Democritus (460 BCE – circa 370 BCE)
Democritus introduced a radical idea: reality is composed of invisible atoms moving through empty space.
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Plato and Aristotle’s Relationship
30 Phil, Chapter 9: Contrary to the traditional view that casts Plato and Aristotle as proponents of differing philosophies, this fresh perspective suggests they were actually quite close.
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Eudaimonia
Ethics begins with the good life, but the good life is bigger than personal happiness. Flourishing means growing well within reality while helping others, society, and nature flourish too.
Logical Fallacies
30 Phil, Chapter 9, Aristotle, Touchstone 26: Logical Fallacies. A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning that invalidates an argument. In simple terms, it’s when a conclusion doesn’t logically follow from its premises. They sidestep issues with a lack of valid argumentation. While using a fallacy doesn’t mean the conclusion is wrong, it does
Logic
Aristotle helped make reasoning visible. He showed that arguments have structure, and that conclusions must be tested against their premises.
Empiricism
30 Phil, Chapter 9, Aristotle, Touchstone 24: Empiricism. Empiricism says knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience. It emphasizes the role of observation and evidence in forming beliefs and understanding the world.
Rationalism
30 Phil, Chapter 9, Aristotle, Touchstone 23: Rationalism. Rationalism emphasizes reason and a priori knowledge—knowledge you are born with—as the primary means of understanding reality. It says truths can be known independently of experience and that reason alone can provide an understanding of the world.
Syllogisms
30 Phil, Chapter 9, Aristotle, Touchstone 22: Syllogisms. While deductive reasoning existed informally before Aristotle, he formalized it in his work “Prior Analytics” by introducing the Syllogism. It structures arguments into two key premises leading to a conclusion and remains widely used today. Aristotle knew that syllogisms can both analyze and validate derived truths, by logically
The Birth of Logic
In the vibrant intellectual climate of Ancient Greece, the 6th century BCE marks the embryonic stage of formal logic, attributed to the philosopher Thales of Miletus (around 624-546 BCE). Thales, recognized as the first of the Seven Sages of Greece, embarked on a quest that laid the foundational stones of logical thought. He shifted the
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Pythagoras (570-495 BCE)
103 Generations Ago The Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras was born in Ancient Greece on the island Samos which is about a mile off the coast of modern Turkey. History looks at Pythagoras as an educator and philosopher as well as a cult leader. He discovered the musical octave, used deductive reasoning, and embraced an
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Aristotle
A strong mind can examine an idea without immediately believing or rejecting it. Understanding comes before judgment.
Plato
Plato reminds us that what we see is not always the whole story. Humans use abstract ideas, categories, and ideals to make sense of the changing world around us.
Socrates (469 – 399 BCE)
99 Generations Ago Socrates was a Greek philosopher and is frequently credited as the founder of Western philosophy. He left no writings, but his student Plato documented his philosophy. Some of my favorite translated sayings attributed to Socrates: Enjoy yourself — it’s later than you think. He who is not content with what they have
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