The 3 Great Greek Philosophers - Socrates - Plato - Aristotle - The Great Thinkers

Socrates is one of the most renowned and well-known figures in history. He was one of the most remarkable thinkers of all time, and his philosophical legacy continues to be researched, studied, and debated all over the world. Despite becoming an extremely well-known figure, Socrates did not found a school, nor did he write anything with his own hand. What we know about his life and philosophy has come down to us through other authors, three of whom are considered the main ones – Plato, Aristophanes, and Xenophon. The first is certainly the best known, as he was Socrates' pupil and also became a very important philosopher, whose philosophical legacy is also of enormous value. These three authors portrayed Socrates in diverse ways. Plato, who lived between 428 and 348 BC, and Xenophon, who lived between 430 and 355 BC, proved to be great admirers of Socrates. The Greek playwright Aristophanes, on the other hand, had a less favorable view of the Athenian philosopher. Aristophanes deals with Socrates in a comedy from 423 BC, entitled The Clouds, where the Greek thinker is ridiculed and considered a false sage, as well as being seen as a corruptor of youth and disrespectful to the gods in his philosophy. Aristophanes also presents Socrates as a sophist. But we should not forget that this playwright wrote some of the most famous comedies of ancient times, hence the caricatured style he used to portray the philosopher. Although we don't know his exact intentions, Aristophanes' writings are especially important for learning about the life of the great Greek philosopher. Despite Socrates being negatively characterized by Aristophanes, he wrote things that are remarkably similar to those of Xenophon and Plato. For example, he mentions dialectics as a communicative tool used by Socrates. He also mentions the well-known Socratic method, through which the philosopher questioned his counterparts. The play The Clouds contains some interesting and significant biographical characteristics of Socrates, who is described as a simple, poor man, who walked barefoot and in a very modest house. In fact, Socrates' humility was one of the main hallmarks of his life, also cited in other sources. In The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates, Xenophon wrote that he has no slaves, his food and drink are not exquisite, his clothing is only a coarse cloak in summer and winter, and he has no shoes or tunic. In addition to these three authors, other particularly important ones have mentioned Socrates, such as Diogenes Laertius or Cicero, as well as Aristotle, another brilliant Greek philosopher. By combining the descriptions of these writers and researchers, it has been possible to construct the trajectory of Socrates' life and philosophy. Socrates was born in Athens in 469 BC. His father was the sculptor Sophroniscus. His mother was the midwife Phanerite. Some paintings, frescoes, and sculptures help us to better understand what the philosopher looked like physically, and it seems he was not particularly beautiful. But this detail is insignificant when compared to the mastery of his thought and the greatness of his philosophical legacy. He was attractive enough for Xanthippe, whom he married and had a son called Lamprocles. According to some sources, he had two children with another wife. He was averse to luxury, dressing simply and shabbily, leading a modest life without attaching importance to material possessions. These traits became his trademark. At times, his behavior was odd, attracting the attention of some of his contemporaries. On some occasions, he would stand still and meditate, remaining in this state for a long time. It was as if the philosopher noticed and felt nothing else around him, contemplating only his thoughts. In the dialogue of the symposium, Plato recounted some of these traits of the philosopher. For example, he wrote that Socrates was resilient to low temperatures, and on some occasions, while others were protecting themselves from frost, the philosopher could face them outdoors wearing only a blanket. What's more, he walked barefoot on the ice and didn't seem to feel cold underfoot. Once, in Potidae in 432 BC, he reportedly spent 24 hours paralyzed, looking at the horizon and reflecting on some idea, something that impressed the soldiers camped with the philosopher there. Also in the symposium, Plato tells us that the master drank alcohol like no other man, and yet was never seen drunk. For a period of his life, Socrates tried to follow the same career path as his father, but was unsuccessful as a sculptor. During his youth, he served in the military and took part in the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between the cities of Athens and Sparta that began in 431 and ended in 404 BC. He received a great deal of recognition for his heroism, but as we know today, his destiny was different. Philosophy One of the great landmarks of Socratic philosophy is the exceedingly popular phrase I know that I know nothing. In a Platonic dialogue, Socrates recounted the origin of this famous quote. On one occasion, Cheraphon, a childhood friend of his, consulted the Oracle of Delphi, a place considered sacred to the Greeks, where people consulted their destinies with the Pythonesses, who were prophetesses entering an altered state of consciousness. And through the god Apollo, to whom the place was dedicated, they answered those who sought them out. When Cheraphon went to this place, he asked if there was a wiser man in the world than Socrates. The answer was negative. Socrates was the wisest of them all. When Cheraphon told his friend about this, the philosopher was extremely puzzled, as he was fully aware that he knew nothing. According to Plato, he asked himself, what does the god mean? And what hidden meaning does the answer have? I am not aware of being wise or unwise. What does he mean by declaring me the wisest? Curious and keen to unravel the Oracle's words, he decided to seek out an acquaintance of his who was a politician, and whom he considered to be wise. After talking to him, the Athenian philosopher realized that the politician was not so wise, because he did not recognize the limits of his own ignorance. Socrates concluded, I am wiser than this man. It is probable that neither of us knows anything important, but he believes he knows something and he does not. I, if I do not know it, do not suppose I know either. Socrates later consulted other politicians, as well as talking to poets and craftsmen who were considered wise. But contact with these people led him to the same conclusion he had reached with the first man he had talked to, that they knew nothing, although they thought the opposite. Socrates became well known in Athens, and one of the main reasons for this was the Socratic method, which consisted of an inquiry process through which the philosopher approached certain individuals, rich or poor, young or old, in places such as gymnasiums, public squares, and banquets, questioning them on subjects that were often apparently simple and straightforward for the interlocutors, but which soon became uncertain. When the people he approached answered a question, Socrates deconstructed these answers with new questions, pointing out mistakes and inconsistencies. Often, the interlocutors would learn that they did not know what they initially believed they understood. Amid so many unanswered questions, this self-reflection allowed people to learn more about the issues and take a new perspective on the subject discussed with Socrates. The philosopher wisely used dialectics, which is the art of discourse, as a linguistic tool in the search for truth. Often, this helped people to realize that some concepts accepted a priori as true, after being examined critically and deeply, were false, and these would finally recognize their ignorance. Socrates compared this method to the profession of midwife, which, as we said at the beginning of the video, was that of his mother. He understood that this philosophical approach helped to foster innovative ideas, since these already existed within people and he only helped to give birth to them, as if he were a kind of obstetrician. This labor performed by the thinker, initially questioning his fellow citizens and showing contradictions and misunderstandings in their reasoning, then making them change their perspectives on what they thought they knew, was called meiudic. It's important to stress that, as Xenophon says, Socrates never received any payment for his teaching, unlike the sophists. Another interesting point in his philosophy is the question of virtue, the most valuable of all goods. Socrates believed that the man who possessed knowledge was both virtuous and incapable of evil, since evil was brought about by the ignorant who did not know what was good. For this reason, there was a relationship between morality and knowledge. In other words, if we know what good is, there is no reason to do evil. At 60, Socrates was accused and condemned in Athens. In Apology, Plato recounted the master's allegations before the three accusers, Anidus, Miletus, and Lycaon, as well as other people present during the conviction. According to Plato, Socrates was accused of corrupting youth and not believing in the gods that the people believe in, but in new deities. Xenophon, who also described the process of Socrates' sentencing and death, emphasizes how the Athenian philosopher felt wronged. Xenophon and Plato mention Socrates' admirable peace before death. During the trial, Socrates told those present that he had a divine mission, which began in childhood when he used to hear a voice inside him. This voice would be that of his demon. Historically, the word demon has been given multiple meanings. In Socrates' case, it was a kind of genius or personal guide who spoke to the philosopher and gave him suggestions on what to do. Socrates was eventually sentenced to death and forced to ingest hemlock, a strong poison. In Phido, Plato underlines the master's admirable and inspiring composure and courage when faced with death. The man appeared to me to be happy. In his manner and speech, he faced death with fearlessness and nobility. And, at the end of this work, he described Socrates as the best, wisest, and most just of men. Socrates was one of the greatest philosophers of all time. Most writers who quote him consider him extremely wise. His philosophical legacy is hugely significant and has influenced other subsequent thinkers. Socrates, among other things, teaches us to better analyze our thoughts, and to have a more critical perspective on the surrounding reality. Through the study, we realized how important it is to always maintain a critical stance towards the world, and how important humility is in our quest for knowledge. Plato was an illustrious Greek philosopher whose writings, which have survived to this day, have rendered his ideas immortal. Plato was born in Athens around 427 or 428 BC, and came from a noble family. His father was Ariston and his mother was Perictyon. The philosopher had two brothers, Adamanthus and Glaucon, and a sister called Potone. His father died when the thinker was still young, and after his death, Perictyon remarried, and from this union Antiphon was born. Few people know that Plato was a nickname. The famous philosopher's name was Aristocles, the same as his grandfather. Plato comes from the Greek Platon and means great or broad. This nickname was given to him by his wrestling coach because of his physical size. Plato lived during a politically turbulent period in Athens, when the Peloponnesian War took place, a conflict between Athens and Sparta. He also witnessed the period when Athens was defeated by Sicily, and witnessed an important political change, when democracy lost ground to oligarchy. This hectic time was certainly an influence on his musings on ethics and politics. Plato received a good education in his childhood and youth. He studied a variety of subjects such as music, history, geometry, and arithmetic, among others. Throughout his youth, he excelled athletically. In his early philosophical studies, through contact with the contemporary Cratylus, he gained an interest in the pre-Socratic Heraclitus of Ephesus, and later also studied the philosophers of the Iliadic school, including Parmenides, who was of particular interest to Plato. At around 20 years old, Plato became a pupil of the remarkable philosopher Socrates. The master had a peculiar demeanor to his contemporaries, dressing shabbily and frequenting public places, where he questioned the most diverse individuals. Plato became Socrates' pupil, and although his master wrote nothing down, his faithful apprentice noted much information about him. Today, a great deal of what we know about Socrates' life and work comes from the works of his pupil Plato. Plato was interested in pursuing a political career, but when his master Socrates was sentenced and executed, he became deeply disillusioned with the local government and began to chart another course for his life. After Socrates' death, Plato left his hometown and moved to Megara, a city west of Athens. In 388 BC, when he was about 40 years old, he spent a period in Italy, where he tried to establish contact with the Pythagoreans, followers of the philosophy founded by the pre-Socratic Pythagoras of Samos. Around the same time, he also went to Cyrene, now Libya, and to Egypt, a particularly important country, where Plato came into contact with and gained knowledge from local sorcerers and prophets. But the documents about the philosopher's visit to these two places are uncertain. On one occasion, while in Italy, Plato met the tyrant Dionysius I, who invited the philosopher to visit Syracuse in Sicily, hoping that the Athenian thinker would become his personal advisor. Plato hoped to present his thoughts and influence the ruler with his political philosophy, but the relationship between the two quickly became troubled, with uncomfortable disagreements between them. Dionysius I became so angry with the Greek thinker that he sold him as a slave to a Spartan from Aegina, an island near Athens. But Plato escaped with the help of Arete of Cyrene and returned to Athens. During this troubled time in Italy, Plato became friends with the Greek philosopher Dion, a relative of Dionysius I. Plato's return from this first trip to Sicily was important. At around 40 years old, he founded the philosophical school called the Academy near Athens. The name Academy comes from Akademos, an important Athenian hero. The place was associated with the Muses, entities bound to the god Apollo, one of the main and most worshipped deities in ancient Greece. Plato is said to have charged nothing to those who frequented the place. Another interesting fact is that at least two women are believed to have taken part in the meetings of this philosophical school. In his written documents, Plato explored different areas of philosophical research, such as epistemology, politics, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics. Among the many aspects of his philosophy, the most important and well-known are the theory of forms and the myth of the cave. The theory of forms is one of the cornerstones of Platonic philosophy. This topic not only appears in one book, but in several of his texts. Plato considers there to be two realms, where the plane he calls the spiritual realm is characterized by being immutable, eternal, and stable. But the physical realm, the one we apprehend through our senses, is defined by how mutable things are. This is the world of appearances, of imperfect copies of what exists in the spiritual realm, where essences, truths, and themselves are to be found. In other words, in the spiritual realm, things are absolute. But on the second plane, in the physical realm, they only exist in appearance, because their primary roots are in the spiritual realm. That which exists in the sensory sphere is a copy of that which pertains to the spiritual realm. The true cause of things in the physical realm is suprasensible. In other words, everything that exists in the world in which we live is a shadow of what occurs in the spiritual realm. To illustrate this thought, Plato wrote the famous myth or allegory of the cave. We may imagine a cave with several prisoners, who since birth have been chained there, facing only in one direction, seeing shadows cast by objects behind them, lit by a bonfire. These prisoners believe that the shadows are reality. When a prisoner frees himself and leaves the cave, he is initially dazzled by the sunlight and true reality. But he understands and accepts this new perspective. He learns that the shadows he saw before were not things in themselves. The man returns to the cave to share what he has discovered. But the other prisoners ridicule him and refuse to believe his words. They remain inside, deluded, believing that the shadows were the truth itself, without knowing that the things themselves were not in that place. In this metaphor, the physical realm is the cave and the spiritual realm, that is, reality itself, the source of everything related to the physical sphere, lies outside the cave. This allegory may also be interpreted in unusual ways and is even associated with other aspects of Platonic philosophy, such as noseology, ethics, and politics. Although important, the theory of forms and the myth of the cave are only part of Plato's extensive and complex work, which covers studies on aesthetics, morality, reflections on love, and other subjects. In 367 BC, Plato returned to Sicily. He tried to develop contacts with Dionysius II, who had succeeded his father. This was because the tyrant Dionysius II had developed a taste for philosophy and wanted to study with him. But, as had happened years before, Plato's time in Sicily was frustrating, and the meeting with the stubborn Dionysius II was not fruitful, and disagreements arose between the two. But that wasn't the end of Plato's time in Sicily. In 361 BC, the Greek thinker returned to the city, now accompanied by his students Xenocrates and Spousippus. There were further disagreements and the philosopher almost died trying to deal with the authoritarian Dionysius II, whose barbaric behavior remained unaltered. His friend Dion eventually won power, but was assassinated in 353 BC. In 360 BC, Plato returned to Athens, where he remained busy until his death. Plato died in approximately 347 BC, aged around 80, and was supposedly buried in or near the grounds of his philosophical school. Plato's academy was destroyed in 86 BC by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a Roman officer who conquered the Greek city that year. Not only was the academy destroyed, but other parts of the city as well, such as the Lyceum, the philosophical school founded by Aristotle. Even after the academy was destroyed, the Platonic school continued to be taught, until it was closed down in 529 AD by order of the Roman emperor Justinian. In the 20th century, the location of the academy was found, and is now an archaeological site that can be visited free of charge by tourists. Plato's vast philosophical legacy influenced other renowned names in the history of philosophy. Aristotle was one of the academy's students for almost 20 years, and was hugely influenced by his teacher Plato. In 250 AD, the Greek Plotinus launched the Neoplatonic school, where he studied and reinterpreted Plato's philosophy, which then resurfaced. Along with Plotinus, many other thinkers, such as St. Augustine, Porphyry, Bergson, or Arthur Schopenhauer, were influenced by the famous works of Plato, one of humanity's leading geniuses, whose books continue to be translated into multiple languages, drawing readers and researchers from all over the world. Some of his most famous works include The Republic, Symposium, Phaedo, Theaetetus, and Phaedrus. Plato's name is widely recognized even by those unfamiliar with philosophy, and his teachings continue to influence new generations of thinkers. Aristotle is one of the most important names in the history of philosophy. Along with Socrates and Plato, he became one of the leading personalities of all time. His thought has survived the test of time, reaching the present day and displaying all its splendor. His works continue to be studied, debated, and influential. Aristotle, like his predecessors Socrates and Plato, is a major thinker in the history of philosophy. However, unlike the other two, he was not an Athenian. He was born around 384 BC in Styggira in Thrace, now a city in the Chalcidian region. His father was Nicomachus, a talented and renowned physician who worked for the Macedonian royal family. The famous historian Diogenes Lartius described Aristotle as someone with a whispered speech. His legs were very thin and his eyes small, but he dressed extravagantly and combed his hair carefully. Aristotle grew up in a privileged financial situation. During his childhood and youth, the philosopher from Styggira received a good education, and when he was between 16 and 17 years old, he was sent to Athens to study at the academy with Plato, who was already around 70 years old. He stayed there and studied for almost 20 years, leaving the city only after his master's death. Following Plato's passing, the academy was inherited by his nephew, Spousippus, who placed great emphasis on the teaching of mathematics, much to Aristotle's chagrin. Aristotle, despite being Plato's disciple, developed a philosophical thought that differed in many ways from that of his master. He was even overly critical of various aspects of Platonic philosophy. These disagreements can be seen in Aristotelian metaphysics, which differed from that of the master of the academy, based on a sensible world and a suprasensible world. Another particularity in Aristotle's in Plato's works. But Aristotle's legacy is distinguished by major inquiries into nature. The philosopher moved to Aeternus, a Greek colony in Asia Minor. This time was particularly important in Aristotle's life, as he met Pythias, niece of King Hermias of Aeternus, whom he married and had a prosperous relationship with. The philosopher once wrote that, after dying, he would have liked to be buried with his beloved. In 348 BC, he lived for a period in Assos, and then in Mytilene, the capital of the island of Lesbos. Aristotle's time there was particularly notable for his intense studies into biology and careful observation of nature. In Lesbos, he eagerly studied marine life, and in Assos, he even opened an academy, where he led research into biology. One of the great landmarks of Aristotle's work is that it pioneered the detailed study and systematic classification of certain species. The philosopher is said to have dissected some animals to study them more thoroughly. He compared and observed life forms in nature in an unprecedented way. His collaborations were so important that today it is difficult, and even unfair, to talk about the history of science without mentioning Aristotle. In 343 BC, Aristotle was called to join the court of King Philip II of Macedon, becoming tutor to the 13-year-old Alexander, the king's son, who would one day become Alexander the Great, one of the most famous figures in history. Plutarch tells us that, at least for a certain period, the young Alexander became attached to the philosopher Tudor and had a profound respect for him, viewing him as a true father. Aristotle taught the young heir to the throne various subjects, and his instructions were extremely important in Alexander's life. The philosopher held this position for three years, and then returned to his hometown of Stagira, where he lived from 340 to 335 BC, eventually moving to Athens and lived there until 323 BC. In 335 BC, on the outskirts of Athens, Aristotle founded the philosophical school called Lyceum, named after the word Lyceos, because the school was in an area dedicated to Apollo, known as Lyceos or Lyceum. Aristotle had many students and debated different areas of knowledge with them. Some notable personalities studied with him, including the philosophers Aristoxenus of Tarentum, Crytallus, Strato of Lomsacus, and many others. The Lyceum became known as the Peripatetic School, and its students came to be called Peripatetics. The word peripatetic comes from Greek and can be translated as strolling or walking. The origin lies in the fact that Aristotle's classes took place during garden walks, during which he and his students engaged in philosophical reflections and debates. In 323 BC, Alexander the Great died. This sparked an anti-Macedonian reaction among the Athenians, and accusations were leveled against Aristotle, Alexander's former tutor. For safety reasons, the philosopher left the city and moved to Chalkis, on the Greek island of Euboea. Aristotle said that he had left Athens to not let philosophy be wronged twice, clearly referring to Socrates' fate, another notable Greek philosopher, whose practice was rejected by some of his contemporaries who accused, condemned, and killed him. The archaeological discovery of the Lyceum is recent, having taken place in 1996. The site was accidentally found in the center of Athens, just behind the Greek parliament, during excavations to build a modern art museum. Since 2009, the Lyceum has been available to the public. It opens every day and charges a small fee to visitors. When we study this great Greek philosopher, we find a division in his writings, made in antiquity by some scholars who considered that Aristotle produced texts especially to be read by the public, the so-called exoteric writings, and also technical texts, known as esoteric writings, prepared by the philosopher for use in the Lyceum. Unfortunately, almost all of the contents of the first category have been lost over time, although many of his vast productions have come down to us. During the Middle Ages, philosophers once again focused on Aristotelianism during the so-called Islamic philosophy or Arab philosophy. One of the leading figures in Arabic philosophy, who shaped the entire context of medieval philosophy, was Averroes, a notable Muslim philosopher and physician. He was a great scholar of Aristotle's philosophy. His annotations on the Greek thinker's work helped to awaken interest in Aristotelian thought in the Middle Ages. We can also mention Al-Ghazali and Avicenna, outstanding Arab philosophical personalities who were also inspired by Aristotle's studies. Apart from the influence and visibility that Aristotelian philosophy had at that time, his work lived on after this historical period, inspiring great personalities, including two illustrious men, the Polish Nicolaus Copernicus and the Italian Galileo Galilei. The latter disagreed with and challenged Aristotelian physics. Besides these two renowned personalities, Darwin wrote the following words, Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle. In his writings, Aristotle addresses multiple areas of study, such as metaphysics, ethics, politics, logic, zoology, mathematics, art, among others. In general, through his documents and their vast thematic scope, the philosopher ended up contributing to many areas of knowledge beyond philosophy. In 2016, during the 2400 years of Aristotle World Congress, a group of Greek archaeologists claimed to have found Aristotle's in Stegira, the place where the thinker was born. Although without any definitive proof, the evidence was strong and the team seemed confident of their discovery. The site where the archaeologists said they had found the tomb contains descriptions similar to the information found in some official documents that mention the death and burial of Aristotle's ashes. The evidence found in the excavations is powerful proof that this was the thinker's tomb, but it is not yet certain whether this was the illustrious philosopher's final resting place or not. Aristotle was one of the world's most famous thinkers, and his philosophical legacy still fascinates and attracts the attention of many. He remains a highly respected personality, whose work is of enormous significance to the history of philosophy.