9. Hesiod
~700 BCE
In the beginning there was only Chaos, the
Abyss
But then Gaia, the Earth, came into being,
Her broad bosom the ever-firm foundation of
all,
And Tartaros, dim in the underground depths,
And Eros, loveliest of all the Immortals, who
Makes their bodies (and men’s bodies) go limp,
Mastering their minds and subduing their wills.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. Thales of Miletus
~624 to ~546 BCE
“Western philosophy began with
Thales” (Bertrand Russell, 1945)
Natural explanations for
observed events, e.g. earthquakes
What is the “first
principle” (arche) from which all
things are made?
Is change real? What causes it?
17. Anaximander
~610 to ~ 546 BCE
Accepts material monism but
not water
Aperion is in motion and splits
into hot (fire) and cold (air &
earth)
Change occurs due to law-like
forces
18. Anaximander
~610 to ~ 546 BCE
“[T]he first animals were produced
in moisture, enclosed in thorny
barks ... they came out onto the
drier part”
“Humans were born from other
kinds of animals”
“[T]here arose from heated water
and earth either fish of animals very
like fish. In these, humans grew ...”
19. Anaximenes
died 528 BCE
Aer rarefies to become Fire
Aer condenses to form wind
(then cloud, water, earth &
stone)
21. Shared Values
Commitment to argument and critical inquiry, together
with a view about the nature of justification
Commitment to the idea that the natural world could
be explained in terms that do not refer to anything
beyond nature itself
22. Pythagoras of Samos
~570 to ~495 BCE
Akousmatikoi (“listeners”) saw him as
a religious and ethical leader
Mathematikoi (“learners”) studied
philosophy, mathematics, astronomy,
music
Mathematics was key to
understanding the kosmos
23.
24. Heraclitus
~535 to ~475 BCE
“The Riddler”
Τα Πάντα ῥεῖ - “Everything flows”
The logos (account, word) was the
single divine law of the universe that
governs all change and we can come
to understand it.
Logos manifests itself as fire, always
changing yet always the same.
25. Parmenides
Born ~515 BCE?
The world as it appears is false.
Change is impossible, and existence is
timeless, uniform, and unchanging.
Clear influence on Plato.
26. Democritus
~460 to ~370 BCE
There is no purpose (telos),
prime mover or final cause
Mechanistic explanation
involving indestructible atoms.
The universe is composed of
nothing but tiny atoms
churning which collide
together to form larger units.
37. A Stationary Earth
“The LORD is king, robed with majesty; the LORD is robed,
girded with might. The world will surely stand in place, never
to be moved.” [Psalms 93:1]
“The LORD is king. The world will surely stand fast, never to
be moved. God rules the peoples with fairness.” [Psalms 96:
10]
“You fixed the earth on its foundation, never to be
moved.” [Psalms 104: 5]
“Tremble before him, all the earth; he has made the world
firm, not to be moved.” (1 Chronicles 16: 30]
38. A Mobile Sun
“Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when
the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the
children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon,
in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and
the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written
in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the
midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a
whole day.”
Raphael, “School of Athens”, 1510. In the VAtican
Mesopotamia / Egypt / Greece / Drama / Gods
Mesopotamia / Egypt / Greece / Drama / Gods
Mesopotamia / Egypt / Greece / Drama / Gods
Mesopotamia / Egypt / Greece / Drama / Gods
Mesopotamia / Egypt / Greece / Drama / Gods
Theogony - nature and supernatural merge / no natural evidence is required
Zeus establishes order - irish accent
Zeus establishes order - irish accent
Map by Hecataeus of Miletus- under Persian rule - intellectual pluralism
apoc pred eclipse in 585. Quakes as earth floating on water (waves). Unity in Difference. Change comes from within.
student of thales / aperion is vague boundless chaotic material from which all comes
evolution?
student of anaximander / earthquakes caused by drying of earth / introduced specific processes
student of anaximander / Community of Pythagoreans / “kosmos” means ordered world (cf chaos) / murderous cult / vegetarians / metempsychosis
Pythagorean triples probably discovered before pyth
Flow = change / “You cannot step twice into the same river”
Opinions based on senses (doxa) are untrustworthy
The Earth is round / Void was necessary / Developed an ethical theory based on this, as did ...
Placement in Vatican!
Plato based on Da Vinci
Platonic forms / Aristotelean empiricism
Fire, water, air, earth
Perfect and Unchanging
Mars 2009/2010
Preservation of Greek texts
Rise in 12th C / Aristotle: Not infallible indeed some ideas condemned in 1277 / MESSAGE: Speculate but don’t claim access to the truth about the Creation