5-2
Greek Philosophy and
History
Greek Philosophers
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Main Idea: Greek Philosophers developed ideas
that are still used today.
◦ Philosophy comes from the Greek word meaning “love of
wisdom.”
◦ Greek thinkers who believed the human mind could
understand everything = philosophers
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Pythagoras – philosopher who believed all
relationships in the world could be expressed in
numbers.
Fibonacci number
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Developed many new ideas about mathematics.
For example, the Pythagorean Theorem, still
used to determine the lengths of the sides of a
triangle.
◦ **ONLY WORKS FOR RIGHT TRIANGLES.
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Ancient Greek professional teachers = Sophists
◦ Traveled from city to city
◦ Believed students should use their time to improve
themselves
◦ Did NOT believe the gods influenced people and
rejected the idea of absolute right or absolute wrong.
 What is right for one might be wrong for another
The Ideas of Socrates
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Biggest critic of the sophist
A great philosopher, but left no writings behind so
what we know of him is based on his students
writings, mostly Plato.
Believed in an absolute truth existed and all
knowledge was within each person.

Invented the Socratic Method (still used today).
◦ Asked questions which forced his students to
use their reason and to see things themselves.
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Many saw Socrates as a threat to their power, accused
him of teaching students to rebel against the state and
therefore a jury sentenced him to death.
Jacques-Louis David The Death of Socrates
Plato
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Socrates’ most well known student.
Wrote the Republic, which explains his ideas about
government.
◦ Was about a “utopia” or a perfect society.
He did not believe that democracy was a good form of
government.
◦ Believe “philosopher-kings” should rule.
Set up a school in Athens called the Academy.
Aristotle
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Plato’s best student.
Wrote many different books ranging from government to
planets and stars
Opened his own school called the Lyceum where he taught the
“golden mean” in which a person should do nothing in excess.
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Wrote a book called Politics and thought the best government
was a combination of democracies and oligarchies.
His ideas shaped the way Europeans and Americans thought
about government.
Was Alexander the Great’s teacher.
Greek Historians

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Main Idea: Greeks wrote the first real histories in Western
Civilization.
Herodotus – wrote the history of the Persian Wars.
◦ Tried to separate fact from legend.
◦ Western historians consider him the “Father of History”

Thucydides – considered the greatest historian of the
ancient world
◦ During exile he wrote his History of the Peloponnesian War
◦ Unlike Herodotus, he saw war and politics as activities of
human beings, not gods
◦ He stressed the importance of having accurate facts!!
 “Either I was present myself at the events which I have
described or else I heard them from eye-witnesses whose
reports I have checked with as much thoroughness as
possible.” - Thucydides