FATE

Fatalism is the belief that whatever happens is predestined.

In ancient Greece, they believe that Apollo, the god of wisdom knows everything that will happen, he
knows who will win in wars, who will be the next king or even the size of the next harvest.

Ancient Greeks visit the Oracle of Delphi in order to seek the answer of Apollo through the priestess
Pythia.

The Greek believed that sickness can be ascribed to divine intervention. Even the word “flu” or
“influenza”malign influence from the stars.

Medicine:

Hippocrates, father of modern medicine said that essential safeguard against sickness is Moderation and
a Healthy lIfestyle. When you are sick, he said that there is a natural imbalance.

SOCRATES

470-399 BC

His life is actually through the writings of his student, Plato. The writings is called Dialogues.

Socratic Irony is used by Socrates in his discourse or argument with people, he pretends that he is
ignorant at first but is actually finding the weakness of his opponents arguments.

Socrates did not teach for money, unlike the sophist.

Socrates actually did not brag about his intelligence or wisdom, instead he accepted that he has lot to
know about the world and about life.

He said “Wisest is he who knows, he does not know”

He said that the right insight will lead to the right action. What he meant here is that it is very important
to know right from wrong, so that we can act the right way.

Socrates was however condemned to death by drinking hemlock. He was asked to withdraw all his
teachings and principle but he never did because he said that principles are more than all material
things here on earth and more than life.

PLATO

428-347 BC

29 years old when Socrates was killed.

Plato established the school called Academy where he taught, Philosophy, Mathematics, and
gymnastics.

Plato is concerned on the study of what is eternal and those that are fleeting only. He said that ideas and
reason or even conscience are eternal while the rest, particularly the material things are fleeting or only
temporary.

Example: a real horse in your backyard is a material thing while your idea of a horse in your mind, is
what you will call eternal because it will not disappear, unlike the horse in your backyard that can be
dead anytime.

REALITY IS DIVIDED INTO TWO REGIONS

1. World of Senses, which is incomplete and could pass away any moment.
2. World of Ideas, which are eternal and immutable
Plato said our Soul or world of Ideas is already in existence before we are born. The Soul is just
somehow vaguely recollects with various forms of material things in the world. It is however, not a total
awakening because what he see in the world does not conform to the perfect idea. The soul here is
stirred to go back to the world of ideas. Or what Plato called yearning for eros. Some Philosophers called
this moment of trying to go back to the world of ideas as reflection.

Plato considered all material things here on earth are like shadows only, we thought that they are real,
but actually they are not, they are just shadows of the world of ideas or of our soul.

ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

It is Plato’s writing. He said that people are like inside a dark cave, with their eyes are only fixed with the
shadows inside the cave. They think that these shadows are real but are actually not true and are fake
figures or shadows of what is real. These people are accustomed or already contented with the shadow
they saw and does not anymore seek in finding the real idea or figure. Those who seek the world of
ideas and successfully discovers the true ides outside the cave are philosophers.

PLATO’S REPUBLIC

The republic is made up of:

State Body Soul Virtue

Ruler Head reason wisdom
Soldier Chest will courage
Workers Abdomen appetite temperance

ARISTOTLE

384-322 BC

Pupil of Plato’s Academy

He was concerned of natural processes or changes

Unlike Plato, Aristotle believed that real knowledge comes from observation, experimentation and
sensory perception of the things around us.

Aristotle is an Empiricist, meaning a person or philosopher that believes that Knowledge comes from
experience or observation of the material things around us. It is a total opposite of Plato’s RATIONALIST
idea.

Aristotle is famously recognized as the father of Biology because he introduced the classes and species
of plants and animals by observation and experimentation.

Aristotle also said that there is no innate idea and that all ideas are coming from our observation in the
natural or material world.

CAUSES IN NATURE

1. Material Cause – initial condition

2. Efficient cause – antecedent condition
3. Formal Cause – form of the thing
4. Final Cause – purpose of nature

ARISTOTLE BELIEVED IN A GOD

Aristotle observed that plants and animals transforms from simple things to complicated living beings.
Aristotle believed that there is a God who started all the processes, movement and transformation in
the world. He called God the FIRST MOVER.
MAN IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER LIVING THINGS

Man is comprised of a soul unlike other beings.

THREE FORMS OF HAPPINESS

1. Life of Pleasure
2. Life of a free and responsible citizen
3. Life of thinker and philosopher

He said that to be happy, these three must co-exist.

THE GOLDEN MEAN

We must be neither coward or rash, but courageous

Neither miserly nor extravagant but liberal.

MAN BY NATURE IS A POLITICAL ANIMAL

Without a society around us, we are not real people. We need each other in order to further ourselves.

Monarchy is good but must not degenerate into tyranny

Aristocracy must not become Oligarchy

Democracy must not become mobocracy

ARISTOTLE VIEW ON WOMEN

He said that in reproduction, women are only soil, while men the sower.

Child only inherits all the characteristics of the male.

HELLENISM

A period in history when the culture of Greece spread across multiple countries.

Syncretism is the fusion of creeds and religion among nations.

CYNICS

Founded by Antisthenes around 400 BC

Cynics believed that true happiness is not found in external advantages, such as material luxury, political
power or good health. True happiness lies in not being dependent on such fleeting things. And because
happiness does not consist of this kind, it is within everyone’s reach.

Diogenes, pupil of Antisthenes was carrying his small bag with bread and water when he meet alexander
the great because the latter asked for direction in the mountains. As a reward, Alexander the Great
asked Diogenes what he desired? Diogenes answered to stand on the other side, because he is blocking
the sun.

He only needs the sun and showed that he is more happy and rich for the things he believes he has, the
sun, his loaf of bread and cloak.

The cynics believed that people did not need to be concerned about their suffering or death nor be
concerned with their problems.
THE STOICS

Zeno is the founder of the School

Stoics believed that everyone was a part of the same common sense or logos. They believe that a person
is miniature of the world or microcosmos and reflection of the macrocosmos.

The stoics believed in natural law. That death is a twin of life, when you are born, it is expected you will
die anytime. So it is wrong to be afraid of death because death is always there for as long there is life.

They also thought that sufferings is part of the natural law, so it is wrong to complain. Life is actually
consist of happiness and suffering. So it is wrong to complain that we are suffering because it is part of
being alive.

Stoics also believed that it is wrong to blame others of one’s misfortunes in life.

“If you blame others of your sufferings, you are in need of an education, if you blame yourself of your
misfortunes, your education has started; if you blame neither others or yourself of your misfortune,
your education has completed”.

The stoics believed that our mind must be at the top of everything, it must reign over our emotion or
our physical pains.

4 CARDINAL VIRTUES

1. Wisdom
2. Temperance
3. Justice
4. Courage

Stoics contradicted using slavery in the Greek kingdom.

Marcus Aurelius – wrote the book “The Meditation”