Three Athenian philosophers flourish in Greece from 470 B. C. until 320 B. C. These philosophers were famous for their “schools of thought.” The first of these is Socrates who lived from 469 until 399 B. C. He did not leave any writings behind; therefore, we know about his ways of thinking from those of whom he taught. His famous method of instruction called the Socratic method is still used today. In this method, the teacher allows students to use their own deductive reasoning to see things for themselves through a series of questions and answers. Unfortunately, many did not agree with Socrates teachings. He was accused of corrupting the youth in Athens and sentenced to death.
One of Socrates most famous students, Plato, established a second school of thought. Flourishing around 400 B. C., Plato contradicted his teacher in that he left many writings, his most famous being The Republic. He believed that a higher world of unchanging forms and ideas existed. If a person knew these forms, then he kn
In conclusion, these men were great thinkers. Their opinions on society and its function were quite different, but they both had the same concern, to build a better way of life for their societies they in lived in and for the societies that would come to be in the future.
Aristotle, unlike Plato, was not focused or concerned about the idea of a perfect society, instead he wanted to improve upon the one that he was part of during his existence. Rather than develop a framework for a society that is perfect, he suggested that society should, in it self, strive to utilize the best system it can attain. He felt that utopia was abstract and superficial. It wouldn’t allow for realistic problem solving solutions. He felt that Plato’s view of a strict overhaul of society in general wasn’t necessary. He believed that society was at its optimum and you can only improve upon the existing one.
The third school of thought was that of Aristotle (384-322 B. C.). He felt that form and matter were one, not two
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