Presocratics Research Paper

What contribution did the Presocratics make to the early development of philosophy?
Before the Presocratics the world was under the influence of the Olympian gods who were much like humans, changeable and willful. The Greek world was wondering about what the universe was made of and how it came to assume its present form. The Presocratics were 6th and 5th century BCE Greek thinkers who were not influenced by the views of Socrates and who introduced a new way of thinking about the world and the place of human beings in it. They sought the origins of things and the order of the universe, but in addition to science they were also interested in ethics and the criticism of contemporary religion. These philosophers rejected the myth of a cosmos
For Pythagoreans, the principle of being is seen in what gives form and shape rather than what is formed and shaped. According to Pythagoras, number or mathematical principle was that which gives order, harmony, rhythm, and beauty to the world. This harmony keeps a balance both in the cosmos and in the soul. The mathematical order in beings is perceivable not by the physical senses but by senses of the soul. Pythagoras conceived mathematics as the method for liberating the soul from the bondages of bodily senses and essentially as religious training. For Pythagoras, the soul is immortal and the cultivation of the soul is achieved by the studies of truth and the ascetic life. Pythagoras was the first person who took up the issue of virtue in philosophy. Pythagoras argued that there are three kinds of men who came to the Olympic Games, just as there are three classes of strangers. The lowest consists of those who come to buy and sell, and next above them are those who come to compete. Best of all are those who simply come to look on. Men may be classified accordingly as lovers of gain, lovers of honor, and lovers of wisdom. That seems to suggest the doctrine of the tripartite soul, attributed to the doctrine of Plato. Pythagoreans also believed in the transmigration of the human soul after death into other animal forms. The doctrine
For a fee, they taught students how to argue for the practical end of winning their case. While they were well acquainted with and taught the theories of philosophers, they were less concerned with inquiry and discovery than with persuasion. Social and moral issues come to occupy the center of attention for the Sophists. Their tendency towards doubt about the capacity of reason to reveal truth and their cosmopolitan circumstances which exposed them to a broad range of social customs and codes, lead the Sophists to take a relativist stance on ethical matters. The Sophists claimed to be able to help their students better themselves through the acquisition of certain practical skills, especially rhetoric (the art of persuasion). The Sophists filled this need for rhetorical training and by their teaching proved that education could make an individual a more effective citizen and improve his status in Athenian