CultureT2C3-WesternPhilosophy【英美文化概况7】.pptVIP

Class 3 – Western Philosophy “Philosophy” – Greek word for “love of wisdom” Or… commonly known as the search for answers to life’s great questions What is man? Why are we here? What is truth? Why do we think? Why is it so hard to make girls happy? Why are we talking about philosophy in a culture class? Longer History Founded on oral tradition Contained principles to live by Younger Recorded in written form Made claims based on logical or empirical arguments Western Rationalism – the idea that life should be based on reason and logic, not based on emotion and superstition. Thales (624 -55o B.C.) He claimed that Nature is rational; therefore, human beings could use their reasoning abilities to understand Nature. He avoided mythology to explain things. Started “metaphysics” (what exists and how we know it exists) …eventually thought that water is the basis for everything Pythagoras (570 – 500 B.C.) Believed the entire natural world could be explained with numbers Heraclitus (535 – 475 B.C.) Famous for the idea that change is the only unchanging reality in the universe Parmenides (515 – 440 B.C.) Argued that change is an illusion Democritus (460 – 390 B.C.) Argued that events are not random; they are the result of mechanical laws. Developed the atomic theory. “At the time when Chinese scholars (Confucians and Taoists) were concerned with social relationships and human harmony with the world, Greek philosophers were arguing about what Nature itself was.” “By the end of the 5th Century B.C., certain concepts were familiar to most Greek thinkers. Rationalism, the belief that reason is the primary source of knowledge, was firmly believed by most of them. They believed that reality followed laws. Socrates (470 – 399) Did not teach for money Did not believe that he was a wise person “One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.” Developed the Socratic method, which is still used today The question-