Greek philosophy
Plato and Aristotle's domain
Greek philosophy is the tradition of systematic inquiry that emerged in ancient Greece, addressing fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, and the nature of reality.
Beginning around the 6th century BCE with thinkers like Thales and continuing through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, it established methods of rational argument and logical analysis that shaped Western intellectual history.
The course covers Greek philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the Stoics.
Formal deductive argument structure
- four causesAristotle's explanatory framework
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
- potentialityCapacity to develop
- actualityState of existing fact
substance · form · matter · essence · Organon · Metaphysics · Nicomachean Ethics · Lyceum
State without monarchy
- SymposiumFormal academic conference
- AcademyElite scholarly institution
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
- PlatoGreek philosopher, academy founder
Dialogues · recollection · anamnesis · nous · transcendence · participation
First Western philosopher
- HeraclitusPre-Socratic philosopher of flux
- DemocritusAncient atomism's founder
- PythagorasAncient Greek mathematician
- logosBrand identification symbols
flux · fire · water · air · atoms · nous · cosmogony · pluralism
Happy, satisfied feeling
- ataraxiaImperturbable peace of mind
- GardenNamed place designation
- EpicurusAthenian pleasure-seeking sage
- atomismDiscrete particles compose everything
Lucretius · swerve · void · sensation · canonic · mortality · friendship · moderation
Formal deductive argument structure
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
- propositionStatement expressing a judgment
validity · fallacy · reasoning · dialectic · paradox · contradiction · premise · conclusion
Art of persuasive language
- relativismContext-dependent truth doctrine
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
- eristicProne to captious disputation
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
skepticism · arete · education
Moral goodness or merit
- areteSharp glacial ridge
- justiceFair treatment under law
- goodnessMoral excellence
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
temperance · courage · wisdom · cardinal virtues · moral character · habituation · practical wisdom · moral development
Study of existence's nature
- cosmologyStudy of universal structure
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- beingExisting as something
- substancePhysical material with mass
reality · existence · universals · particulars · causality · first principles · necessity · contingency
Brand identification symbols
- pneumaGreek vital spirit
- cosmopolitanismBelief in shared humanity
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- SenecaStoic moralist of Rome
syllogism
Formal deductive argument structure
- four causesAristotle's explanatory framework
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
- potentialityCapacity to develop
actuality · substance · form · matter · essence · Organon · Metaphysics · Nicomachean Ethics · Lyceum · peripatetic
Republic
State without monarchy
- SymposiumFormal academic conference
- AcademyElite scholarly institution
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
Plato · Dialogues · recollection · anamnesis · nous · transcendence · participation
Thales
First Western philosopher
- HeraclitusPre-Socratic philosopher of flux
- DemocritusAncient atomism's founder
- PythagorasAncient Greek mathematician
logos · flux · fire · water · air · atoms · nous · cosmogony · pluralism · monism
pleasure
Happy, satisfied feeling
- ataraxiaImperturbable peace of mind
- GardenNamed place designation
- EpicurusAthenian pleasure-seeking sage
atomism · Lucretius · swerve · void · sensation · canonic · mortality · friendship · moderation
syllogism
Formal deductive argument structure
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
proposition · validity · fallacy · reasoning · dialectic · paradox · contradiction · premise · conclusion · categorical
rhetoric
Art of persuasive language
- relativismContext-dependent truth doctrine
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
- eristicProne to captious disputation
agnosticism · skepticism · arete · education
virtue
Moral goodness or merit
prudence · temperance · courage · wisdom · cardinal virtues · moral character · habituation · practical wisdom · moral development · right action
ontology
Study of existence's nature
- cosmologyStudy of universal structure
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- beingExisting as something
substance · reality · existence · universals · particulars · causality · first principles · necessity · contingency · change
logos
Brand identification symbols
- pneumaGreek vital spirit
- cosmopolitanismBelief in shared humanity
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
Seneca · Marcus Aurelius · Meditations · prohairesis · memento mori
- Roman GreeceCorinth, Roman conquest, Roman rule, Roman governors, proconsuls
- ancient worldancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, pyramids, pyramid
- GreeceAcropolis, Parthenon, Athens, Greek, Hellenic
- history termsempire, dynasty, colonialism, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- ancient GreeceAthens, Sparta, Zeus, Parthenon, Acropolis
- ethicsmorality, deontology, dignity, sanctity of life, utilitarianism
Greek philosophyEastern thought
Asian intellectual traditions
Eastern philosophy · Indian philosophy · Chinese philosophy · Buddhist philosophy · Taoism
Greek philosophyreligious dogma
Fixed spiritual beliefs
mysticism · divine revelation · intuitive knowledge · gnosticism · religious fundamentalism
Greek philosophymodern philosophy
Post-medieval Western thought
post-structuralism · deconstruction · anti-foundationalism · pragmatism
philosophy, philosopher, Hellenistic, philosophical, philosophers, philosophize, philosophically, philosophizing, philosophizes