Ethics

• Wonder is very much the affection of a philosopher; for there is no other beginning of philosophy than this.


  Plato
• The idea on philosophy started in Ancient Greece in response to the failure of religions.

  philos means love + sophia means wisdom = philosophy (love of wisdom)
• A mathematician who first coined himself as philosophos (lovers of wisdom).


  Pythagoras
• He became popular as he introduced the Pythagorean theorem, where he argued that shapes and ratios are governed by principles that can be discovered. He combined philosophy and mathematics.


  Pythagoras
• As philosophy continues to grow, it spread throughout the Asia Minor to Aegean Sea of Greece in a little town of Ionia, a small city of Miletus in the 6th century B.C.E.
• studies the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence of a human person, especially when considered as an academic discipline.


  Philosophy
• According to this philosopher, philosophy is the process of constant questioning, and questioning necessarily takes the form of dialogue.


  Plato
• He added, philosophy is the foundational ability that understands the basic axioms which needs logic.


  Aristotle
• Periods of Philosophy: AMMC

  Ancient Period (1000 B.C.E. - 5 C.E.)

  Medieval Period (10 C.E. - 1500)

  Modern Period (1600 - 1889)

  Contemporary Period (1960 - Present)
• “Everything is made of water.”

  Water is something from which everything can be formed, essential to life, capable of motion, capable of change 


  Thales of Miletus, 624 BCE
• Thales of Miletus:

  • The first known Greek philosopher who seeks rational answers to questions about the world we live in
• Pythagoras:

  • Combined philosophy and mathematics
• Confucius (Kong Fuzi):

  • Philosophy centered on respect and tradition
• Siddharta Gautama (Buddha):

  • Founder of the religion and philosophy of Buddhism
• Lao Tzu:

  • Famous quote: “The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao”
• Heraclitus:

  • Believed the universe is governed by cosmic logos (argument) that balances opposites like night and day, hot and cold
• Parmenides:

  • Famous quote: “All is one” So real is eternal and unchanging
• Protagoras:

  • Famous quote: “Man is the measure of all things”
• Mozi:

  • Focused on advocating universal love (jian ai) and emphasized the idea of reciprocity to our actions
• Democritus Leucippus:

  • Famous quote: “Nothing exists except atoms and empty space”
• Lao Tzu

  • “The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.”
  • Dao (the Way) is the source of all existence and the root of all things, seen and unseen
  • Dao (the Way) is achieved through wu wei (non-action)
  • Wu Wei (non-action) examples: A solitary life of meditation and reflection. Living in peace, simplicity, and tranquility. Acting thoughtfully not impulsively. Acting in harmony with nature.
• Pythagoras

  • “Number is the ruler of forms and ideas.”
  • Everything in the universe conforms to mathematical rules and ratios.
  • So if we understand number and mathematical relationships…
  • we come to understand the structure of the cosmos.
  • Mathematics is the key model for philosophical thought.
• Buddha

  • “Happy is he who has overcome his ego.”
  • Suffering is an inherent part of existence - the truth of suffering (Dukkha)
  • The cause of suffering is desire - the origin of suffering (Samudaya)
  • Suffering can be ended by detaching oneself from craving and attachment - the ending of suffering (Nirodha)
  • The Eightfold Path is the means to eliminate desire and overcome the ego - the path to the ending of suffering (Magga)
• Confucius

  • “Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.”
  • Faithfulness and sincerity…
  • are shown in traditional rituals and ceremonies
  • These allow virtue to become visible
  • Virtue is then made manifest in the world
  • Virtue can then be seen by others
  • Others are transformed by virtue
  • Faithfulness and sincerity hold the power of transformation
• • “Everything is flux.”
  • He uncovers the idea that the universe is governed by cosmic logos (argument) that balances the opposites like night and day and hot and cold.


  Heraclitus
• • “All is one.”
  • He deduces an idea that when things cannot exist, it is impossible to not exist and they must have existed in different forms which would never change. So real is eternal and unchanging.


  Parmenides
• Protagoras

  • “Man is the measure of all things.”
  • It is a spring day in Athens
  • A visitor from Sweden says the weather is warm
  • A visitor from Egypt says the weather is cold
  • Both are speaking the truth
  • The truth depends on perspective and is therefore relative
  • Man is the measure of all things
• • “When one throws me a peach, I return to him a plum.”
  • He disliked the clan relationships of Confucianism, in turn, he focused in advocating the universal love (jian ai) and emphasized the idea of reciprocity to our actions.


  Mozi
• • “Nothing exists excepts atoms and empty space.”
  • They coined the word: atom, which is the composition of the universe and this allows the movement of every object, may it be filled or empty space.


  Democritus Leucippus
• Birth of Socrates, whose methods of questioning in Athens formed the basis for much of later Western philosophy.
• Aristotle, Plato’s student, opens his own school in Athens — the Lyceum
• Socrates

  • “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.”
  • The only life worth living is a good life
  • I can only live a good life if I know what good and evil are
  • Good and evil are not relative. They are absolute that can only be found by questioning and reasoning
  • In this way, morality and knowledge are bound together
  • An unquestioning life is one of ignorance without morality
  • The life which is unexamined is not worth living
• Plato

  • “Everything in this world is a “shadow” of its Ideal Form in the world of Ideas.”
  • The real world is the world of Ideas
  • We are born with the concepts of these ideal forms. We live in the world of the senses
  • We recognize things in the world because we recognize they are imperfect copies of the concepts in our mind
• Epicurus

  • “Death is nothing to us.”
  • The goal of life is happiness. Our unhappiness is caused by fear and our main fear is of death
  • Death is the end of sensation and consciousness so it cannot be physically and emotionally painful
  • Death is nothing to fear
  • If we can overcome fear of death we can be happy
• Aristotle

  • “Truth resides in the world around us.”
  • We see different instances of dog in the world around us
  • We recognize the common characteristics of dogs in the world
  • Using our senses and our reason, we understand what makes a dog a dog
  • We find the truth from evidence gained in the world around us
• formulates his stoic philosophy, which goes on to find favor in the Roman Empire.

  Zeno of Citium
• The death of him signals the end of the cultural and political dominance of Greece in the ancient world.

  Alexander the Great
• a Roman citizen of Egypt, proposes the idea that Earth is at the center of the universe and does not move.


  Ptolemy
• This marks the end of a unified China. The Period of Disunity begins.

  Han Dynasty
• Branches of Philosophy

  Metaphysics

  Epistemology

  Logic

  Aesthetics

  Political Philosophy

  Ethics