Philosophy in Ancient Greece
Brandon John ADP, SCS/1108/029
Question 2: Philosophy in Ancient Greece and its Influence on Western Culture
“My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you 'll be happy; if not, you 'll become a philosopher.” – Socrates, Greek philosopher Socrates, like many of the greatest minds in history, was rather different from others in his time. In the quote above, we catch a glimpse of his genius in his likening of an unhappily married man to that of a philosopher. The implication is indirect but obvious enough: when life becomes rife with problems, it forces the common man(or woman) to sit down and think. While thinking has been in mankind’s repertoire of abilities since we first evolved beyond the intelligence of a walnut, the art of philosophy takes it to a whole new level. William F. Lawhead, in his academic work ‘The Philosophical Journey’ proposed several definitions for philosophy. According to him, philosophy is the asking of questions about the meaning of our most basic concepts. He also claims that philosophy is the search for fundamental beliefs that are rationally justified. Basic stuff, really; these are widely-accepted definitions. It was in his analysis of the thoughts of Danish philosopher and literary genius Søren Kierkegaard(1813 - 1855) that I found the most fascinating: “Kierkegaard believed that it is much easier to be complacent, to be self-satisfied, and to stick with beliefs that are comfortable and familiar than to be painfully and fully honest with ourselves and to subject our deepest convictions to examination. In Kierkegaard’s day, everyone was claiming to provide the answers to everyone else’s problems. Kierkegaard, however, though that his greatest contribution to society would be to provide the problems to everyone’s answers. Only in this way, he thought, would we be goaded into searching for those
Question 2: Philosophy in Ancient Greece and its Influence on Western Culture
“My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you 'll be happy; if not, you 'll become a philosopher.” – Socrates, Greek philosopher Socrates, like many of the greatest minds in history, was rather different from others in his time. In the quote above, we catch a glimpse of his genius in his likening of an unhappily married man to that of a philosopher. The implication is indirect but obvious enough: when life becomes rife with problems, it forces the common man(or woman) to sit down and think. While thinking has been in mankind’s repertoire of abilities since we first evolved beyond the intelligence of a walnut, the art of philosophy takes it to a whole new level. William F. Lawhead, in his academic work ‘The Philosophical Journey’ proposed several definitions for philosophy. According to him, philosophy is the asking of questions about the meaning of our most basic concepts. He also claims that philosophy is the search for fundamental beliefs that are rationally justified. Basic stuff, really; these are widely-accepted definitions. It was in his analysis of the thoughts of Danish philosopher and literary genius Søren Kierkegaard(1813 - 1855) that I found the most fascinating: “Kierkegaard believed that it is much easier to be complacent, to be self-satisfied, and to stick with beliefs that are comfortable and familiar than to be painfully and fully honest with ourselves and to subject our deepest convictions to examination. In Kierkegaard’s day, everyone was claiming to provide the answers to everyone else’s problems. Kierkegaard, however, though that his greatest contribution to society would be to provide the problems to everyone’s answers. Only in this way, he thought, would we be goaded into searching for those
Bibliography: 1. Lawhead, William F. (2009). The Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach. Fourth Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2. Peoples, J., & Bailey, G. (2010). Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Ninth Edition. Cengage Learning. 3. J.W. Jepson, & D. Min. The Influence of Greek Philosophy on the Development of Christian Theology. The Gospel Truth, http://www.gospeltruth.net/gkphilo.htm 4. Siddique, Zainan. (2005). The Impact of the Greek Philosophers on Modern Education. Chowk, http://www.chowk.com/Views/Education/The-Impact-of-the-Greek-Philosophers-on-Modern-Education 5. Hunt, L. (1995). The Challenge of the West. Lexington, MA: D.C. Health and Company (pp 66-69, 81-83) 6. Wilson, Emily. (2007). The Death of Socrates(excerpt from her book Introduction: The Man Who Drank the Hemlock). The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119559033449699536.html 7. darkside(alias, real name not given). (2010). Greek Philosophy. HubPages, http://darkside.hubpages.com/hub/greek-philosophy 8. Schrader, Helena P. (1993-2011). Sparta Reconsidered. http://elysiumgates.com/~helena/index.html