SocratesPythagorasHedonismEpicureanismUtilitarianism

…..PhilosophyPHILOSOPHY OF MAN

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SO

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Socrates, an influential philosopher of ancient Greece, never took notes on his own teachings; rather the notes of his pupils, including Plato, are the only record of his work.

Socrates championed the ideal of reason and required that people act in accordance with their reasoned values.

His criticism of injustice in Athenian society led to his prosecution for corrupting the youth of Athens.

True to his principles, Socrates refused the opportunity to recant his criticisms and accepted the death sentence passed at his trial.

Despite his followers’ plans for his escape, he died in confinement, calmly drinking a lethal dose of hemlock, in 399 BC.

THE LIFE OF SOCRATES 470-399 BC An ancient Greek philosopher who is

credited for having laid the foundation for Western philosophy Sophroniscus (father) Phaenarete (mother) Xanthippe

His wife far younger than him They have 3 sons, and they were

quite young when he abandoned them

There was a belief that he took over the profession of his father as stonemasonry, but reported to have been loitering around schoolyard looking for children to befriend them

DISCUSSING PHILOSOPHY The most important art and profession

for him where he devotes himself He serve as Athenian army but slipped out

of the battle in order to return to Athens to check out handsome young children

He refused to accept payment for his teachings, maintaining that he had no positive knowledge to offer except the awareness of the need for more knowledge

PLATO”S DIALOUGE• Features Socrates as:1. A Teacher denies having disciples2. A pious man but executed for

religious improprieties3. Disparages the pleasure of the

senses, yet it is executed by youthful beauty

4. Devoted to the education of the boys of Athens, yet indifferent to his own sons

HIS TRIAL AND EXECUTION It serves as the climax of his

career He admitted in court that he could

have avoided his trial in the first place by abandoning his philosophy and going home to tend his business

After he was convicted, he could have avoided the death penalty by agreeing to pay a small fine and once in prison he could have escaped

THE SOCRATIC METHOD

SOCRATIC METHOD

• The most important contribution of Socrates to the Western philosophy

• A method of inquiry by answering a question with a question

ELENCHOS

• Another term referring to the Socratic method which he largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts like the God and Justice, for which he was regarded as the “Father of political Philosophy and Ethics”

NEGATIVE METHOD OF HYPOTHESIS ELIMINATION A series of questions are posed to

help a person or group of persons determine their underlying beliefs as well us the extent of their knowledge

Arriving at the truth by continually questioning, obtaining answers, and criticizing the answers

A better hypothesis could steadily identify and eliminate those which lead to contradiction

HYPOTHESIS A statement that is assumed to be

true for the sake of argument CONTRADICTION

A statement, or the making of a statement, that opposes or disagrees with somebody or something

SOCRATES PHILOSOPHY OF MAN1. Good education does not create good citizens such that some good fathers who are successful in life do not produce sons of their own quality

2. Moral excellence is more of a matter of divine bequest than potential nurture

3. Virtue cannot be taught

4. Knowledge is not gained from instruction and study, but from divine dispensation

5. Authoritarianism is better than democracy. A wise and noble tyrant ruler is the ideal alternative to the random decision made by a democratic ruler

6. Wrongdoing is a consequence of ignorance, that those who did wrong knew no better

7. The art of love is the love of wisdom and man could actually become wise who takes in pursuing the art of love

8. Midwives are barren due to age, and women who have never give birth are unable to become midwives

9. The best way for people to live is to focus on self-development rather than the pursuit of material wealth

10. Friendship and a sense of true community is the best way for people to grow together as a populace11. Humans possessed certain virtues. Virtue is the most valuable of all human possessions. The most important virtues for a person to have is intellectual virtues12. Truth lies beneath the shadows of existence, and that it is the philosopher’s job to show the rest how little they really know13. For a man to be truly good and not just act with right opinion, he must come to know the unchanging good in itself

14. Ideals belong in a world that only the wise man can understand

15. A wise ruler cannot tell people how to live when he does not yet understand himself

PY

TH

AG

OR

AS

Considered the first true mathematician,

Pythagoras in the 6th century by emphasized the study of mathematics as a means to understanding all relationships in the natural world.

His followers, known as Pythagoreans, were the first to teach that the Earth is a sphere revolving around the Sun.

This detail showing Pythagoras surrounded by his disciples comes from a fresco known as the School of Athens (1510-1511), by Italian Renaissance painter Raphael.

THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF PYTHAGORAS

582-507 BC An Ionian, Greek, born on the

island of Samos, a Mathematician and philosopher, founder of the Mathematical, mystic, religions, and scientific society called Pythagorean

FATHER OF NUMBERS A title given to him

because of the “Pythagorean Theorem” which bears his name

MNESARCHUS His father, a merchant

from Tyre

PYTHAIS His mother, a native of Samos

HOMER A book which he recites,

aside from playing lyre and poetry

MATHEMATIKOI

• (Mathematicians) Members of the secret society, Pythagoreans, which was established by Pythagoras when he migrated from Samos to Crotone

He and his followers believed that everything was related to Mathematics and through Mathematics everything could be predicted in rhythmic patterns or cycles

According to some beliefs, he died at the hands of a soldier, because he refused to trample a bean-field while fleeing

He was considered as one of the world’s greatest men, but he wrote nothing, and his doctrines is difficult to identify even the trustworthiness of his life accounts because many legends is gathered around his name at an early date

His Life

PYTHAGORAS PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON

1. Learn to be silent. Let your quite mind listen and absorb• Since there is a transmigration of souls, man should follow various rules of living

which would enable the soul to achieve a higher rank among the gods

2. Help a man in raising a burden, but do not assist him in laying it down for it is a sin to encourage indolence

• Man should abstain from eating meat and any sort of beans in order to attain inner health

3. It is better to learn none of the truth about Mathematics, God, and the Universe at all than to learn a little without learning all

4. Women should function on equal terms with man in society

5. Do not vex with sharp words a man swollen with anger, do not vex yourself with anger

6. Numbers constitute the true nature of things

7. DOCTRINE OF REBIRTH OR TRANSMIGRATION

8. Men are classified into three: lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain

9. DOCTRINE OF VEGETARIANISM

HEDONISM

1. Pleasure is the sole or chief good in life and the pursuit of it is the ideal aim of conduct

2. All actions can be measured n the basis of how much pleasure and how little pain they produce

3. Action is good if it gives worldly pleasure or temporal happiness to men, action is bad if it’s not

4. The good action is the pleasant action, the bad action is that which produces pain

EGOISTIC OR CYRENAIC HEDONISM

• It stresses the gratification of one’s immediate personal desires without regard for other people is the supreme end of human existence

RATIONAL HEDONISM

• It points out that true pleasures is attainable only by reason, and they stressed the virtues of self-control and prudence

PLEASURE OVER PAIN

TYPES OF HEDONISM IN ANCIENT GREECE

BASIC CONCEPTS

Hedonistic philosophy of men has sexual or libidinal connotation

It is an ethical theory that expounds on the pursuit and enjoyment of pleasure as the man’s goal in life

It also stressed that knowledge is rooted in the fleeting sensations of the moment and is

futile to attempt the formulation of a system of moral values in which the

desirability of present pleasure is weighed against the pain they caused in the future

TWO SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS IN HEDONISM

Grouped under Jeremy Bentham

It holds that the value of pleasure could be quantitatively understood

This means that it’s not just the number of pleasures, but their intensity and how long they lasted that must be taken into account

Grouped under John Stuart Mill

It holds that pleasure has different levels :A. Higher Quality Level

Higher quality pleasure is better than lower quality pleasures

More elaborate beings, like men, tend to spend more thought on other matters and hence lesser time for simple pleasure

B. Lower Quality Level Lower quality pleasures are

simple beings Pigs, have easier access to

simple pleasures since they do not see other aspects of life

QUANTITATIVE APPROACH

QUALITATIVE APPROACH

EP

ICU

RU

S

Greek philosopher Epicurus was a prolific author and creator of an ethical philosophy based upon the achievement of pleasure and happiness.

However, he viewed pleasure as the absence of pain and removal of the fear of death.

This bust of Epicurus, a Roman copy of a Greek original, is in the Palazzo Nuovo in Rome, Italy.

EPICUREANISM

A system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus, founded in 307 BC

A form of Hedonism because it also declares pleasure as the sole intrinsic good

DIFFERENCE TO HEDONISMI. Its conception of absence of

bodily pain as the greatest pleasure

II. Its advocacy of a simple and moderate life

THE GARDEN Is an Epicurean school that has been

a moderate ascetic community which rejected the political doctrine of Athenian philosophy, and it includes women, and slaves as members, and were probably vegetarian

EPICURUS (340-270 BC) The proponent of Epicureanism, who

was an atomic materialist following the steps of Democritus

His concept on materialism led him to attack superstition and divine intervention

1. The pleasure of the individual is the sole or chief goal in life:

• To arrive to this goal, man must live in such a way as to derive the greatest amount of pleasure possible during one’s lifetime, yet doing so moderately in order to avoid the suffering incurred by over-indulgence in such pleasures. This emphasizes the pleasure of the mind than a physical pleasure

2. A Moderate Pleasure Can Result To:

• ATARAXIA • a state of tranquility and freedom from fear• APONIA • Freedom from fear and absence of bodily pain constitute happiness in the highest form

3. Peace of mind and Freedom from bodily pain

• The highest pleasure can be obtained through knowledge, friendship, and using virtuous and temperate or modest life

PEACE OF MIND AND ABSENCE OF BODILY PAIN

BASIC CONCEPTS

4. Man can enjoy simple pleasure by abstaining from bodily desire such as sex and appetite

Appetite can lead to dissatisfaction if taken too richly

Sex can increase lust and dissatisfaction with the sexual partner

5. God is neutral to men They do not interfere in the world we live in

6. Gods are mere physical being like men

They are up in the distant place of the cosmos without thought for what happens to mankind

7. Humans and gods souls are made from atoms

God souls adheres to the body without escape

Human souls leave the body because the forces surrounding the atoms do not possess the fortitude to hold it

8. Man has a free will

9. Human thoughts are merely atoms that serve randomly due to the fact that ever-curious minds of people wonder anxiously about their role in the universe

10. Death is a threat to one’s peace of mind

11. Marriage is a threat to one’s peace of mind

12 Artificially-produced desire must be suppressed.

• Learning, culture, civilization, socio-political involvement are artificially produced desires that should be discouraged because they give rise to desire that are difficult to satisfy thus resulting in disturbing one’s peace of mind

13. While very pleasure is in itself good, not all pleasures are to be chosen• Since certain pleasures are produced by means which entail

annoyances many times greater than the pleasure themselves

14. There can be no life to come

• Since the soul is of such a nature as to be dissolved immediately on leaving the body into the primordial tombs to which it was compounded

15. Virtue in itself had no value

• If it does not serve as a means to gain happiness

16. Feelings (PATHE) can tell the individual what brings about pleasure and what brings about pain

MISCONCEPTIONS TOWARD EPICUREANISM

•It posits pleasures as the ultimate good or TELOS•It advocates the partaking of pleasures such as constant partying, orgasmic, sexual excess, and expensive food

Misunderstanding of the Epicurean Doctrine:

•ATARAXIA •Tranquility or peace of mind •APONIA•Absence of bodily pain

The truth is It regarded the

combined aspects to be the height of happiness:

•Excess drinking is contrary to the attainment of Ataraxia and Aponia, prudence, therefore, is an important virtue in seeking pleasure

Example:

UTILITARIANISM

It is an ethical doctrine that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility

The ethical doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the criterion of the virtue of action

The doctrine that the value of an action or an object lies in usefulness

• An 18th century British philosopher founded the ethical, legal, and political doctrine of utilitarianism, which states that correct actions are those that result in the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

JEREMY BENTHA

M

• Bentham’s foremost proponent, a significant philosopher in his day

JAMES MILL

• Son of James Mill who was educated according to Bentham’s principles and much of his father’s work was summarized by him while he was still in his teens

JOHN STUART

MILL

BASIC CONCEPTS OF UTILITARIANISM

The doctrine of utility is, that the good is whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people

The only purpose for which political power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others

The moral thing to do is the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain

It is immoral to harvest healthy people’s organs to be given to sick people

The well-being of all sentient things, including animals, deserve equal consideration with that given to human beings, thus it is often immoral to harm an animal even if the animal itself not given a moral status

All societies are equally important. Viewing oneself as equal to others in one’s society and at the same time viewing one’s society as fundamentally superior to other societies may cause an uncomfortable dissonance

The tenet by which an action is considered right or wrong depending on whether its outcome is good or bad

Developed by the followers of classic utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill

CONSEQUENTIALISM

QUIZ NOV.25. 20101. A method of inquiry by answering a question with a question

2. Members of the secret society, Pythagoreans, which was established by Pythagoras when he migrated from Samos to Crotone

3. He refused to accept payment for his teachings, maintaining that he had no positive knowledge to offer except the awareness of the need for more knowledge

4. A statement that is assumed to be true for the sake of argument

5. “Man should abstain from eating meat and any sort of beans in order to attain inner health” this principle is also known as_____

6. It stresses the gratification of one’s immediate personal desires without regard for other people is the supreme end of human existence

7. The tenet by which an action is considered right or wrong depending on whether its outcome is good or bad

8. An Epicurean school that has been a moderate ascetic community which rejected the political doctrine of Athenian philosophy

9. This means that it’s not just the number of pleasures, but their intensity and how long they lasted that must be taken into account

10. Freedom from fear and absence of bodily pain constitute happiness in the highest form is referred to as _____

ANSWERS

1. Socratic Method2. Mathematikoi 3. Socrates4. Hypothesis5. Doctrine of

Vegetarianism6. Egoistic or Cyrenaic

Hedonism7. Consequentialism8. The Garden9. Quantitative Approach10. Aponia