Pythagora, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Thales
Pythagoras
Another pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, Pythagoras is someone known far more for his theories and ideas in mathematics than in philosophy. In fact, he is best known for the theorem in geometry that is named after him. He is one of the most familiar names from pre-Socratic society, but yet, what we know about him surprisingly less. He is credited with founding a philosophical school that amassed him a number of followers.
It was at this school that Pythagoras tried to find a mutual harmony between real life and the practical aspects of philosophy. His teachings were not strictly constricted to what we know as philosophy, but also included common issues like ‘rules on living’, ‘daily food to eat’ and so on.
He regarded the world as perfect harmony and aimed his teaching on how to lead a harmonious life.
Socrates
Socrates embarked a whole new perspective of achieving practical results through application of philosophy in our daily lives – something that was largely missing in the approach of pre-Socratic philosophy. He openly diverted from the relentless physical speculations prior philosophers were so busy interpreting and assimilating, and attempted to establish an ethical system that would be based on human reasoning rather than various (and often widely debated) theological doctrines.
Instead of regurgitating ideas solely based on his individual interpretations, he would question people relentlessly on their beliefs, and try to find definitions of virtues by conversing with anyone who would proclaim to possess such qualities. Socrates became a key figure amassing numerous followers, but he also made many enemies. Eventually, his beliefs and realistic approach in philosophy led to his execution. But one might argue that his philosophical martyrdom, more than anything else, turned him into the iconic figure that he is today.
Plato
Although he was a student of Socrates, Plato, was also inspired by Parmenides. Plato accepted the world of the phenomena as a mere shadow of the real world of ideas. When we observe a horse, we recognize what it is because our soul remembers the idea of the horse from the time before our birth. In Plato's political philosophy, only wise men who understand the dual nature of reality are fit to rule the country. He made three voyages to Syracuse to establish his ideal state, both times without lasting results. Plato's hypothesis that our soul was once in a better place and now lives in a fallen world made it easy to combine Platonic philosophy and Christianity, which accounts for the popularity of Platonism during the antiquity.
Aristotle
He was Plato's most famous student, a Macedonian scientist who studied biology and founded a school in Athens. Most of his writings are lost but his lecture notes which were rediscovered in the first century BC are still available. During the last decades, scholars have started to re-examine the fragments of the lost works, which have led to important changes in our understanding of Aristotle's philosophy. What is generally thought is that Aristotle replaced his master's speculations with a more down-to-earth philosophy. His main works are Prior Analytics(in which he described the rules of logic), Physics, the Animal History, Rhetorics, Poetics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics and Politics, all classic books.
Thales of Miletus
The pivotal point in ancient Greek philosophy whereon the subsequent generations of many famous thinkers, theorists, dialectics, meta physicists and philosophers sprouted from. He is reputed among historians as the Father of Ancient Greek Philosophy. A majority of Thales’ ideologies come from Aristotle’s depiction, who points out Thales as the first person to have investigated basic principles such as origination of matter. Thales is also said to be the founder of school of natural philosophy.
As a philosopher, Thales rarely confined his research to a limited area among available knowledge and was actively indulged in understanding various aspects of knowledge such as philosophy, mathematics, science, geography and what not. He is also said to have developed a well-defined standard to theorize why changes occur in things. He proposed water as the basic underlying component of the world. Thales was highly esteemed among ancient Greeks and his hypotheses usually added meaning and girth into already existing ideas on nature.
Source:
https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/greek-history/top-10-ancient-greek-philosophers/
570 BCE – 495 BCE
Another pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, Pythagoras is someone known far more for his theories and ideas in mathematics than in philosophy. In fact, he is best known for the theorem in geometry that is named after him. He is one of the most familiar names from pre-Socratic society, but yet, what we know about him surprisingly less. He is credited with founding a philosophical school that amassed him a number of followers.
It was at this school that Pythagoras tried to find a mutual harmony between real life and the practical aspects of philosophy. His teachings were not strictly constricted to what we know as philosophy, but also included common issues like ‘rules on living’, ‘daily food to eat’ and so on.
He regarded the world as perfect harmony and aimed his teaching on how to lead a harmonious life.
Socrates
469 BCE – 399 BCE
Socrates embarked a whole new perspective of achieving practical results through application of philosophy in our daily lives – something that was largely missing in the approach of pre-Socratic philosophy. He openly diverted from the relentless physical speculations prior philosophers were so busy interpreting and assimilating, and attempted to establish an ethical system that would be based on human reasoning rather than various (and often widely debated) theological doctrines.
Instead of regurgitating ideas solely based on his individual interpretations, he would question people relentlessly on their beliefs, and try to find definitions of virtues by conversing with anyone who would proclaim to possess such qualities. Socrates became a key figure amassing numerous followers, but he also made many enemies. Eventually, his beliefs and realistic approach in philosophy led to his execution. But one might argue that his philosophical martyrdom, more than anything else, turned him into the iconic figure that he is today.
Plato
427 BCE – 347 BCE
Although he was a student of Socrates, Plato, was also inspired by Parmenides. Plato accepted the world of the phenomena as a mere shadow of the real world of ideas. When we observe a horse, we recognize what it is because our soul remembers the idea of the horse from the time before our birth. In Plato's political philosophy, only wise men who understand the dual nature of reality are fit to rule the country. He made three voyages to Syracuse to establish his ideal state, both times without lasting results. Plato's hypothesis that our soul was once in a better place and now lives in a fallen world made it easy to combine Platonic philosophy and Christianity, which accounts for the popularity of Platonism during the antiquity.
Aristotle
384 BCE – 322 BCE
He was Plato's most famous student, a Macedonian scientist who studied biology and founded a school in Athens. Most of his writings are lost but his lecture notes which were rediscovered in the first century BC are still available. During the last decades, scholars have started to re-examine the fragments of the lost works, which have led to important changes in our understanding of Aristotle's philosophy. What is generally thought is that Aristotle replaced his master's speculations with a more down-to-earth philosophy. His main works are Prior Analytics(in which he described the rules of logic), Physics, the Animal History, Rhetorics, Poetics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics and Politics, all classic books.
Thales of Miletus
620 BCE – 546 BCE
The pivotal point in ancient Greek philosophy whereon the subsequent generations of many famous thinkers, theorists, dialectics, meta physicists and philosophers sprouted from. He is reputed among historians as the Father of Ancient Greek Philosophy. A majority of Thales’ ideologies come from Aristotle’s depiction, who points out Thales as the first person to have investigated basic principles such as origination of matter. Thales is also said to be the founder of school of natural philosophy.
As a philosopher, Thales rarely confined his research to a limited area among available knowledge and was actively indulged in understanding various aspects of knowledge such as philosophy, mathematics, science, geography and what not. He is also said to have developed a well-defined standard to theorize why changes occur in things. He proposed water as the basic underlying component of the world. Thales was highly esteemed among ancient Greeks and his hypotheses usually added meaning and girth into already existing ideas on nature.
Source:
https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/greek-history/top-10-ancient-greek-philosophers/
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