a good
deal of freedom in their conclusions.

So we revere their philosophies as we revere their math, because while we may reach much better
conclusions with both, we're still using their methods.
  Reaction on Kohlberg, Freud and St. Aquinas

Morality is one of the few topics in academe endowed with its own protective spell. A biologist is
not blinded by her biological nature to the workings of biology. An economist is not confused by
his own economic activity when he tries to understand the workings of markets. But students of
morality are often biased by their own moral commitments. Morality is so contested and so
important to people that it is often difficult to set aside one’s humanity and study morality in a
clinically detached way. St. Thomas Aquinas have influenced Kholberg's thinking in his
theorizing on the Stage 7 cosmic orientation that states "In the state of mind, we metaphorically
term Stage 7, we identify ourselves with the cosmic or infinite perspective itself, we value life
from its standpoint...We send the unity of the whole and ourselves as part of that unity."

In our everyday dealings with the world around us, many times we have adopted "modes of
operation," such that most, if not all our views or ways which we solve our personal problems or
theorize about how to solve the world's problems fit into a particular worldview. This worldview
acts as a general template aiming to keep our various ideas or views consistent with one
another. In the world of developmental psychology, we have three or four different worldviews,
two of them being the most popular, the "mechanistic" which symbolizes the human individual
as a robot; the individual is passive and his development is entirely contingent upon external
forces otherwise known as the "nurture" approach. The "organismic" worldview symbolizes the
individual as a living plant. The organism is active, where bioligical development of brain
structures enable the individual to grow cognitively. Development is thus entirely contingent
upon internal factors, otherwise known as the "nature" approach.

Until today, Kohlberg's influence still holds true today, even though many of his modern
"followers" are seeking to re-interpret or re-new his model. I suppose it is no different than the
other great names of psychology like Freud, where the consequence of not obeying our
conscience is guilt and who believe that moral development is the product of aspects of the
super-ego as guilt-shame avoidance. Aristotle and Aquinas concluded from experience that we
have two basic sets of such drives, a view to which Sigmund Freud also finally came, at least if
his notion of the “death wish” is interpreted in the better way advocated by many of his disciples.
One of these sets of drives are those that move us to seek what gives us physical pleasure, for
example our pleasure in food and sex; and another that moves us to seek power over our
environment or other persons who raise difficulties for us in attaining our goals. The pleasure
drive is Freud’s libido and the power drives his aggression that he called a “death wish” only
because he first observed it in its morbid form of aggression turned against the self. The
cardinal virtue that controls the pleasure drive is moderation (temperance) and the one that
controls the power drive is courage (fortitude).

Lastly, it was once said that a building block of human morality visible in chimpanzees is the
desire for peace and harmony within the group. Celebrations break out when long-simmering
power struggles are resolved. We think this desire is related to the in-group foundation: group-
living creatures prefer (have an innate tendency to value) harmony within the cooperative
groups upon which they depend both for material sustenance and inter-group defense. We find
this desire in ourselves: we are a part of the community of morality researchers that has long
been divided on the question of moral innateness. This makes us uncomfortable, for we truly
like and value the many members of our community, and we have tried, to show how all are
right about something, all have something to contribute.
  Reaction on Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli has been called the brilliant creator of modern political science by some, and a cynical
beast by others; he is considered the originator of the idea of a political pragmatism that says "the
end justifies the means."

"I would rather be in hell and converse with great minds than live in paradise with that dull rabble." In
his life's writings, Niccolo Machiavelli, sought out the strength of the human character, and wrote
according to his own rules; trying to better the political philosophy of his time. Machiavelli, a fiercely
independent Renaissance man, advocated the prosperity of Italian politics, and wanted Italy to rise
above the rest of the world.

Machiavelli's writings dealt with many issues that had not been attacked in his time, and utilized his
distinct brand of political philosophy to try and change the politics and government that shaped his
era. If we analyze their systems of thought through the distorting, reductive lens of conventional
modern connotations, seemingly self-interested tactics of Machiavelli; as a consequence, we fail to
delve deeper into the complexity of these works. This dismissive approach needs to be unlearned
and replaced with a more detailed examination of how these figures redefine the notions of good and
evil as the foundations of their philosophy and political theory, respectively. Over the course of
describing ethical theories and the ways in which they transvalue, the moral standards of their times
and attempt to show that vice can legitimately constitute virtue.

Moreover, Machiavelli’s concept of good actions and moral behavior is tied to social and political
action and a sense of necessity. “Wrongdoing” for Machiavelli should be a term in quotations, since
it so-called evil actions are justified and made good by the positive outcomes his actions produce.

Having analyzed the ethical theory of Machiavelli, including his view of the self, free will, and
violence, and the anti-Christian sentiments featured therein, as well as Machiavelli's ethical
transvaluation and versions of consequentialism, I think we can see that there is a relation between
transvaluation and consequentialism: consequentialism itself is a form of transvaluation. In
Machiavelli, a transvaluation involves the redefinition of moral valuation away from the “intrinsic”,
deontological notion of an action’s value. Instead of looking at the actions themselves, they look at
whatever causally follows it to determine whether an action is right or wrong. Thus, Machiavelli
evaluates good in terms of consequences for others.

Comparing to the Romans, the parallels in modern times are straightforward: managers must make
every effort to become acquainted with what matters to business associates by engaging in
meaningful interactions with as many employees as possible. By communicating with staff members,
managers can minimize problems that in the long run threaten to undermine the competitive position
of any company like high employee turnover, actual or perceived inequalities that lead to under-
performance, less than ideal communication flow among departments, suboptimal use of intellectual
capital, and lawsuits that could have been avoided.

Leaving aside the caricatures of Machiavelli’s philosophy one finds that there are passionate
advocates and detractors, ideological antipodes, in about every aspect of Machiavelli’s political
thought, who nonetheless acknowledge the vitality of his writings.

Unquestionably, his work entitled "The Prince" is truly relevant to actuaries. As the profession
redefines itself, actuaries will unavoidably become more exposed to ideas on leadership. The current
tendency to stretch the concept to fit anybody’s desires and views makes the study of serious
intellectual works such as “The Prince” all the more germane to our understanding of the subject. In
the final instance, agreement or disagreement with Machiavelli’s thoughts is not important; what
matters is exposure to ideas that have shaped our culture, and a desire to examine them critically.