ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS/PHILOSOPHY

- Philosophy was started in Ancient Greece.

- Political Philosophy is a branch of philosophy
- Philosophy came from the Greek words “Philos” (Love) and “Sophia (Wisdom)
- This statement says that a philosopher is not wise, he is in pursuit of being wise I.e
pursuit of wisdom
- There was a lot of idle time to think in Ancient Greece, resulting in the birth of
philosophy.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

Cosmology - study of the universe

Astronomy - once was a part of cosmology, however it broke away from philosophy
due to astronomy embracing the scientific method
Theodicy - The study of God based on reason
Theology - study of god based on faith
Epistemology - study of knowledge
Axiology - the study of values
Aesthetics - study of beauty
Logic - study of correct reasoning as distinguished from wrong reasoning
Metaphysics - study of anything beyond the physical, study of being or essences
Meta means beyond. Physics means physical

Politics/Political Theory/Political Philosophy - study the origin, the reason, and the
ramification of different forms of government and ideologies.

PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS
- they concerned themselved with the concept of the universe and its origin.
- they were concerned with something that is found in everything (Arche)
- Arche simply means origin, beginning, substance, principle

Thales
- father of philosophy/first philosopher
- the one thing can be found in everything is water
- water was everywhere, and that is how he arrived at the conclusion that water is the
origin of everything.

Anaximander
- the source of everything is Apeiron, which simply means infinity or boundless
- the beginning of everything does not have a form, indefinite.

Anaximenes
- the one thing that can be found in everything is Air.
- He believed in degrees of condensation of moisture that corresponded to the densities
of various types of matter. When “most evenly distributed,” aer is the common, invisible
air of the atmosphere. By condensation it becomes visible, first as mist or cloud, then as
water, and finally as solid matter such as earth or stones. If further rarefied, it turns to
fire.

Heraclitus
- the one thing that can be found in everything is Fire.
- everything is consumed by fire, and because everything is consumed by fire, everything
is in constant flux i.e nothing stays the same.
Ex. Wood can be consumed by fire and turned into Ash
Pythagoras
- the one thing that can be found in everything are Numbers.
- he created the pythagorean theorem
- numbers are infinite, everything can be explained by numbers.

OTHER PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS

- was concerned with finding human happiness.

Epicurus
- according to Epicurus, we can attain happiness by freedom for fear and pain.
- according to him, human beings are moved by 2 elements only, to gain pleasure and to
avoid pain.
- Epicureanism says that to be happy, you must the maximum amount of pleasure and
avoid pain.
- “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die.”

Zeno
- Happiness is obtained by conforming to divine will
- founder of Stoicism (Stoicism came from the word “Stoa” (porch) where Zeno’s
followers gathered .
- If we want to be happy, we simply have to follow 4 virtues: Wisdom, courage,
temperance, justice.

Wisdom is to control which can be controlled, accepting which cannot be controlled,

and play one’s role in society.
Courage is to conquer the fear inside.
Temperance simply means moderation.
Justice means to give everyone what they deserve, their dues.

Skepticism
- founded by the skeptics
- concerned about the human being’s knowledge, not happiness.
- knowledge is obtained by our senses, but our senses can be deceived, and can deceive
us.
- if knowledge can be gained by using senses, and those senses can be deceived, then
everything in the mind is doubtful.

SOCRATIC ERA

Socrates
- concerned on finding happiness
- in order for be us to be happy, we must lead a good life.
- a good life is a life or good life for a human being, for our lives are different from the
lives of a cat or a dog.
- In order for us to lead a good life, we should know first what a human being is.
- We must know ourselves.
- After knowing ourselves, then we will know what is good for us as a human being.
- The problem is, we are all human beings, but we do not know what a human being is.
- “We do not know what we do not know”
- Humans are unsatiable beings , because our mind is an ungiving mind.
- We are always concerned with which we do not possess.
- To know oneself, one must accept that one does not know oneself, and that one does
not know that one does not know oneself.
- No one does evil intentionally, for every action we take is good. However, we do not
know what is good.
- According to Socrates, when we speak of knowing something, that thing is not
knowledge until it is not practiced. (Theory + Application = Knowledge)
- “To know the good is to do the good.” (Knowledge is Virtue)
- Socrates is not wise since he told us that he does not know himself
- His teachings inspired many people and he gained followers. Because of this, Greek
politicians were jealous of Socrates and so they charged him with the corruption of a
minor and establishing a religion. He was sentenced to death.

CRITTO (A DIALOGUE)

Plato's dialogue Crito takes place in Socrates's prison cell, where he awaits execution.
He is visited before dawn by his old friend Crito, who has made arrangements to
smuggle Socrates out of prison to the safety of exile. Socrates seems quite willing to
await his imminent execution, and so Crito presents as many arguments as he can to
persuade Socrates to escape. On a practical level, Socrates' death will reflect badly on
his friends, becasuse people will think they did nothing to try to save him. Also, Socrates
should not worry about the risk or the financial cost to his friends. They are willing to
pay these, and they have also arranged to find Socrates a pleasant life in exile. On a
more ethical level, Crito presents two more pressing arguments. First, if he stayed, he
would be aiding his enemies in wronging him unjustly, and would thus be acting unjustly
himself. Second, he would be abandoning his sons and leaving them without a father.

Socrates answers first that one should not worry about public opinion, but only listen to
wise and expert advice. Crito should not worry about how his, Socrates's, or the
reputations of others may fare in the general esteem: they should only concern
themselves with behaving well. The only question at hand is whether or not it would be
just for Socrates to attempt an escape. If it is just, he will go with Crito, if it is unjust, he
must remain in prison and face death.

At this point, Socrates introduces the voice of the Laws of Athens, which speaks to him
and explain why it would be unjust for him to leave his cell. Since the Laws exist as one
entity, to break one would be to break them all, and in doing so, Socrates would cause
them great harm. The citizen is bound to the Laws like a child is bound to a parent, and
so to go against the Laws would be like striking a parent. Rather than simply breaking
the Laws and escaping, Socrates should try to persuade the Laws to let him go. These
Laws present the citizen's duty to them in the form of a kind of social contract. By
choosing to live in Athens, a citizen is implicitly endorsing the Laws, and is willing to
abide by them. Socrates, more than most, should be in accord with this contract, as he
has lived a happy seventy years fully content with the Athenian way of life.

If Socrates were to break out of prison now, having so consistently validated the social
contract, he would be making himself an outlaw who would not be welcome in any
other civilized state for the rest of his life. And when he dies, he will be harshly judged in
the underworld for behaving unjustly toward his city's Laws. Thus, Socrates convinces
Crito that it would be better not to attempt an escape.