metodichka_dlya_filos

the power of confusion in mystic terminology under the appropriate circumstances.

2.3 THE SOPHISTS

Around the second half of the fifth century B.C., the cultural status of Greece reached a high level, partly through the influence of Asiatic culture. At this time individual sciences began to develop and to seek theoretic expansion. Scholars were making an effort to bring order into this new mass of knowledge. Numerous schools sprang up, most of which were conducted in the traditional methods of philosophy and rhetoric, though some pedagogues courageously resisted the inherited dogmas and techniques. Like other teachers, these nonconformists were called sophists, i.e., "learned sages."

The Sophists took as the foundation of their thought the division between nature and custom. The division of rights into natural and statutory, which aimed at equal rights for all, must have been very humiliating to the aristocratic classes of Greece, with their philosophical systems of ethics.

"The creator made all people free; Nature made no slaves," taught Aleidamas, the Sophist. And Hippias said, "I believe we are all of the same source, companions and citizens of nature, but the laws enslave many people contrary to the laws of nature."

Aristotle spoke out strongly against these rash Sophists who dared to consider slavery to be the unnatural and evil act of the ruling aristocracy. "Others, on the contrary," Aristotle said, "think that the power of the master over his slave is unnatural; according to them, the difference between the free man and the slave exists only because of the laws, for men are not different by nature and slavery is practiced by force, not by right."

Basing their arguments upon the fundamental materialism of nature and law, the Sophists demanded not only the liberation of the slaves, but equality of possession and education. The Sophist Protagoras taught: "Man is the sum of all things. I can know nothing of the gods, whether they exist or not."

The Sophists differed in their sharp deviation from philosophic ideology which they considered useless play, and in the use of biting sarcasm to make it a laughingstock. There were among them, to be sure, some who were insincere and unreliable.

I. Practise reading the following words and find the sentences with

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them in the text :
Aleidamas [əʹlaɪdəməs]	nonconformist [ˏnɒnkənʹfɔ:mɪst]
expansion [ɪksʹpænʃ(ə)n]	possesion [pəʹzeʃ(ə)n]
Hippias [ʹhɪpɪəs]	Protagoras [prəʋʹtæɡəˏræs]
humiliating [hju:ʹmɪlɪˏeɪtɪŋ]	sarcasm [ʹsɑ:kæzm]
insincere [ˏɪnsɪnʹsɪə]	scholars [ʹskɒləs]
laughingstock [ʹlɑ:fɪŋstɒk]	statutory [ʹstætʃʋt(ə)rɪ]

II. Answer the questions to the text:

1.Why did the cultural status of Greece reach a high level?

2.What sciences resisted the inherited dogmas and techniques? Why?

3.Why were the sophists called ‘learned sages’?

4.What core principles did the Sophists introduce into the philosophy?

5.What did the Sophists base their theory on?

III. Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following wordcombinations:

the inherited dogmas and techniques, nonconformists, the division between nature and custom, to be humiliating to smb. / smth., to speak out strongly against smb., fundamental materialism, equality of possession, sharp deviation from smth., biting sarcasm.

IV. Give English equivalents for the following word-combinations:

традиційна риторика, шукати теоретичного розповсюдження, розподіл між природою та звичкою, неприродній (а) акт / поведінка, фундаментальний матеріалізм, навчені дикуни, бути принизливим для аристократів, поневолювати за допомогою сили, філософська ідеологія, зробити щось посміховиськом.

V. Put the words in the following sentences into the correct order:

1.Individual sciences / at this time / to develop / theoretic expansion / and to seek / began.

2.Nature and custom / took / between / the division / the sophists / as the foundation of their thought.

3.Enslave many people / the laws / the laws of nature / contrary to.

4.The unnatural and evil act / considered / the ruling aristocracy / they / slavery.

5.Are not different / by nature / slavery / by force / practiced / men / and.

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VI. Find the statements which are not true to the text:

1.Aristotle spoke for the Sophists and liked their teaching very

much.

2.The foundation of the Sophists thoughts were taken from the division of the society into males and females.

3.It was according to the laws of nature to enslave some people by the others.

4.The Sophists thought that the power of the master over his slave was natural.

5.Any man is the sum of all things.

6.Philosophic ideology and the Sophists had very much in common, including the views on slavery.

VII. Find in the text the synonyms / antonyms to the following words and make up your own sentences with them:

Synonyms: foundation, to be directed at smth., to vary, scientists, to ground the arguments, useless game.

Antonyms: conformists, equality, sincerity, reliability, evil, slave owner.

VIII. Prove that the following Aristotle’s statement was in sharp contradiction to that of the Sophists:

‘The power of the master over his Slave is natural’

IX. Find out in the text the sentences that confirm the idea: ‘All men are created equal’ and translate them into Ukrainian.

2.4 PLATO

Our knowledge of Socrates thought comes mainly from the writings of his most famous pupil, Plato (428-347), for Socrates wrote nothing. Plato continued Socrates investigation of moral conduct. He has left a massive series of philosophical books, mainly in the form of dialogues in which Socrates is the main speaker. But Plato went far beyond the homely paradoxes of Socrates and sought truth through a complex system that is still endlessly discussed and probed by critics.

Plato made his greatest impact on the future of philosophy with his theory of knowledge. Some Sophists, as we have seen, practically denied that it was possible to know anything: in the absence of objective knowledge, the only recourse was to make your way through the world by coolly exploiting any situation at hand. Socrates rebelled against this view,

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but his answer to the question, How can I know what is right? was simply that one must listen to one’s conscience.

Plato believed that we must go beyond the evidence of our senses to find ultimate reality. We see objects as real, but, in fact, they are only poor reflections of ideal models, or “forms”, which are eternal, perfect originals of any given object or notion. To illustrate our lack of true perception, Plato uses a famous metaphor in his Republic. Imagine men sitting in a cave, facing a wall, with a fire at their rear. As others carry objects through the cave, in front of the fire, the men see only vague shadows of the objects and therefore cannot make out the reality. So what we think we see as justice, for example, is only an approximation of the true form of justice. Only through long training in philosophy can we learn how to perceive and understand these forms, which exist somewhere outside our world.

Plato presents this thesis in several dialogues, of which the most widely read is The Republic. Like other Athenian intellectuals, Plato was an opponent of democracy, and his repudiation of this system was strengthened when a jury of 500 was persuaded to condemn Socrates to death, even though the master had served the state as a soldier and had committed no crime. Socrates is the main speaker in the Republic, and as the long debate over the right form of state progresses, he is made to express severe criticism of democracy. Yet it is by no means certain that these opinions are really those of the historical Socrates. It could well be argued and many have concluded, that it was Plato who was the real antidemocrat. That he put these opinions into the mouth of Socrates seems highly likely. This whole matter-whether the theories in Plato’s writings are really those of Socrates or of Plato – must remain uncertain; but we are not entitled to declare, as the journalist I. F. Stone has done in his The Trial of Socrates, that Socrates hated democracy.

I. Practise reading the following words and find the sentences with

them in the text :
anti-democrat [ʹæntaɪ, ʹæntɪ]	perception [pəʹsepʃ(ə)n]
[ˏdeməʹkræt]	Plato [ʹpletəʋ]
comit [kəʹmɪt]	repudiation[rɪˏpju:dɪʹeɪʃ(ə)n]
conscience [ʹkɒnʃ(ə)ns]	severe [sɪʹvɪə]
evidence [ʹevɪdəns]	Socrates [ʹsɒkrəˏti:z]
intellectual [ˏɪntɪʹlektʃʋəl]	ultimate [ʹʌltɪmɪt]
justice [ʹdʒʌstɪs]	vague [veɪg]
paradox [ʹpærədɒks]
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II. Answer the questions to the text:

1.How many books did Socrates write?

2.What was the main theme of Socrates’ investigation?

3.Why do scientists believe that Plato’s theory of knowledge made a great impact on philosophy?

4.Is it true that Plato suggested to exploit any situation at hand in order to get the objective knowledge? Why?

5.What philosophic metaphor did Plato suggest in The Republic?

III. Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following wordcombinations:

to go far beyond the paradoxes, the absence of objective knowledge, to rebel against exploiting the situations at hand, to be beyond the evidence of our senses, ultimate reality, vague shadows, the true form of justice, to express severe criticism of smth., to condemn smb. to death, to commit a crime, to be an anti-democrat.

IV. Give English equivalents for the following word-combinations:

моральна поведінка, діалоги, шукати правду, відсутність об’єктивного знання, прислухатися до своєї свідомості, бідні відбитки ідеальних моделей, відсутність вірного (світо)сприйняття, апроксимація реальної форми правосуддя, вірна форма соціального прогресу, відома метафора, сидіти у печері, навчатися сприймати та розуміти форми, існувати у нашій свідомості.

V. Put the words in the following sentences into the correct order:

1.The homely paradoxes / Plato / of Socrates / beyond / went for.

2.Ultimate reality / to find / we must / beyond the evidence / of our senses / go.

3.Poor reflection/ objects are / of ideal models.

4.Eternal perfect originals / forms / of any given object / are / or

notion.

5.In philosophy / we / through long training / can learn / to perceive and understand / how / forms.

VI. Find the statement which is not given in the text:

1.The whole list of books written by Plato.

2.The literary form of Plato’s writing.

3.Athenian intellectuals were against democracy.

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4. The name of the main speaker in Plato’s The Republic.

VII. Find in the text the synonyms / antonyms to the following words and make up your own sentences with them:

Synonyms: to influence smth., to understand the reality, to make similar, point of view, to debate, issue, ever-lasting originals.

Antonyms: truth, to admit, impossible, unreal, subjective knowledge.

VIII. Choose the statements which are true to the text:

1.Socrates never investigated moral conduct of people.

2.Plato’s complex system is practically never discussed by philosophers.

3.The Sophists supported the idea of getting the knowledge of ultimate reality.

4.What we think is the true justice but in the perfect form.

5.Plato thought highly of democracy and supported it in his dialogues.

IX. Explain why the author is uncertain as to real Socrates’ philosophy and views on democracy.

2.5 ARISTOTLE

Plato had an equally famous pupil Aristotle (384-322) who was for a time the teacher of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. His investigations, in which he was assisted by his pupils in Athens, extended to all fields of learning known to the ancients: logic, metaphysics, astronomy, biology, physics, politics, and poetry among them.

Aristotle departed from Plato's theory of ideal forms that cannot be perceived by the senses. He believed that every object has both form and matter, which are inseparable and can be studied only in that object.

For Aristotle each object had a purpose as part of a grand design of the universe. “Nature does nothing by accident”, he said. The task of the philosopher is to study individual objects to discover their purposes then, from the conclusions drawn, he may ultimately be able to perceive the grand design.

He and his pupils, meeting in a grove in Athens called the Lyceum, devoted themselves to collecting and systematizing knowledge in all fields. For his Politics he studied the governments of over 150 contemporary-states, comparing the merits of each. In the work he

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distinguishes three different types of constitution: monarchy, aristocracy, and moderate democracy. But he warns that monarchy can turn into tyranny; aristocracy into oligarchy; and moderate democracy into radical democracy, or anarchy. Of the three pure forms, Aristotle expresses a preference for moderate democracy. The chief end of government, in his view, is the good life, for both the individual and the community as a whole. This is an extension of the view expressed in his Ethics that happiness is the greatest good of the individual.

Aristotle also achieved a conception of the whole universe that was to remain a strong influence in all later speculations. By his time, philosophers recognized four elements. Of these, Aristotle taught that air and fire naturally move upward and earth and water downward. To these elements he added a fifth, ether, the material of which the stars are made. The stars move in a natural circular motion. Outside the whole universe there exists an eternal «prime mover», which imparts the impulse toward movement throughout all the other parts. This prime mover, or God, as Aristotle finally designates him, does not move or change; God is a kind of divine thought or mind.

Among the best of all Aristotle's works are his writings on biology, for example, the Generation of Animals, in which he accounts for the birth and reproduction of animals, birds, fish, insects, even human beings; or – the Parts of Animals, in which the various, functions of the parts are studied. Aristotle adopted the ‘teleological’ method (Greek ‘telos’ – ‘aim, goal’), according to which Nature cleverly designs every part with a specific function in view.

Aristotle was the last of the great Greek philosophers. The techniques of logical argument perfected in the polis had been the origin of philosophy, but by Aristotle's death in 322, the self-contained polis had been absorbed into a larger world of empire.

I. Practise reading the following words and find the sentences with

them in the text :
accident [ʹæksɪdənt]	inseparable [ɪnʹsep(ə)rəb(ə)l]
anarchy [ʹænəkɪ]	Macedonia [ˏmæsɪʹdəʋnɪə]
conception [kənʹsepʃ(ə)n]	matter [ʹmætə]
contemporary [kənʹtemp(ə)rerɪ,	Metaphysics [metəʹfɪzɪks]
-p(ə)rɪrɪ,]	monarchy [ʹmɒnəkɪ]
divine [dɪʹvaɪn]	oligarchy [ʹɒlɪgɑ:kɪ]
impulse [ʹɪmpʌls]	tyranny [ʹtɪrənɪ]
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II. Answer the questions to the text:

1.What fields of science did his teaching extend to?

2.What inseparable parts did he identify in any object?

3.What types of states did he describe and what changes did he predict as to these types of states?

4.Why did Aristotle add the fifth element existing in the universe? What element is it?

5.What is the role of the eternal ‘prime mover’?

6.Why is Aristotle’s method called ‘theological’?

III. Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following wordcombinations:

Alexander the great of Macedonia, physics and metaphysics, to depart from the ideal forms theory, the grand design, to collect and systematize, knowledge, moderate and radical democracy, a conception of the whole universe, an eternal ‘prime mover’, a divine thought, the aim of any object or creation.

IV. Give English equivalents for the following word-combinations:

поширюватися на усі галузі знань, ідеальні форми не можна збагнути через почуття людини, форма та сутність об’єкта, у природі немає нічого випадкового, великий задум, вади сучасних держав, ціль існування, концепція всесвіту як єдності, надавати імпульс будьякому руху, телеологічний метод.

V. Put the word in the following sentences into the correct order:

1.Forms / inseparable / both…and / are / matter.

2.A purpose / a grand design / each object / of the universe / for Aristotle / had.

3.And his pupils / in a grove / Aristotle / met / in Athens / called the Lyceum.

4.The whole universe / Aristotle / a conception of / also / achieved.

5.Of all Aristotle’s works / among the best / on biology / The Generation of Animals / is.

6.The ‘teleological method’ / cleverly designs / according to / nature

/every part / with a specific function.

VI. Find in the text Aristotle’s ideas on different types of states.

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VII. Find in the text the synonyms / antonyms to the following words and make up your own sentences with them:

Synonyms: aim, chief to dedicate oneself to, entire, to stay, influence, particular, function.

Antonyms: purposefully, drawbacks, evil, upward, birth, fullishly, unnatural.

VIII. Complete the following sentences:

1.Aristotle taught that air and fire naturally move upwards while

earth…

2.The stars move…

3.The prime mover or God does not…

4.The birth and reproduction of animals, birds, insects, fishes and human beings is accounted for in…

5.Aristotle was the last…

6.After 322 A.D. the self-contained polis was absorbed…

7.It’s known that Aristotle was the teacher of…

REVISION

I. Read the following text and summarize the previous information:

Ancient philosophy is a historical classification that is used for the philosophy in Europe, namely that of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Ancient philosophy is generally deeply rooted in religious traditions. Accordingly, ancient philosophy has a comprehensive outlook as opposed to modern or contemporary philosophy, which tends to have more narrow methodologies and areas of focus.

In the Western tradition, ancient philosophy was developed primarily by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Ancient philosophy tends to have a comprehensive perspective which includes a wide range of components, including myth, religious beliefs, ethics, literature, cosmology, and theories of nature.

The pinnacle of ancient philosophy is the classical Greek philosophy as developed by Plato and Aristotle. These two philosophers defined the issues, philosophical vocabularies, methodologies, and types of discourses of philosophy as a discipline and influenced the entire tradition of philosophy.

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II. Find the correct variant:

1. The early Greek philosopher, …, was the theoretician of change.

a) Pythagoras;	c) Aristotle;
b)Zeno;	d)Heraclitus.
2. Evil even numbers are identical with the….
a) finite;	c) infinite;
b)eternal;	d)unfortunate.

3. The Sophist … taught: "Man is the sum of all things. I can know nothing of the gods, whether they exist or not."

a) Aleidamas;	c) Aristotle;
b)Hippias;	d)Protagoras.
4. Like other Athenian intellectuals, Plato was an opponent of …
a) anarchy;	c) monarchy;
b)democracy;	d)oligarchy.
5. Aristotle adopted the …	method, according to which Nature
cleverly designs every part with a specific function in view.
a) theological;	c) comparative;
b)theoretical;	d)teleological.
6. Ancient philosophy is generally deeply rooted in … traditions.
a) western;	c) religious;
b)natural;	d)mythological.

III. The word ‘speculation’ means:

a)a process of thinking carefully about something in order to make a judgement;

b)ideas or beliefs about particular subject;

c)a personal way of feeling;

d)connection.

IV. Who said: “Nature does nothing by accident.”

a)Aristotle;

b)The Sophists;

c)The Pythagoreans;

d)Protagoras.

V. Get ready to speak about one of the ancient philosophers.

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