Ancient Greek Philosophy

What the resources cover

Most of this unit is made up of mind maps, and they centre on three thinkers. The Socrates map gives his dates, his execution and his place as the first of the great three thinkers of Classical Greece. Plato gets the widest coverage: the Theory of Forms, the Allegory of the Cave, the Republic and justice. Aristotle has maps on eudaimonia, the Four Causes and Prime Mover, and his Politics.

Where to start

Begin with the overview maps, Plato and Aristotle Summary and Ancient Greek Philosophers. They show who taught whom and where the two disagree. Aristotle's map says the world we live in is where true knowledge can be found, which sets him against Plato's two realms.

1. Read the Socrates map for background.
2. Work through Plato's Theory of Forms and the Allegory of the Cave.
3. Move on to Aristotle, then to the Politics map and its six kinds of constitution.

Going deeper

Once the basics are clear, look at evaluation. Strengths and Weaknesses of Plato's Theory of the Forms explains why we recognise the same essential features in different things, and where the theory runs into trouble. The note on The Similes covers the ship simile and what it says about direct democracy and how philosophers were treated in Athens. Some resources mention A-level Philosophy and OCR A-level Religious Studies, so they suit those courses.

Using quizzes and maps together

Read a map, close it, then take a quiz such as Aristotle Revision Quiz, Pre-Socratic Philosophy or Plato quiz. Wrong answers show which map to reopen. Flashcard sets such as the key terms decks on Plato and Aristotle then help you fix the vocabulary.

Where this unit sits

This unit belongs to the History of Philosophy strand in the Philosophy subject. Teachers can use the slide sets on Socrates, Plato and Aristotle as ready-made starting points. Choose one thinker today and see how much you can recall.