1 Introductory Philosophy Upto Socrates

Introductory Philosophy
Course No.: PHIL C 211/HSS F 235

BITS-PILANI, GOA
Introductory Philosophy/dr.anoop george/bits pilani-goa
Etymology:
from the Greek - Philosophia
Philo = love or loving and Sophia = Wisdom
Hence Philosophy means love of wisdom
Definitions of philosophy:
Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary 7th Ed.
1. The study of the nature and the meaning of the universe and
of human life.
2. A set of beliefs or an attitude to life that guides somebodys
behavior.
Introductory Philosophy/dr.anoop
george/bits pilani-goa
Origins of philosophy:
1) Wonder
2) Curiosity
Branches of Philosophy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Logic
Ethics
Aesthetics
1. METAPHYSICS
The word metaphysics is derived from a collective title of the
fourteen books by Aristotle that we currently think of as making
up Aristotles Metaphysics.
Metaphysics comes from the Greek: Ta meta ta phusika which
means the after the physicals or the ones after the physical
ones.
Aristotle called metaphysics the study of the first principles of
things, a science of existence in general, or of being as such. He
also called it as the study of Substance.
2. EPISTEMOLOGY
The word Epistemology comes from the Greek episteme meaning
knowledge or science.
This branch of philosophy deals with philosophical problems
concerning: knowing, perceiving, feeling sure, guessing, being
mistaken, remembering, finding out, proving, inferring,
establishing, corroborating, wondering, reflecting, imagining,
dreaming and so on.
Defined narrowly, epistemology is the study of knowledge and as
the study of knowledge, epistemology is concerned with the
following questions: What are the necessary and sufficient
conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its
structure, and what are its limits?
3. ETHICS
The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves in systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong
behavior.
Today Ethical theories are divided into three subject areas:
1) Metaethics, 2) Normative Ethics, and 3) Applied Ethics.
a) Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from,
and what they mean. Are they merely social inventions? Do they
involve more than expressions of our individual emotions?
Metaethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of
universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical
judgments, etc.
b) Normative Ethics takes on a more practical task, which

is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and
wrong conduct. This may involve articulating the good
habits that we should acquire, the duties that we should
follow, or the consequences of our behavior on others.
c) Applied Ethics involves examining specific controversial
issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights,
environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital
punishment, nuclear war etc.
4. LOGIC
Logic is a branch of Philosophy which is defined as the theory of
the conditions of valid inference or as the theory of proof.
5. AESTHETICS
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy which deals with the
philosophical reflection on beauty and the arts.
Some questions of Philosophy:

1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
2. Who am I?
3. Is our universe real?
4. Do we have free will?
5. Does God exist?
6. Is there life after death?
7. What is the best moral system?
Divisions of philosophy
ANCIENT
MEDIEVAL
MODERN
WESTERN
CONTEMPORARY
PHILOSOPHY
INDIAN
ASTIKA (ORTHODOX)
NASTIKA (Hetrodox)
10
Ancient Western Philosophy:

The history of Ancient Western Philosophy is an intellectual
movement which originated around 550 BCE in and around
Asia Minor in Greece. Most prominent philosophers of this
time are Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
Medieval Western Philosophy:
Medieval philosophy is conventionally construed as the
philosophy of Western Europe between the decline of classical
pagan culture and the Renaissance. It refers to philosophy in
Western Europe during the medieval period, the so called
Middle Ages (between 300 AD and 1500 AD.) Important
philosophers of this time are: Augustine, Anselm of
Canterbury, Bonaventure etc.
11
Modern Western Philosophy:

The history of the new era may be viewed as an awakening of the
reflective spirit, as a quickening of criticism, as a revolt against
authority and tradition, as a protest against absolutism and
collectivism, as a demand for freedom in thought, feeling, and
action. This era seems to have begun with Descartes (1596), who
is known as the father of Modern Western Philosophy. Important
philosophers of this time are: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Locke
Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
12
Contemporary Western Philosophy:

The term contemporary philosophy refers to the current era of
philosophy, generally dealing with philosophers from the late
nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. Two major
philosophical trends that arose during this time are Analytic
Philosophy (logic and scientific approach) and Continental
philosophy (Phenomenological and Existentialist approach).
13
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY:
Indian philosophy, the systems of thought and reflection that
were developed by the civilizations of the Indian subcontinent.
They include both orthodox (astika) systems, namely, the Nyaya,
Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta.
Unorthodox (nastika) systems are Buddhism, Jainism, and the
Charvaka schools.
Indian thought has been deeply concerned with various
philosophical problems, significant among are the nature of the
world (cosmology), the nature of reality (Metaphysics), Logic, the
nature of knowledge(epistemology), ethics, and the philosophy of
religion.
14
PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE AND RELIGION:
There is a deep and intrinsic relation between philosophy,

science and Religion especially in relation to our everyday life.
The most basic questions of our life, as we see below, are
bound within philosophy, science and religion.
1. Who am I?
2. What is the nature of this vast creation before me?
3. What is my relationship to that creation?
15
RELIGION:
Religion is defined (American Heritage Dictionary) as the
belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers
regarded as creator and governor of the universe and as a
personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief
and worship.
So, religion, in the sense described, is a system based on
belief in a creator, which is rule-based and which exists at an
appropriate time and place for the purpose of satisfying the
deepest needs of people. Religion provides a particular
world view. It helps us to make sense of the world around us.
It provides an ethical framework from which we can lead our
lives. The central feature in all religions is the existence of
God, who is the primary cause of the creation. Religions also
create a structure which in turn helps us reach back to its
source.
Continued:
16
The bulk of scripture in both the east and the west is

taken up with this. The ten commandments, vast
sections of the Quran, the teachings of Buddha, the
Laws of Manu, are all there to refine our interactions
with each other and the creation and to free us to return
to the Creator.
In our modern materialistic world, however, it is easy to
lose sight of that sense of longing, that desire to have
the spiritual, intellectual and physical world harmonized.
17
SCIENCE:
According to American Heritage Dictionary:
The observation, identification, description, experimental
investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural
phenomena.
Thus science is an enquiry into our ways of knowing and
knowledge as such.
The scientist channels this knowledge through a discipline
known as The Scientific Method.
18
The scientific method consists of four steps:

1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of
phenomena.
2. Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena. The
hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a
mathematical relation.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other
phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new
observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by
several independent experimenters and properly performed
experiments.
19
As modern science developed, particularly from the time of

Galileo forward, this methodology strengthened and raised
science from a sort of magical exercise to the powerful
intellectual tool that we know today. We all use the scientific
method as we try to understand our world, and know various
facets of our own very existence.
PHILOSOPHY:
Philosophy as the love of wisdom opens up the capacity to look
within to discern what is true, right or lasting. It is here that the
world of the observer and the object of observation are unified in
truth. The philosopher is engaged in an investigation whose sole
aim is harmony of the inner and outer worlds.
20
Greek philosophy before Socrates:

The Pre-Socratics were 6th and 5th century B.C. Greek thinkers
who introduced a new way of inquiring into the world and
the place of human beings in it. They were recognized in
antiquity as the first philosophers and scientists of the
Western tradition.
The term Pre-Socratics stands for the earliest Greek thinkers,
down to the time of Socrates, who attempted to define the
constitution of the world and the nature of reality. They
range from Thales active in the early sixth century BC to
Democritus in the latter part of the fifth century BC. The preSocratics were mostly concerned with the nature and the
knowledge conceived from there (nature). Hence Aristotle
called the Pre-Socratics the investigators of nature.
21
However Socrates turned the Greek speculative philosophy in

a totally new direction by rejecting the enquiry into the
physical nature of things and concentrating on ethical
questions.
Except for the Sophists, a group of philosophers in whose
tradition Socrates also belonged, the rest of the early Greek
philosophers subordinated the human problems to the
assessment of external physical reality. It is important to note
that the Pre-Socratics were concerned with the primordial
question: What is the basal stuff of which the world is
composed?
Major Philosophical schools that existed in Pre-Socratics era
were, the Ionians or (Milesians), Pythagorianism , the Eleatics,
the Atomists, the Sophists, etc.
22
The Ionians:
The Ionians were from the Ionian city of Milesia. They were also
called Milesians. Most important Ionians were Thales, Anaximander
and Anaximenes. The Ionians considered that the unity of the world
was to be found in the matter, or in the material form of the world.
Thales:
He was born in Miletus, a Greek colony about 624 B.C. and died
between 554 and 548 B.C. He was noted as a statesman,
Mathematician and astronomer, and as the first philosopher of
Greece.
23
The importance of Thales lies in his having put the

philosophical question this worldly and with no reference to
any mythical beings.
According to Thales Water is the basal stuff of which the
world is composed.
He considered water to be the basal stuff because water
contains moisture, which is essential to life. According to him
everything comes from water and returns to water.
24
Anaximander:
Anaximander was born in Miletus in 611 B.C. and died 547
or 546 B.C. He is mentioned as the pupil of Thales. He was
interested in astronomy, geography, and cosmology. His
treatise On Nature, of which only fragments remain, was
the first philosophical book written in Greece and the first
prose work in the Greek language.
According to him the first principle of the universe is an
infinite, undefined, absolute substance (apeiron) out of
which everything is created and to which everything
returns.
25
Anaximenes (588 524 B.C.) :

A citizen of Miletus and supposedly a pupil of Anaximander.
According to him the first principle of things or underlying
principle (Substance) is one and infinite, as his teacher help,
BUT it is not indeterminate. For him it is AIR or vapor or mist.
As air or breath is the life-giving element in us, so it is the
principle of the universe. This air is animate and extends
infinitely through space.
26
Pythagoreans:
Pythagoreans are a group of philosophers who were mostly
mathematicians. They were interested in quantitative
relations, which are measureable, and began to speculate
upon the problem of the uniformity and regularity in the
world, attempting to explain this fact by making an entity of
number, and setting it up as the principle of all being.
Pythagoras is considered to be the founder of this school. His
ideas was to develop, among his followers, the political
virtues, to teach them to act for the good of the state, to
subordinate themselves to the whole. In order to realize this
end, he emphasized the need of moral training, and
highlighted that the individual should learn to control himself,
to subdue his passions, to harmonize his soul. He should have
respect for the authority, to the authority of his elders, his
teachers and the state.
27
Pythagoras himself left no writings. It is likely however that he

is the originator of the number-theory which forms the central
doctrine of the Pythagorean schools. The Pythagoreans take
note of the fact of form and relation in the world. They find
measure, order, perfection and uniform recurrence, which can
be expressed in numbers. Without number, they reasoned,
there can be no such relations and uniformities, no order or
law, hence number must lie at the basis of everything.
According to them numbers must be the true realities, the
substances and the ground of things, and everything else an
expression of numbers.
28
Heraclitus:
While the Ionians were interested in the physical nature of things
and the Pythagoreans on the nature of numbers, there came a
group of philosophers interested in the problem of change and
becoming. Heraclitus (535-475 B.C.) was prominent among them
he is deeply impressed with the fact of change in the world, and
concludes that change constitutes the very life of the universe and
that nothing is really permanent, and permanence is an illusion.
Though things may appear to remain stable, they are actually in an
endless process of becoming or in a constant state of flux.
Heraclitus taught that the universe is in a state of ceaseless
change. He argued that you could not step twice into the same
rivers. Thus he argues for the incessant activity something which
never comes to rest (eg: breathing), which he chooses as the first
principle of things.
29
The Eleatics:
While Heraclitus was impressed with the phenomenon of
change and motion the Eleatics insist that change and
motion are unthinkable and that the principle of things
must be permanent, unmoved and never changing. The
school takes its name from the town of Elea, in Southern
Italy, where this philosophy originated. There are three main
proponents of this school: Xenophanes, Parmenides and
Zeno.
30
Xenophanes:
Xenophanes (570-480 B.C.) is a theologian rather than a
philosopher. He attacked the prevailing polytheism with its
anthropomorphism, and proclaims the unity and the
unchangeableness of God. He argued that: But mortals think
that the gods are born as they are, and have preceptons like
theirs, and voice and form.
So the Ethiopians make their gods black and snub-nosed; the
Thracians give theirs red hair and blue eyes instead he argues
that God is one, unlike mortals in body on in mind. God abides in
one place and does not move. God is one, He is without
beginning or eternal.
31
Parmenides (515 BC 450 BC):

While Heraclitus argues for becoming or flux, Parmenides argues
that such becoming (or change as such) is nothing but an
appearance. Due to his conviction that there is only one essence
(namely Being, a single and unchangeable whole) Parmenides is
sometimes referred to as a monist.
Refuting Heraclitus Parmenides asks, how is change possible?
How can a thing both be and not be? How can a thing change its
qualities? How can one quality become another quality? To say
that it can, is to say that X is and X is not, that something can
come from nothing.
32
To argue further: if something has become, it

must either have come from not-being or from
being. If it has come from not-being then it has
come from nothing, which is impossible. If from
being then it has come itself, which is equivalent
to saying that it is identical with itself. Thus
Parmenides argues that there is only being and
not becoming. Since he held on to the notion of
being, his argument is ontological.
33
Zeno (about 490-430 BC.):

Zeno became famous for writing a series of paradoxes that have
intrigued, puzzled and irritated thinkers from his time until the
present day. One of the best known paradoxes attributed to Zeno is
Achilles and the Tortoise. His argument is if we involve in plurality
and motion then we involve ourselves in contradictions. Thus if
there are many things these must be both infinitely small and
infinitely great. Infinitely small because we can divide them into
infinitely small parts and infinitely great because we can add infinite
number of parts to every part.
34
According to him motion and space are also impossible

for the same reasons. If we say that all being is in space,
then we must assume that this space is in a space and
so on ad infinitum. In the same way in order to pass
through a certain space, it must first have moved
through half of that space; in order to have passed
through this half, it must first have gone through half of
this half, and so on ad infinitum.
Thus, in short the body can really never get anywhere
and motion is impossible.
35
The Atomists:
The founders of the School of Atomists are Leucippus and Democritus.
Of Leucippus we know almost nothing; his very existence has been
doubted by some, while others like Aristotle regard him as the real
originator of the atomic system.
Democritus:
Democritus (460 BCE 370 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher. He is
known for his influence on modern science more than any other preSocratic philosopher. Though Leucippus is considered as the founder of
atomism, it is Democritus who is the chief exponent of atomism.
Democritus held that nothing could come from nothing, that
everything is already in the world and it is merely a matter of
combination and re-combination of eternal bits of immutable stuff
called atoms that remain indivisible that make up of the materials of
life.
36
He also supposed that the solidness of any given material was

dependent upon the shapes of these atomic bits. Different from
todays understanding of atomic structure, Democritus and other
atomists thought that atoms were indivisible and infinite in size
and shape as well as firm and completely solid.
Atoms did not make up just everyday objects for Democritus, but
influenced his thoughts on sight, senses and souls. As for
perception, Democritus held to his strictly materialist philosophy
maintaining that atoms, the hard bits of reality, were the
reasoning behind our senses. It is due to the movement of the
atoms through space or void that predict our experience of sight.
Any large object would give out their atoms which then are carried
to our eyes. This would be an explanation for why objects far away
are less clear in detail since their atoms would collide more with
air atoms by the time they reached a pair of eyes.
37
Democritus believed that all of the senses were due to touch

and the physical experience of atoms encountering each other.
Another example would be taste, where jagged atoms would
tear taste buds, creating a sensation of bitterness while
rounder atoms would be sweeter.
As for the explanation of souls, atoms take center stage once
again. Instead of the soul being a sort of force or something
immortal, Democritus felt that there were smooth soul
atoms and that when a human perished, these atoms would
disperse out into the world and become parts of everything
and or anything else. It is this part of his investigations that
perhaps led Plato and his belief in an immortal soul to
allegedly call for the burning of all Democritus' texts.
38
The sophists:
The Greek word sophist formed from the noun sophia, which
means wisdom or learning. The term sophist originally
meant a wise and skillful man, but in the time we are
describing it came to be applied to the professional teachers
who travelled about, giving instruction for pay in the art of
thinking and speaking, and preparing young men for political
life
The sophists brought philosophy down from heaven to the
dwellings of men and turned the attention from external
nature to man himself. For the sophists the proper study of
mankind was man.
39
Socrates (469-399 B.C.) :

He was born in Athens. Son of poor parents. His father was a
sculptor and mother a midwife.
It was his custom to engage in converse with allsorts and
conditions of men and women on the streets, in the
marketplaces, in the gymnasia, discussing the most important
topics such as: war, politics, marriage, friendship, love,
housekeeping, the arts and trades, poetry, religion, science, and
particularly, moral matters. His concern was primarily the
human person.
40
He was a man of remarkable self-control, magnanimous, noble,

frugal and capable of great endurance. He gave ample proof of
physical and moral courage, in war and in the performance of
his political duties. His bearing at his trial furnishes an
impressive picture of moral dignity, firmness, and consistency,
and died as beautifully as he had lived , with clarity for all and
malice toward none; condemned by his own people, on a false
charge of atheism and of corrupting the youth, to drink the
poison hemlock. He remained loyal to the state and obeyed all
rules and laws of the state. When, after his condemnation,
friends arranged a plan of escape he refused to profit by it, on
the ground that he had enjoyed the benefits of the laws during
his whole life and could not, in his old age, prove disloyal to his
benefactors.
41
Socratic method
Socrates is ever remembered for the dialectic method of enquiry
which is considered as an important contribution to the Western
thought, and which is popularly known as the Socratic Method. It is
found in the Socratic Dialogues by Plato. This Method argues that to
solve a problem, the problem has to be broken down into a series of
questions and at the end the seeker would find an answer to his
questions. The influence of his approach is most strongly felt today in
the use of the scientific method in which constructing hypothesis is
the first stage.
The Socratic Method poses a person or a group to examine and
underline a set of beliefs to the extent of their knowledge. The
Socratic Method is a negative method of elimination. Here in the
process of examination better hypothesis are accepted and
eliminated those that led to contradictions. It was introduced to
examine ones own believes
and the validity of such beliefs.
42
The problem of truth:

Socrates found that the prevailing ethical and political fallacies
sprang from a total misconception of the meaning of truth, and
that the problem of knowledge was the key to the entire
situation. It was to meet with this practical difficulties that he
entered upon his mission with the power of human reason. His
purpose was practical rather than speculative.
In order to reach the truth, Socrates argues, we must not accept
any opinion that enters our mind. It is our business to clear up
our ideas, to understand the real meaning of terms, to define
correctly the notions we employ, to know exactly what we are
talking about. We should have reason for our views; prove our
assertions , - think, not guess put our theories to the test,
verify them by the facts and modify and correct them in
accordance with the facts.
43
Famous Socratic quotes:

One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them
think.
An unexamined life is not worth living.
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little
we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.
By all means marry. If you get a good wife you will become
happy, and if you get a bad one you will become a
philosopher.
Acknowledgements:
Thilly, F., A History of Philosophy, Central Book Depot, Allahabad, 1984.
Russel B., History of Western Philosophy, Routledge Classics, London, 2007.
Hiriyanna, M, The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, 1949
Introductory Philosophy/dr.anoop george/bits pilani-goa
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1 Introductory Philosophy Upto Socrates

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Introductory Philosophy

Course No.: PHIL C 211/HSS F 235

Introductory Philosophy/dr.anoop george/bits pilani-goa

b) Normative Ethics takes on a more practical task, which

Some questions of Philosophy:

Ancient Western Philosophy:

Modern Western Philosophy:

Contemporary Western Philosophy:

PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE AND RELIGION:

There is a deep and intrinsic relation between philosophy,

The bulk of scripture in both the east and the west is

The scientific method consists of four steps:

As modern science developed, particularly from the time of

Greek philosophy before Socrates:

However Socrates turned the Greek speculative philosophy in

The importance of Thales lies in his having put the

Anaximenes (588 524 B.C.) :

Pythagoras himself left no writings. It is likely however that he

Parmenides (515 BC 450 BC):

To argue further: if something has become, it

Zeno (about 490-430 BC.):

According to him motion and space are also impossible

He also supposed that the solidness of any given material was

Democritus believed that all of the senses were due to touch

Socrates (469-399 B.C.) :

He was a man of remarkable self-control, magnanimous, noble,

The problem of truth:

Famous Socratic quotes:

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