Jaymie Ticknor Intro Philosophy 1050 Sect 003 22 and 24 January 2014 Meritocracy best people philosophers rule instead of everybody like in a democracy mob Lecture 3 rule 1st group of accusers his own reputation Origin of Reputation Oracle of Delphi nobody wiser than Socrates wise man prove or disprove by questioning everything went to politicians poets and craftsmen and discovered that he is wiser than the groups because of knowing that he does not know everything not ignorant 2nd group of accusers Meletus and politicians poets and craftsmen in the court Claims that Socrates is the doer of evil who corrupts the youth argues that people corrupt the horse Meletus does not really care for the improvement of youth just there to get revenge does not believe in the gods of the city believes in new spiritual things argues that he is not an atheist as Meletus claims since he believes in spiritual things Wisdom and knowledge both independent Not scared of death fear of death comes from assuming something is bad when we don t know if it is the greatest evil or not symptom of ignorance in the politicians poets and craftsmen two possibilities start of a new beginning of blessings or the end where he does not matter anymore maybe afraid because of the unknown Spare his life because of his service and being a gadfly to Athens not for himself believes he is sent from god to philosophize will not find another like him if put to death The examined life is not worth living he shall never stop philosophizing Epicureanism and Stoicism Ancient Philosophy and the Good Life Ancient Greece Platonic school Ethics in Philosophy Aristotelian school Ethics and Metaphysics then Epicureanism Ethics viewed happiness as the ultimate end and Stoicism Ethics positive mindset primarily flourished in Roman Empire Practical Philosophy environmental ethics field of medicine applied to everyday life Goals for the End to better society to achieve and continue happiness friendship love fun peace purpose support family children health education music passion positive mindset and acceptance Philosophy as therapy philosophy can liberate us from our fears of death and the harsh realities of life philosophy can provide instruction as to how we can be happy Hedonism from the Greek root hedone meaning pleasure the belief that happiness is determined by means of pleasure and pain one of the earliest schools of hedonism was started on the coast of North Africa by Aristippus c 430 350 B C E who felt that because sensory pleasures are more intense than mental or emotional ones they are the best of all also actual pleasures in the pre Epicurus born on the Greek island of Samos moved to Athens became a cult figure 341 270 B C E his 300 books have been lost fragments remain was an atomist one of the first natural philosopher thought reason philosophy could liberate us from the fear of death and give us happiness argued that the gods had no influence on our lives scientific approach thought that we could attain knowledge from relying on our senses point of all action is pleasure Epicureanism the unrefined hedonism of Aristippus was soon improved by Epicurus believing that political activities and ambitions were pointless Epicurus started a school of philosophy called The Garden This was one of the few places in Greece where women and slaves were allowed and encouraged to interact with men as equals Epicurus claimed that only the quality of our pleasures and pains is important This departure from Aristippus emphasis on quantity distinguishes Epicureanism Discrepancy between our use of the term epicurean today extreme pleasures Epicurus encouraged moderate pleasures and recommended a lifestyle that avoided pain thought that people should live a simple life and that happiness could be achieved through freedom friendship and contemplation time in our day to contemplate with friends Stoicism Virtue initially Stoicism emerged as a reaction against the belief that pleasure is always good and pain is always bad or evil the Stoic seeks serenity peace of mind through self discipline happiness comes only through detachment from all things external the disciplined reasonable person can be happy under any and all conditions for the Stoics everything is a matter of attitude nothing can make you happy or unhappy without your consent independent Philosophical school founded by Zeno of Citium in the 3rd century BC Stoic coming from stoa meaning porch the central focus of Stoicism lies in the idea of always maintaining a will that works in accordance with nature maintained that emotions should be suppressed other notable Stoic philosophers Seneca Cicero Epictetus Epictetus From Slave to Stage ironically one of the most important Stoic philosophers was a former slave named Epictetus c 50 130 C E as a slave the only absolute control he had was over his own reactions to what happened motto was Anechou kai apechou