Religion

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SOCRATES

Three main ideas

The interior life (soul) is essential for leading a good life

If a person seeks goodness, truth, justice and self-knowledge is 'healthy', someone seeking wealth, fame and power becomes weak and ignorant

Evil is caused by Ignorance

People who cheat, lie, steal, harm others are always motivated by their own ignorance concerning what is good-don't know what is important in life

The Unexamined life is not worth living

Examining and criticizing ourselves psyches become strong-seeking goodness justice, truth and self knowledge strengthens our inner selves, nevertheless whether we find answers

Who was Socrates?

Greek Philosopher (lover of wisdom)

Famous Quotes: "True knowledge exists in knowing nothing" and “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

He altered the way Athenian society studied itself, challenged the perception of the philosophers

He opposed against sophists (workers of wisdom or teachers, wealthy men whose profession was to teach aristocratic young men how to be successful

According to sophist success was the ability to gain and hold onto wealth fame and power-Socrates challenges this and said it should be morals-the ability to think and re-evaluate moral values

He was a working class man served in army and a bricklayer by trade

The oracle at Delphi labeled him "he wisest man in Athens"-Socrates did not believe this and aimed to prove the oracle- "there m be someone wiser than I, since I am not wise at all"

He was sentenced to death via poison due challenging values disrespect for the Gods and poisoning young men's minds

Approach to Philosophy

Did not write, all knowledge of him is written by others mostly Plato)

He challenged others values of Goodness, Justice, Truth, Self-knowledge and criticised Sophists because they claimed to know all

Summary of Three Main Ideas

1. In order to lead a good life it is essential to value the interior life. Those who seek goodness, truth, justice and self-knowledge will live a 'healthy'life however those who seek wealth fame and power will become weak and ignorant.

2. Evil is caused by ignorance of what is good. Those who perform evil acts do not know the importance of life

3. Constant self-evaluation is important in order to fulfill a good life.

I agree that self-evaluation is important in order to fulfill a good life and that goodness, justice, truth and self-knowledge should be the values of a good life. I also strongly agree that evil is caused by ignorance of a good life.

How does society support/not support socrates understanding of a good lief?

Support: People of modern society, we have a justice system which supports truth and justice, Australian of the Year. Recent trends reflection and meditation encourage self-examination, fake news encourages us to reflect on information

not support: our media encourages the idea that wealth, fame and power will help you live a good life and a majority of the time we choose not to value people of goodness, truth, justice and self-knowledge

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Plato

About:

427-348 BCE

-200 yrs after Pythagoras

-Plato means the broad

-Son of wealthy Athens family

-Served in the Athens army

-developed an Academy

Plato and Socrates

-Student of socrates

-left Athens after Socrates was sentenced to death and travels

-in Italy he met the Pythagoreans

The Academy

-387 BCE Plato returned to Athens to establish a school for philosophy

-the road to knowledge lay in exact reasoning alike mathematices

"Let none who does not know geometry enter here"

**Concerned about reality and how do we know things -what is real

-different types of reality

Tabgible (see)

Intangible (interlectual)

The divided Line

ultimate Goal: Udimodia when forms and ideas are exceeded

Continuem line from lowest to the highest sense of reality

i.e. a table or item is in the sensible world (lowest) whereas the concept of love is intelligible

Types of reality

Sensible world: senses only opinion

-shadows and reflections (appear to be there)

-Objects

Intelligible World: concept or idea only be thought about in the mind (knowledge)

-Matters understood by deductive reasoning (mathematics)

-Forms and ideas (purest from of reality)

To end all wars-Clickview Exam!!

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Fedrich Nietzsche KneeCha

-How to become who we truly are

Own up to envy-must face up to our true desires, not a bad emotion, work towards desires

Don't be a Christian-slave morality as it prevents desires a way to mask desires

Never drink alcohol-numbed pain, getting really valuable things done hurts (suffering) we grow through suffering (what doesn’t kill me make me stronger)

God is dead-believed philosophy and art should (culture) replace religion

"I wish only suffering to those I love"

The more Displeasure will equal the more pleasure, to have one you must have the other

What do I agree with?

I agree that pleasure has two parts where the more pleasure the more displeasure, this is because we only really recognise happiness through having sadness.

What don’t' I agree with?

I don’t fully agree that we shouldn't become Christians and that we should follow our desires entirely. I don’t believe we should follow our desires if it effects someone else.

Two types of evil

Natural evil: suffering caused by events that have nothing to do with human, a result of the world

(e.g. natural disasters)

Moral Evil: suffering caused by humans acting in a way that is considered morally wrong

Evil is the cause of suffering (e.g. Theft, Bullying, rape, murder)

Two types of evil

Natural evil: suffering caused by events that have nothing to do with human, a result of the world

(e.g. natural disasters)

Moral Evil: suffering caused by humans acting in a way that is considered morally wrong

Evil is the cause of suffering (e.g. Theft, Bullying, rape, murder)

If you suffer God Suffers

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Virtue Ethics

The goal of life is well-being (happiness) and the means to attain it is by acquiring a virtuous character

What are virtues?

excellence-originates from ancient greece

Socrates "the greatest good for a man is to discuss virtue all day ... on the grounds that the unexamined life is not worth living"

Aristotle: to understand happiness we must understand virtue

Two types of virtues

Intellectual: can be taught, involve knowledge and understanding of why and how

-Theoretical wisdom

-scientific knowledge

-insight or understanding

-technical skill or art

-practical wisdom

Moral Virtues: can only acquired through practice and experience, involve acquiring habits and appropriate management of emotions, moral virtues a not habits as every instance is different

-moderation

-justice

-courage

-generosity

-temperment

Can have excess or deficiency of a moral virtue

Good is achieved by meeting the 'golden mean' of moral virtues, this is done through using intellectual virtues

How do we know what the mean is

1. we learn by observation (intellectual virtues)

2. Through institutions

3. Through prudence

Virtuous characters act virtuously to be good not for the consequences

Human happiness is the highest achievement of what means to human, achieving the virtuous character