Download Lecture 3: Introducing Socrates

GREEK PHILOSOPHY 2 | CLASS 3: JAN 9, 2017
I N T R O D U C I N G S O C R AT E S
DR. MICHAEL GRIFFIN
CLASSICS & PHILOSOPHY
S O C R AT E S . A R T S . U B C . C A / 2 1 2
T O D AY
• Overview of Greek Philosophy:
8th-4th centuries BCE
• Socrates: The Founder
OVERVIEW OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY
8TH-4TH CENTURIES BCE
Socrates
469-399 BCE, Athens
Zeno
334-262 BCE, Citium
Plato
429-347 BCE, Athens
Epictetus
55-135 CE, Rome
Aristotle
384-322 BCE, Athens
Marcus Aurelius
121-180 CE, Rome
Crates & Hipparcheia
c. 365-285 BCE, Athens
Plotinus
c. 204/5-270 CE, Rome
THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
THE 8TH-6TH
CENTURIES BCE
• The Hellenic (Greek) world was comprised
of hundreds of individual poleis (city-states)
• Every polis was culturally distinct
‣ Calendar
‣ Religion
‣ Dialectic
‣ Political system
• What bound them together?
‣ Myth: expounded in the epic poetry of
Homer & Hesiod
‣ Sport: Olympic Games, Delphic Games,
Nemean Games
‣ Both exemplify a common world-view, a
portrayal of excellence (ARETÊ) or a
human life well-lived
THE 5TH
CENTURY
• Classical Athens is the first
‘people-ruled’ polis (dēmokratia)
in the Mediterranean world
• She has achieved unchallenged
naval authority and an empire
which is labeled a
‘commonwealth’
• At the commercial and cultural
crossroads of Italy, Greece,
Egypt, and the Near East
THE 5TH
CENTURY
• Traditional views are
challenged, leading to a
perceived erosion of moral
values
• The poets transmit traditional
morality, while the sophists
teach “wisdom” including
rhetoric and political oratory,
perceived as a new
‘technology’, to steer the ship
of state for one’s own ends
THE 5TH
CENTURY
• Socrates (469-399 BCE), the
son of a stonemason, becomes
one of the most visible figures
in the democracy
• His non-conformity (versus the
poets), claims of ignorance
(versus the sophists), and
distinctive process of questionand-answer became the model
for philosophia and shaped
later philosophy & science
THE 4TH
CENTURY
• In the 4th century, Plato
(428-348 BCE) published a
series of ‘dialogues of
Socrates’ that were widely
read, and founded the
Academy
• After Plato, a series of
philosophers including
Aristotle founded schools
similar to the Academy and
spread philosophia throughout
the Mediterranean world
S O C R AT E S
THE FOUNDER
S O C R AT E S
• According to tradition, born to a stonemason named Sophroniscus in 469 BCE
• “The Socratic problem”: Socrates wrote nothing, and we know about him only
through Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes, whose accounts vary widely
• Developed a unique form of inquiry into human excellence (aretē)
• Disclaimed wisdom (against sophists); denied that he “taught”; no fees
• Methods based on question and answer (the elenchus), requiring unity or
consistency (a) of one’s beliefs, and (b) of one’s beliefs and actions
• Behaviour peculiar enough to warrant its own verb (sōkratein) (e.g., Aristophanes,
Birds 1282) before philosophia generalized ‘Socraticism’.
• Conversed with anyone, “rich or poor, citizen or foreigner” (Apology 23C)
• Brought to trial in 399 BCE by two Athenians, Meletus and Anytus, on charges of
“impiety and corrupting the young.” Portrayed in Apology by Plato & Xenophon.