Philosophy

Romanticism

philosophers have been concerned with 3 questions

1. is it right or wrong?

2. is it true or false?

3. is it beautiful or ugly?

socrates (469-399 BCE)

loved good conversations

socrates (469-399 BCE)

deeply conscious of his own ignorance

socrates (469-399 BCE)

was a teacher who liked to ask a question and then another question

socrates (469-399 BCE)

→ teaching method made parents nervous bc questioning beliefs scared them → was arrested & condemned to death (refused to stop teaching like that

socrates (469-399 BCE)

knowing why you believe what you do → happiness

plato (427-347 BC)

continued w/ socratic dialectics

plato (427-347 BC)

allowed women to study at his school

plato (427-347 BC)

very influenced by socrates but wrote stuff down (unlike socrates)

plato (427-347 BC)

wrote 29 dialogues he had with socrates → 1st established comprehensive system of philosophy

plato (427-347 BC)

believed in…

• 1 god (in an era when most believed in many gods)

• reincarnation

• had ideas of what a government consisted of

plato (427-347 BC)

believed intelligentsia should rule—masses weren’t smart enough to rule themselves

plato (427-347 BC)

did not believe in mating by natural selection—procreation should be in government hands and unintelligent ppl should not mate indiscriminately

aristotle (384-322 BC)

most influential of the big three philosophers—master of knowledge from the 5th-15th century

aristotle (384-322 BC)

student of plato

aristotle (384-322 BC)

first philosopher to define a sylliogism

syllogism

system of logic by which you have a major premise, followed by a minor premise, followed by a conclusion

• “all virtues are laudable” — major premise

• “kindness” = virtue — minor premise

aristotle (384-322 BC)

believed in defining terms

aristotle (384-322 BC) + (Plato)

believed in one god (like ___) as the primordial source

aristotle (384-322 BC)

favored constitution—aristocratic rule is selfish

aristotle (384-322 BC)

didn’t think masses were intelligent enough to rule

aristotle (384-322 BC)

believed in 5 components to achieve happiness and you have to acquire a certain maturity to feel it

• written in book called Nicomachean Ethics

five components of happiness (Aristotle)

1. good health (hope of getting better)

2. wealth (adequate sustenance)

3. friendship (company to enjoy and provide intellectual stimulation)

4. knowledge (obligation to know thyself)

5. good character (as long as one is unkind, they cannot have lasting happiness)

by ______

eudaimonia

aristotle’s concept of happiness (nothing competitive)

*happiness is long term and pleasure is transitory

the dark ages

before and after aristotle bc the church was in charge

st. thomas aquinas (1224-1274)

• italian monk philosopher who read aristotle → allowed for study of aristotle to continue & reconciled aristotilian philosophy to christian theology

• during dark ages?*

imannuel kant (1724-1804) (German)

read aristotle and aquinas; _____ philosopher

imannuel kant (1724-1804)

christian but wanted to leave religion out of it & prove logically why you should live your life by Aristotle’s values

immanuel kant (1224-1804)

said you should live your life in such a way that your behavior could be relegated to universal law

categorical imperetive (immanuel Kant)

took _____ 2 volumes to explain

• act so that your actions establish the precedence for all subsequent actions—all times, all places, all people

john stewart mill (years?)

read aristotle and kant

john stewart mill

sometimes, it’s not easy to tell what the right course of action is

classicism

early works of ancient greece and rome with five characteristics

1st characteristic of classicism

prescribed form and rigid style

• all of it was poetry (greeks felt only poetry was literature)

• very formal language

2nd characteristic of classicism

appealed to logic rather than emotion

3rd characteristic of classicism

emphasized society above the individual

4th characteristic of classicism

didactic in nature—taught a moral lesson

• value of literature was to teach morals

• don’t defy the gods

5th characteristic of classicism

static in nature—resistent to change

• not a lot of literature after that bc ppl were scared of the church

neoclassicism (1400s-1800s)

• 1500s; ppl start thinking

neoclassicism

imitating old pastors; same as classicism with an emphasis on traditionalism

examples of neoclassicists

john milton (paradise lost), alexander pope, john donne

romanticism

rebellion against classicism with five characteristics

1st characteristic of romanticism

originality of thought and freedom of style and form

2nd characteristic of romanticism

emphasized emotion, spontaneous reactions, and intuition over logic

3rd characteristic of romanticism

holds the individual to be more valuable than the good of society

4th characteristic of romanticism

not didactic but aesthetic in nature—beauty can exist for its own sake and doesn’t need a reason

5th characteristic of romanticism

dynamic in nature and thrives during rebellion

examples of romanticists

percy shelly, john keates (poets)

gothic literature

showed the darker side of invention and experiments in technology

transcendentalism

similar to romanticism but also empasizes nature as a teacher, solace, comfort, and healter + added emphasis on morality

outgrowths of romanticism

gothic lit, transcendentalism, and mysticism

examples of transcendentalists

walt whitman and henry david Thoreau

(only in the US bc of puritanic religion and morals)

mysticism

type of romanticism with an emphasis on religion or the supernatural

tone is ethereal, mysterious, and forboding @ times (not of this works)

considered unlucky for a sailor to kill an albatross—edgar allan poe

utillitarianism (John Stewart Mill)

consider what provides the greatest good for the most number of people

• by ____

realism (1900-1930s)

rebellion against romanticism

realism (1900-1930s)

sought to portray life as it really is

naturalism (1930s-1950s)

emile zola is the founder—”Nana” bpook

naturalism (1930s-1950s)

determinism; effect of environment on individual; amoral

naturalism (1930s-1950s)

objectivity of tone

naturalism (1930s-1950s)

frankness of subject matter, rebellion against tabboos, and pessimistic selection of detail

surrealism (1960s)

extreme form of realism and naturalism

surrealism (1960s)

subconscious creativity: dreams, hypnosis, drugs

surrealism (1960s)

shock therapy tone

realism (1900-1930s)

characterized by excessive detail rather than vague intuition and emphasis on fact rather than idealism

• tedius due to detail

  • madam bauvaire, gustav flauvert, the jungle

hippies

• grew up during depression and were spoiled by their parents

frustrated existentialists

hippies—were dealing with too much and strayed from society

existentialism (1970s)

existence preceeds essence

soren kierkegaard

subjectivity

look inside self to find truth; existentialist

Martin Heidegger

nothingness; cannot state what is truth because of comparison—only use negative terms to define oneself

fredrick nietzsche

no absolute truth

arthur schopenhauer

self alienation happens bc you can’t define ur own absolute truth; life intercepts blissful nonexistence

existential despair

john paul sartre

non-being—can’t define yourself, truth changes

albert camus

absurdity

find meaning in life thru what you create—Sisyphus—you’ll never find the truth (constantly pushing boulder)

existentialism

can be positive bc you have to know yourself to know who you are—no hypocrisy when one lives by their own truths

encourages tolerance to other views

makes ppl accountable for their own actions

fatalism

fate but not religious

amorality

• to do with naturalism

• lack of ties to good or evil