Greek Philosophic Schools
Greece :
Many schools of philosophy rose to prominence in ancient Greece. They espoused a range of
philosophical positions, styles and methods. Many of the words we use today to describe
similar positions or ideas are drawn from the names of the schools : atom, cynic, skeptic,
academic and stoic.
Some of them were clearly defined schools that gave lectures and lessons, others were
loosely defined movements.
PreSocratics Schools :
Milesians :
- Small groups of philosophers following a common doctrine. The origins of
philosophy are often traced to Thales of Miletus who attempted to find natural
explanations for various phenomena in place of religious explanations.
- They look for generalizable rules that explained what they saw in the world. This
attempt to find generalized rules which could be used to predict future behavior,
instead of attributing phenomena to the unpredictable wills and whims of the Gods
was what set apart the Milesian school and started the project of philosophy.
Pythagoreans :
- Pre-Socratic school of philosophy was Pythagoreanism.
- Founded by Pythagora himself, he was a mythic figure who forbade the eating of
beans and received philosophy through revelation. (Philosophy between religion)
- Views about the world such as dividing it into unlimited substances and limiters like
shapes and arguing that mathematics can show us the correct harmonies to combine
these two.
Eleatics :
- Pre-Socratic school.
- Parmenides was the leader and began to drive philosophy more towards the use of
deductive logic as a means for ascertaining truth as opposed to simply observing
natural phenomena, attempting to prove universal facts about reality, such as the claim
that the universe is one with logic.
Atomists :
- Position which was share by philosophers from various schools, such as the
Epicureans. However, it started as a presocratic viewpoint held by Democritus and his
student Leucippus.
- A view point claimed that the world was comprised of only atoms and the void. All
substances could be explained by the shape, arrangement, and position of these
particles.
Greece :
Many schools of philosophy rose to prominence in ancient Greece. They espoused a range of
philosophical positions, styles and methods. Many of the words we use today to describe
similar positions or ideas are drawn from the names of the schools : atom, cynic, skeptic,
academic and stoic.
Some of them were clearly defined schools that gave lectures and lessons, others were
loosely defined movements.
PreSocratics Schools :
Milesians :
- Small groups of philosophers following a common doctrine. The origins of
philosophy are often traced to Thales of Miletus who attempted to find natural
explanations for various phenomena in place of religious explanations.
- They look for generalizable rules that explained what they saw in the world. This
attempt to find generalized rules which could be used to predict future behavior,
instead of attributing phenomena to the unpredictable wills and whims of the Gods
was what set apart the Milesian school and started the project of philosophy.
Pythagoreans :
- Pre-Socratic school of philosophy was Pythagoreanism.
- Founded by Pythagora himself, he was a mythic figure who forbade the eating of
beans and received philosophy through revelation. (Philosophy between religion)
- Views about the world such as dividing it into unlimited substances and limiters like
shapes and arguing that mathematics can show us the correct harmonies to combine
these two.
Eleatics :
- Pre-Socratic school.
- Parmenides was the leader and began to drive philosophy more towards the use of
deductive logic as a means for ascertaining truth as opposed to simply observing
natural phenomena, attempting to prove universal facts about reality, such as the claim
that the universe is one with logic.
Atomists :
- Position which was share by philosophers from various schools, such as the
Epicureans. However, it started as a presocratic viewpoint held by Democritus and his
student Leucippus.
- A view point claimed that the world was comprised of only atoms and the void. All
substances could be explained by the shape, arrangement, and position of these
particles.
