Lesson 1 & 2: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Philosophers

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Philosophy

Study of fundamental questions. Uses reason, logic, and critical thinking.

Philo, Sophia

love, wisdom (lover of wisdom)

Key Questions

What is real?

What can we know?

How should we live?

Socrates

one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy. He credited Aspasia of Miletus as his mentor.

Gnothi Seauton

Know thyself

Dualism

the mind (or soul) and body are distinct and seperable

Body

The physical, material, and perishable part. It is mortal and subject to decay.

Soul (psyche)

The immaterial, rational, and immortal essence of a person. It survives bodily death and is the seat of moral character and reason. Seeks divine truth.

Socratic Method

A questioning technique that challenges assumptions and promotes critical thinking through dialogue.

Plato

Was a philisopher in ancient Athens. A student of Socrates. Founded the academy in Athens, considered the world’s first western university.

Tripartite Soul

This model teaches that understanding the self involves recognizing internal conflicts and striving for balance, with reason guiding one's actions.

Charioteer

Represents the rational soul, a man's reason.

Dark horse

His appetite or the appetitive Soul

White horse

His spiritedness or the spirited soul.

Aristotle

Is an ancient Greek philosopher and polymath known as one of the most influential thinkers in western history. He was the founder of the peripatetic school of philosophy at the lyceum in Athens and famously tutored Alexander the Great.

Hylomorphism

Matter (hyle), Form (morphe), Composite (synolon)

Matter (hyle) (A)

The raw, potential component of a thing; what it is made of. It represents pure potentiality.

Form (morphe) (A)

The actual, structuring essence or pattern that makes a thing what it is. It represents actuality.

Composite (synolon)

The actual concrete object; existing as an inseparable unity of both matter and form.

Three Kinds of Souls

Vegetative, Sensitive, Rational

Vegetative Soul

Found in plants. Handles basic life functions

Sensitive Soul

Found in animals. Adds movement, desire, and perception to basic functions.

Rational Soul

Unique to humans; adds the power of thought, reason, and moral choice

Eudaimonia

Human flourishing, living well, and achieving the highest good. Not necessarily happiness, but a lifelong state of doing well.

Aristotle (Summary)

views the self as a single, unified unit made of an inseparable body and soul.

relies on Hylomorphism, the three types of souls, and eudaimonia.

St Augustine

Was a north African bishop and brilliant rhetorician who bridged classical greco-roman thought and Medieval Christian philosophy.

Bifurcated Nature

an imperfect aspect of man dwells in the world and yearns to be in divine, while the other is capable of reaching immortality.

Man’s end goal is happiness.

Only in God can man achieve true and eternal happiness. Human beings aline, without God, are bound to fail

St Thomas Aquinas

Known as the greatest of the scholastic philosophers, father of school of thought known as "Thomism"

Thomism

The teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, which combine faith, reason, and morality to understand god, the world, and human life.

Matter (Hyle) (M)

common stuff that makes up everything in the universe. man's body is part of this matter.

Form (Morphe) (M)

essence of a substance or thing that makes it what it is incorporates theology. The soul can roam.

Rene Descartes

• Father of Modern Philosophy

• Descartes believed that our perceptions deceive us. He refused to believe in the certainty of his senses and started to doubt everything.

Cogito Ergo Sum

I think, therefore I am.

2 Dimensions of the Self

Physical Body (Extenza), Thinking Self (Cogito)