philosophers

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

Scholastic philosopher and theologian

● Born in 1225 at Castle Rocasecca, Aquino,

Italy

● Studied with the Benedictines of Monte

Cassino and later at the University of Naples,

and then with Dominicans

● He died in 1274 and was canonized in 1323.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

He is best known for two works:

Summa Contra Gentiles

Summa Theologiae

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

Happiness is not in this world, but in union with

God alone.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

Things found in this world cannot make man

perfectly happy.

ST. AUGUSTINE

One of the most eminent doctors of the church

who became the Bishop of Hippo

ST. AUGUSTINE

He is best known for his works:

Confessiones (The Confessions),

De Civitate Dei (The City of God)

De libero Arbitrio (On Free Will),

De Doctrina Christiana (On Christian

Doctrine),

Baptismo Contra Dotistas (On Baptism

Against the Donatistas),

De Trinitate (On the Trinity),

De Natura et Gratia (On the Nature of

Grace),

ST. AUGUSTINE

Human happiness can be found in God alone.

ST. AUGUSTINE

Man is created by God; hence, God is the

supreme good.

SOCRATES

Born in Athens in 469 B.C.

● Well-known for his Socratic Method

Socratic Method

(a form of

argumentative dialogue between individuals,

based on asking and answering questions

SOCRATES

For him, knowledge is virtue, ignorance is

vice.

SOCRATES

“Know thyself”

“Know thyself”

It means knowing your weaknesses and

things that you must follow in order to

live a happy life.

PLATO

Born in Athens to an aristocratic family in

428 B.C.

● He traveled widely and around 367 B.C.”, he

founded his academy in Athens.

PLATO

The perfect man, does not exist in this world

because what we see in this world is just an

imperfect copy of man’s original self in the

realm of ideas (Balsicas and Molano, 1999)

PLATO

Perfect happiness, is the result of virtue,

which in turn, is wisdom or true knowledge.

ARISTOTLE

Athenian student of Plato

● Born in 384 B.C.

● He was naturalist who provided the

philosophical basis of science that was

dominant for 18 centuries.

● He founded a famous school named The

Lyceum.

ARISTOTLE

As a teacher, he became influential in the

fields of logic, ethics and anatomy.

ARISTOTLE

If you do something bad you feel unhappy.

ARISTOTLE

In order to be happy,

one must act according to reason.

ARISTOTLE

In order to live a perfect and happy life, one

should practice and live what is good.

Virtue

lies in between two extremes. (A

moderate act that is not too much and too

little)

CONFUCIUS

Chinese philosopher

● Born in the state of Lu (modern-day

Shandong Province)

● Before becoming a teacher, he worked as a

local administrator

CONFUCIUS

Golden Rule: “Do not do unto others what

you would not want others to do unto you.”

CONFUCIUS

Peace, harmony and happiness are achieved

because everything in the universe follows

nature.

CONFUCIUS

The duty of man is to control his emotion in

favor of reason and to achieve peace.

Reason

regulates the life of man.

KARL MARX

German political philosopher and

revolutionary co-founder with Friedrich

Engels of scientific socialism.

● One of the most influential contemporary

thinkers.

● Born in Trier, Germany on May 5, 1818 and

● Educated at the Universities of Bonn, Berlin

and Jena.

KARL MARX

The poor have struggle against the rich who

own the means of production and the wealth

of society. As society turns classless,

everyone then works for everybody.