DEVELOPMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Two Stages on the

Development of
Philosophy
1.Pre-Socratic Philosophy
2.Classical Philosophy
 Pre-Socratic Philosophy
• The Ionians
- the birthplace of philosophy was believed
to be in Miletus (a province of Ionia which is a
Greek colony in Asia Minor)

- the Ionian philosophers were the first to

employ a rational explanation on the origin of
the world and other physical phenomena
 Pre-Socratic Philosophy
- the Pre-Ionian philosophy explained the
nature and origin of the physical world
through myths and gods

- the Ionian philosophers established a

more naturalistic (material substance as the
first principle of things) explanation on the
origin of things
 Pre-Socratic Philosophy
• Well-known philosophers of this period were:
– Thales
– Anaximander
– Anaximenes
– Heraclitus
• Ionians agreed that there was only one
material principle considered as the origin of
things
Pre-Socratic Philosophy

THALES – considered as
the first philosopher in
Miletus

- Contended that the

universe was made up of
water
Pre-Socratic Philosophy

ANAXIMANDER –
believed that the first
principle of things was
apeiron or infinite and
limitless
Pre-Socratic Philosophy

ANAXIMENES – believed
that the first principle of
things was air
Pre-Socratic Philosophy
HERACLITUS – believed
that the first principle of
things was fire
- He also affirmed that
everything was in
constant flux and the
only thing that is
constant
Pre-Socratic Philosophy
HERACLITUS

- This doctrine of
universal change was
considered as one of
Heraclitus’ primary
contributions to pre-
Socratic thought
 Classical Philosophy
• Well-known philosophers of this period were:
– Socrates
– Plato
– Aristotle
• These three had influenced almost, if not all,
philosophical thoughts and schools that
people came to know today
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES – one of the
greatest philosophers
who wrote NOTHING
-His greatest disciple was
Plato

-Focused more on the

cultivation of soul
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES
-1st major philosopher of
ethics
-Introduced a system of
critical thinking and
reasoning to draw line
between right and
wrong, moral and evil
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES
-He attempted to
institute a system of
ethical standards
primarily based from
human reason and not
from religious doctrines
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES
-He contended that one’s
choices were inspired by
his/her desire for
happiness
-According to him, the
highest possible wisdom
came from mastery of self
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES
-For him, the more
knowledgeable and wiser
person becomes, the
closer he/she is to true
meaning of genuine
happiness.
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES
-He popularized Socratic
method, a form of dialog
which brings forth solution to
certain problems
-He was sentenced to death
by poison because of
accusation that he is
polluting minds of the youth
Classical Philosophy
SOCRATES
-He used to describe his work
as like that of a midwife, his
patients are men, and was
concerned with soul
-He said that he cannot bring
birth to wisdom but only
helped in the delivery
Classical Philosophy
PLATO
-Student of Socrates
-The most popular and highly
influential philosopher of all
time
-Introduced the Platonic
realism
Classical Philosophy
PLATO
-He claimed that the road
towards the true life of the
soul was a path of
purification, where man
should exert effort to reach
genuine wisdom and the soul
was purified as it reached
higher degrees of knowledge
Classical Philosophy
PLATO
-His claim was that there is a
greater realm of reality apart
from the human’s own
physical world, making him
contend that the world
perceived by senses were
mere representations of pure
ideal forms existing
elsewhere
Classical Philosophy
PLATO
-In Book VII of Plato’s
renowned work, “The
Republic”, Plato describes a
cavern where men are bound
by their arms and necks,
unable to turn their heads to
either side, seeing only what
is directly in front of them
Classical Philosophy
ARISTOTLE
-He is the student of Plato
-He is more of an empiricist
-He criticized Plato’s theory
of forms
-He was the “Father of Logic”
(logic-the science that studies
the formal processes used in
thinking and reasoning)
Classical Philosophy
ARISTOTLE
-He was the first to formalize
a system of reasoning
-He introduced
Nichomachean Ethics by
which he laid certain code of
conduct anchored on a
person’s strong sense of
conviction on what was
supposed to be “good living”
 VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
• It may not be able to give all the certainties that
people seek in the world of uncertainty
• Philosophy enables every person who pursues it
to think outside of the customary, and challenges
the reason of any law imposed by his/her society
• As Bertrand Russell said, the man who has no
tincture of philosophy goes through life
imprisoned in the prejudices derived from
common sense, habitual beliefs of his age/nation
and convictions without cooperation or consent
of his deliberate reason