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the beginnings of doing

philosophy
date @September 5, 2021

lesson 2

status complete

TRIUMVIRATE
1. thales

2. anaximander

3. anaximenes

a group of 3 men holding power

the first thinkers of the nature of reality

they considered the doctrine hylozoist

the history of western philosophy started with group of metaphysicians from Miletus
called Milesians

HYLOZOISM
doctrine that all matter has life

"hylo" - stuff, "zoe" - life

it asserts that universe is alive or animate and material

all life is inseparable from matter

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 they would see everything as living things

example: for thales, a magnet is alive because it can move objects

1. THALES - WATER IS THE PRIMORIDAL STUFF OF REALITY

father of western philosophy

one of the 7 sages in greece

sages - wise men; philosophers known for their wisdom

a businessman, traded olive oil

a mathematician and astronomer

first person recorded in the history to attempt philosophizing

650 B.C. (western philo) water is the primordial stuff of reality

believed that earth is flat. once you reach the edge of the horizon you will fall

REASON FOR WATER BEING THE PRIMORIDAL STUFF OF REALITY:

water is everywhere, it can change into solid, liquid, gas. therefore water is the
originating principle of all things.

💡 basically he believed that everything is made of water, or everything

came from water.

2. ANAXIMANDER - BELIEVED IN APEIRON

610-540 B.C.

student of thales

believed that earth is cylindrical and is suspended in space

first philosopher to attempt to draw a map

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 APEIRON

he claimed that the fundamental substance of reality is the infinite or "apeiron"

has no precise characteristics or attributes

it is ageless and eternal

it encompasses all the worlds

however, apeiron is based from speculation instead of observation

— meron siyang paniniwala na gawa gawa lang aka "apeiron" may makita lang
siyang isang bagay, tatawagan niya nang "apeiron"

3. ANAXIMENES - FUNDAMENTAL SUBSTANCE IS AIR

student of anaximander

to him, we are living in air (??)

"Just as our soul being air holds us together, so do breathe and air
encompasses the whole world."

earth and other heavenly bodies are like saucers floating in air

believes the earth is shaped like a saucer. thus, earth is flat and round

4. PYTHAGORAS - PRIMARY CONSTITUENT IS NUMBERS

531 B.C.

ionian greek philosopher

pre-socratic philosopher (before the existence of socrates)

leader of the religious cult called Pythagoreans

philosophy is a way of life, religion is connected with philosophy

he considered philosophy and mathematics as good for the purification of the

soul

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 contemplative life is a cathartic process of purification
— contemplation, reflection are very much needed when you want to know
something or identify something

— silence gives knowledge

— contemplative life = purified life

BELIEVED THE PRIMARY CONSTITUENT OF REALITY WOULD BE NUMBERS

everything contributes numbers

example:
— a charger has length, width, height

— water has volume and weight

— you can measure anything

everything has a measurement. therefore, everything is composed of numbers

5. HERACLITUS - FIRE IS HIS FIRST PRINCIPAL

500 B.C.

mystic philosopher on the idea of change

he believed that the only thing permanent is change

everything is constantly changing

change = fire

— does not mean to say that all things literally come from fire. instead, this world
order, much like fire, is constantly changing, transforming eternally.

— fire changes everything

example: pag sinunog mo yung phone, magbabago uri nito

"you cannot step in the same river twice"

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 — the world constantly changes and that no two situations are exactly the same.
just as water flows in a river, one cannot touch the exact same water twice
when one steps into a river because the water and life within a river are
always changing, and so are you.

6. PARMINEDES - BELIEVED THAT BEING IS WHAT'S CONSTANT

IN THIS WORLD
450 B.C.

pre-socratic philosopher in magna graecia

leader of Eleatic school, from Elea in Southern Italy, now

Velia in Naples

contradicts heraclitus' concept of change

believed that what is constant in this world is “being”

doesn't believe in the concept of change

change is just an illusion

change is not happening. being lang daw.

BEING

indescructable

— contradicts the idea of change

immovable

complete

without beginning or end

inspiration of phenomenology and existentialism

7. EMPEDOCLES - REALITY IS MADE OF 4 ELEMENTS: WATER,

FIRE, AIR, EARTH
493-433 B.C.

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 had a lover named pausanias

he cured somebody who was in a coma for 24 months

he believed himself to be immortal and had magical powers

to prove his immortality, he jumped into the mouth of a volcano

💡 ALL OF THESE PHILOSOPHERS HAD DIARIES, JOURNALS, ETC. THEY

WROTE EVERYTHING

8. ANAXAGORAS - IDEA OF "NOUS" OR THE MIND

480 B.C.

pluralist philosopher

matter is infinitely divisible

idea of "nous" or the mind

— infinite and self-ruled

— has knowledge about all things

— has the greatest strength and power

— an inspiration for the concept of christian god

9. ZENO OF ELEA - BELIEVED THAT THERE IS NO MOTION

490 b.c.

he was student and loyal follower of parminedes

no motion = no change (like his teacher pariminedes)

name is zeno of elea because he worked with pariminedes who was a leader
of eleatic school from elea in southern italy

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 ZENO'S PARADOX/2 ARGUMENTS ON ZENO'S IDEA OF NO MOTION

1. achilles and the tortoise paradox

EXPLANATION 1:

first, the tortoise is given a head start. for achilles to overtake the tortoise, achilles
would first have to cover the distance to the point where the tortoise began. in that
time, the tortoise would have moved, so achilles would have to cover that distance.
giving the tortoise time to amble forward a bit more. logically, this would carry on
forever. how ever small the gap between them, the tortoise would still be able to
move forward, while achilles was catching up. meaning that achilles could never
overtake. this paradox suggests that all movement is impossible.

EXPLANATION 2:

the tortoise is given a head start. the race begins and achilles bursts forward,
catching up to the tortoise. however, by the time achilles has made it towards the
tortoise's starting point, the tortoise has moved forward by 1 meter. by the time
achilles catches up on the new gap, the tortoise has moved again, creating a new
but smaller gap. every time that achilles reaches the point where the tortoise was, a
new smaller gap is formed. the tortoise continues to go forward, and so always
remains slightly ahead of achilles.

PPT EXPLANATION:

achilles will not be able to catch up with tortoise

racecourse could be divided into an infinite number of points

adaptation of Anaxagoras’ idea that matter is infinitely divisible

before reaching the tortoise, Achilles has to pass the halfway of

the halfway of the distance of him and the tortoise

thus, there is no motion

DOMDOMDOMDOM'S EXPLANATION:

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 💡 basically, achilles will never be able to overtake the tortoise because
he'll have to cover the distance na dinaan ng tortoise first. even though
achilles is super close to the tortoise, he'll still never be first kasi
nadaanan na yun ng tortoise before him.

2. arrow paradox

at any point in time, an arrow can only occupy on position and is therefore
motionless.

at every point in time, the arrow is motionless

if the arrow is motionless a every point in time, then it does not move. movement is
just an illusion

PPT EXPLANATION:

considering matter is infinitely divisible

arrow seems to be in a certain portion of space

arrow in flight is at rest by dividing space in its path

here, it disregards the idea of time, velocity and space

thus, there is no motion

DOMDOMDOMDOM'S EXPLANATION:

💡 basically, zeno states that for motion to occur, an object has to change
the position it occupies in space. a shooting arrow can only occupy one
position, which is going straight forward. the position doesn't change.
therefore, the arrow is motionless.

10. LEUCIPPUS AND DEMOCRITUS - ULTIMATE SUBSTANCE OF

REALITY IS ATOMS

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 their belief is what we believe in today

inseparable

indivisible

ultimate constituent of matter

DOING PHILOSOPHY: EAST AND WEST

WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

revolutionary because it went against tradition

tends to make heavy logic, reason and categorization

breaks down ideas and focuses on the parts rather than the whole

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

is associated with their religion

no dichotomy between the objective world and the human being

could be summarized as philosophy being a way of life

eastern philosophers: Lao-Tzu, Mencius, Confucius

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