Ancient Greek Criticis

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Socrates

Plato

Aristotle

(469-399BC)

‡ Born in Athens, the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife.

‡ Greek philosopher who profoundly affected Western philosophy through his influence on Plato.

‡ Achieved social popularity because of his ready wit and a keen sense of humor that was completely devoid of satire.

‡ Belief in a purely objective understanding of such concepts as justice, love, and virtue, and the self-knowledge that he inculcated, were the basis of his teachings.

‡ Greatest philosophical personality in history

‡ Left no written work and is known through the writings of his students, especially those of his most famous pupil, Plato.

‡ Refused to accept payment for his teachings, maintaining that he had no positive knowledge to offer except the awareness of the need for more knowledge

‡ He was condemned to death and took his own life.

(427-ca.-347BC)

‡ Student of Socrates and founder of the Academy in Athens

‡ A Greek Philosopher and was one of the brilliant figures in the history of Western Philosophy

‡ He was born in Athens from an aristocratic family.

‡ He was the son of Ariston and Perictione.

‡ His father died when he was still young and her mother married Pyrilampes.

‡ At the age of 20, he fell under the spell of the controversial thinker and teacher Socrates.

‡ He admired his teacher Socrates.

‡ When Socrates died (399 B.C.), he left Athens and traveled to Italy, Sicily and Egypt.

‡ He returned to Athens and founded the Academy.

ACADEMY- often described as the first European University

‡ He learned the dialectical method of pursuing truth by a systematic questioning of received ideas and opinions from Socrates.

Plato’s writings were in dialogue form; philosophical ideas were advanced, discussed, and criticized in the context of a conversation or debate involving two or more persons.

Plato’s Works

‡ His collections include 35 dialogues and 13 letters.

‡ These dialogues are devoted to exploring and defining concepts such as virtue, temperance, courage, piety, and justice.

The dialogues may be divided into early, middle, and later periods of composition.

EARLY DIALOGUES• Charmides (an attempt to define

temperance)• Lysis (a discussion of friendship)• Laches (a pursuit of the meaning of

courage)• Protagoras (a defense of the thesis

that virtue is knowledge and can be taught)

• Euthyphro (a consideration of the nature of piety)

• Crito (Socrates’ defense of obedience to the laws of the state)

• Apology (Socrates’ defense of himself at his trial against the charges of atheism and corrupting Athenian youth)

MIDDLE DIALOGUES

• Phaedo (the death scene of Socrates, in which he discusses the theory of Forms, the nature of the soul, and the question of immortality)

• Republic (Plato’s supreme philosophical achievement, which is a detailed discussion of the nature of justice)

• Symposium (Plato’s outstanding dramatic achievement, which contains several speeches on beauty and love)

LATE DIALOGUES

• Theaetetus (a denial that knowledge is to be identified with sense perception; concerned with knowledge)

• Parmenides (a critical evaluation of the theory of Forms)

• Sophist (further consideration of the theory of Ideas, or Forms; offers a different view of reality)

• Philebus (a discussion of the relationship between pleasure and the good)

• Timaeus (Plato’s views on natural science and cosmology)

• Laws (a more practical analysis of political and social issues).