Great Thinkers Think Alike! Socrates Plato and Aristotle Compiled by Amy

Philosophy  The study of General and fundamental problems such as:  Reality  Existence  Knowledge  Values  Reason  Mind  Language  Uses a critical approach to rational argument  Philosophy comes from the greek word philosophia which means the “love of wisdom”

Rational Argument  Not an argument but a discussion  With many rules of respect and response  Each point in a discussion is  Discussed  questioned

Three Great Thinkers  Socrates  Plato  Aristotle

Socrates  Athenian Philospher  469BC – 399BC  Know about him from Aristophanes plays  Father of Ethics  Socratic Method  Socrates once said, "I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others."

Socratic Method Rational Argument  Obsessed with truth and how to find it  Ask Questions  Determine the beliefs of the other person  Force that person to answer questions that contradict their own beliefs  By destroying someone’s argument you eliminate possibilities

Socrates Rules  No one desires evil.  No one errs or does wrong willingly or knowingly.  Virtue—all virtue—is knowledge.  Virtue is sufficient for happiness  The phrase socratic paradox can also refer to a self-referential paradox, originating in Socrates' phrase, “I know that I know nothing”

Trial and Death of Socrates  He is put on trial for “corrupting the youth” and sentenced to death.  He made the youth question some of the Ancient Greek held beliefs.  His students went to the jail to argue with him to escape and go into exile.  I won’t tell you what happens!

Plato  Born in Athens 429  Student of Socrates  Founded the Academy  Wrote his teachings and dialogues down

Plato’s Republic  Considered Plato’s masterpiece.  Describes what Plato thought would be a better form of government  Plato thought that most people were pretty stupid  They should not be voting about what to do.  Instead, the best people should be chosen to be the Guardians of the rest.

Plato’s Chair

Plato’s Cave  In the cave men chained to only see the back wall  One escapes  Sees the outside world  Goes back to explain it.  Do they believe him or think him crazy?

Plato’s Passion  What really matters?  What is real to you?  How do you know?  Immortality of the soul  The afterlife  Defines the difference between what is real and what is knowable.

Aristotle  Ancient Greek Philosopher  Polymath  Student of Plato  Teacher of Alexander the Great  Wrote about almost every subject.  Aristotle's theory of logic completely accounted for the core of deductive Reasoning

Aristotle’s Concerns  Studied almost every subject  Sciences: Anatomy, astronomy, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics, and zoology.  Philosophy: Aesthetics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics, economics, psychology, rhetoric, and theology.  Education, foreign Customs, Literature and Poetry

Deductive Logic  Aristotle departed from his two predecessors’ line of thought,  relying more on sensory input as a source of knowledge.  Today Aristotle is thought of as the granddaddy of the scientific method— despite the fact that he relied on pure reason, not experiment, to come to a conclusion  He was often wrong because he didn’t use a scientific method.

Truth of Aristotle  Aristotle was threatened by Alexander the Great.  Aristotle refused to believe that Alexander was a GOD.  He knew Alexander as a child, young man, and adult. There was nothing divine.  Many people believe that Aristotle was responsbile for Alexander’s death but it is contrary to all Aristotles teachings.

In Order  Socrates taught Plato  Plato taught Aristotle  Aristotle taught Alexander the Great.

Assignment  3 biocards  Write a description of something common without using the name of it.  Try to use descriptions that do not give the item away.  We will use logic to determine what you are describing.

The Seeds of Knowledge Make a scroll page decorated in Greek form with beans and/or seeds. On the perimeter. Have the children ask questions based on the philosophy methods of each of the three thinkers: Use this as an example. Let htem give their answers. It may be surprising? Socrates asks Is this truly a seed? How do you know it is a seed? What is a seed? Plato asks What does a seed signify to you? Aristotle asks What kind of seed is this? All seeds grow into plants. This is a seed This will grow into a plant.

More Sources!   Historyforkids.org  Plato’s Republic  Trial and Death of Socrates  ates-vs-plato-vs- aristotle/#ixzz2EANRWwUG ates-vs-plato-vs- aristotle/#ixzz2EANRWwUG ates-vs-plato-vs- aristotle/#ixzz2EANRWwUG  tml