Although Pythagoras is known today for his mathematics, it is clear that many in the Greek world looked to him regarding religious philosophical ideas. He is one of the first Greeks to come up with the idea of the transmigration of souls as seen in excerpts (14,1), (14.8a), and (14.8). This is the belief that the soul is immortal and goes from one organism to the next after death of the body. This idea can be seen throughout the world beyond Greek culture in Egypt, India, and many native tribes on multiple continents. Without revelation, it seems that there is an inherent inclination in humans to formulate such an idea. This could be due to the fact that there is truth in the belief that souls are immortal. Immortality has always been a common belief throughout the history and cultures of humanity. Additionally, we have a tendency to personify or project our humanity onto other organisms. Thus, it is not surprising that ideas such as excerpt (21B7) would be found in association with the transmigration of souls.
The Christian tradition would reject this idea because it goes against many beliefs such as humans being a particular creature of a certain kind. We are rational creatures capable of loving God and by our very existence as human rational creatures created in his likeness, we have a sort of innate dignity separate from every other organism.Thus, it would not follow that a human soul would then become an animal soul or plant soul. There is also a special unity between the body and soul as exemplified through Jesus Christ with our bodies being part of salvation in his second coming. Despite these conflicts, there appears to be a slow rising trend of metaphysical thought among the Greeks moving away from the Homeric tradition and towards the Christian tradition with the Milesians, Xenophanes, and now Pythagoras. This process reminds me of Aquinas' teaching on the intertwining of faith and reason. The Greek philosophers appear to be slowly getting at the truth through the use of only reason, but this also leads to the many errors that we are finding and is a far slower way of attaining the truth. Therefore, one also needs faith in addition to reason, which can be seen in the form of revelation through Jesus. Do you think there is a slow developing trend of moving away from the Homeric tradition to a more Christian perspective or is this just coincidence and our infusion of our own ideology into the Greek thinkers?
-BaylorBear16
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
Xenophanes of Colophon
The beliefs and excerpts of Xenophanes appear to be fairly unique considering he argued for a monotheistic form of a creator rather than follow the pluralistic tradition of Homer. In several of the excerpts such as B11, B12, B14, B15, B16, and A12 Xenophanes is raising concerns that many modern day Christians and monotheists would share about the Greek gods. They are far too human and perform actions that are immoral even for the Greeks. At times the most powerful of the gods, Zeus, acts dishonestly, adulterous, and unjust. These are traits that are seen as part of a human condition rather than a form of divinity. The gods may be powerful beyond measure, but they can act with the maturity of a teenager. This appears to be the result of too much humanity being placed into the belief of the gods. Although it is good for a certain human connection to be present as seen in Jesus, the Greek gods exhibit the extreme form of this. God is above race and material items in this world. He is immaterial and several excerpts seem to agree with this by amusingly noting how some might have thought about their gods.
At the same time there is something that Christianity contains and that the beliefs of Xenophanes lack, which may help explain why one spread throughout the world and the other did not. One answer is God's love for humanity as creatures of a specific kind exhibited through Jesus Christ. This radical idea of God loving us so much that he sent his only son to die for our sins and save us is something that the creator of Xenophanes never did. His god does not communicate with his creation and is somewhat removed from it. The Christian God not only interacts with his creation, but gives himself for the good of his creation through eternal love. This seems to be a proper balance between the immoral human Greek gods and the silent god of Xenophanes that has no love for us. What would Xenophanes think of our God? What major differences between the Christian God and the god of Xenophanes do you find interesting?
-BaylorBear16
At the same time there is something that Christianity contains and that the beliefs of Xenophanes lack, which may help explain why one spread throughout the world and the other did not. One answer is God's love for humanity as creatures of a specific kind exhibited through Jesus Christ. This radical idea of God loving us so much that he sent his only son to die for our sins and save us is something that the creator of Xenophanes never did. His god does not communicate with his creation and is somewhat removed from it. The Christian God not only interacts with his creation, but gives himself for the good of his creation through eternal love. This seems to be a proper balance between the immoral human Greek gods and the silent god of Xenophanes that has no love for us. What would Xenophanes think of our God? What major differences between the Christian God and the god of Xenophanes do you find interesting?
-BaylorBear16
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Sappho
Greek women, with the exception of the wealthy and maybe those from Sparta, were generally viewed as second to men in Greek culture. Women were so isolated from society focusing mainly on activities within their household. It is ironic that, despite these restrictions placed on women, the Greek god of Athena is one of wisdom, war, and the arts. These topics seem to be hardly connected to life within the home and Athena comes to be the patron god of Athens. Additionally, Greece is the birthplace of democracy, but most women were stripped of their political rights. Thus, it is important to realize that even in a highly free western culture, injustice can still be found among its ranks as seen in the status of women in society.
With that being said, Sappho represents a rare light among ancient Greek writers being a woman and overcoming this seemingly insurmountable hurdle. She may be the first female author of ancient Greece that I have studied in a class. Having invented her own Sapphic meter and spreading her works from Sicily to Egypt, it is clear that she was one of the great poets of her time equal to men. Although I disagree with her seemingly homoerotic nature of poetry, it is no surprise that it may not have been condemned at the time due to immoral homosexual activity amongst males being present in Greek culture.
Nevertheless, her poetry is very real and holds deep emotional sentiments that can be felt by all regardless of who the feelings are aimed at. Feelings of unrequited love, loved ones being taken away from us, and jealousy are all emotions that we can relate to regardless of our time period. These poems contain an underlying human connection that transcends time and culture where placing ourselves in similar situations comes naturally as we read the texts. Do you agree with this idea of a seemingly everlasting human connection or does reading these poems feel distant from your perspective?
-BaylorBear16
With that being said, Sappho represents a rare light among ancient Greek writers being a woman and overcoming this seemingly insurmountable hurdle. She may be the first female author of ancient Greece that I have studied in a class. Having invented her own Sapphic meter and spreading her works from Sicily to Egypt, it is clear that she was one of the great poets of her time equal to men. Although I disagree with her seemingly homoerotic nature of poetry, it is no surprise that it may not have been condemned at the time due to immoral homosexual activity amongst males being present in Greek culture.
Nevertheless, her poetry is very real and holds deep emotional sentiments that can be felt by all regardless of who the feelings are aimed at. Feelings of unrequited love, loved ones being taken away from us, and jealousy are all emotions that we can relate to regardless of our time period. These poems contain an underlying human connection that transcends time and culture where placing ourselves in similar situations comes naturally as we read the texts. Do you agree with this idea of a seemingly everlasting human connection or does reading these poems feel distant from your perspective?
-BaylorBear16
Monday, January 18, 2016
The Milesians: Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes
While it is easy to not take seriously the particular views expressed through their excerpts, these early philosophers represent the science of their time and show the transformation of knowledge through peer review. Being pupils of the one before them, they learned the views of their teacher and made changes to these beliefs according to their own observations of the natural world. Excerpts 5, 9, 21, and 24 show this progression of thought and shifting of beliefs from water to infinite apeiron to air as the substance of the world.
Additionally, there is some truth underlying these many beliefs which can be attributed to their technological inability to observe things not seen with the naked eye. These ideas of motion and air transforming different substances around them can now be explained by the interaction of atomic particles and changing temperatures. The weather patterns explained in excerpt 29 and 16 are mostly attributed to the atoms of water responding to hot and cold environments. Despite these incorrect explanations, they are also right about the physical world made of matter and the existence of the supernatural such as souls. Thus, reading these excerpts brings some level of humility to our own understanding of the world.
In a society that is dominated by science, technology, and the evidence behind it, we need not forget that our understanding of the world even 100 years from now will be drastically different from what it is today. The more we know, the more we realize that we know very little. So the next time that a scientist claims to have solved some major scientific question, take it with a level of humility. Know that there will be a different explanation with time as each scientific claim is just another part of a long continuous pursuit of the truth regarding the physical world. Can science explain everything or are there areas of study with which science has no explanation?
-BaylorBear16
Additionally, there is some truth underlying these many beliefs which can be attributed to their technological inability to observe things not seen with the naked eye. These ideas of motion and air transforming different substances around them can now be explained by the interaction of atomic particles and changing temperatures. The weather patterns explained in excerpt 29 and 16 are mostly attributed to the atoms of water responding to hot and cold environments. Despite these incorrect explanations, they are also right about the physical world made of matter and the existence of the supernatural such as souls. Thus, reading these excerpts brings some level of humility to our own understanding of the world.
In a society that is dominated by science, technology, and the evidence behind it, we need not forget that our understanding of the world even 100 years from now will be drastically different from what it is today. The more we know, the more we realize that we know very little. So the next time that a scientist claims to have solved some major scientific question, take it with a level of humility. Know that there will be a different explanation with time as each scientific claim is just another part of a long continuous pursuit of the truth regarding the physical world. Can science explain everything or are there areas of study with which science has no explanation?
-BaylorBear16
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
A Presocratics Reader Intro
From the reading, I find it interesting that there are several aspects of the first Greek philosophers during the pre-Socratic period that have continued within the philosophical tradition throughout human history, even to this day. Starting at the very beginning with Thales, there has always been this focus on trying to better understand the world around us both physical and supernatural. Providing arguments and evidence for certain beliefs or schools of thought regarding natural phenomena and the existence of the universe. Asking deep complex questions about what the world is made of, the existence of God or a creator, how to live a good life, etc... From Thales to Aristotle to Aquinas to Descartes to Hume to Plantinga, these questions have consistently been addressed using forms of argument and evidence to establish their view.
Additionally, Hesiod brings forth another practice found throughout the tradition which is an appeal to the divine. Hesiod often appealed to the muses to support his claims about the beginning of the universe. This is seen in later pre-Socratics such as Homer and can be found throughout history in different forms whether it be an appeal to divine revelation, miracles, or faith. Although the context and support is very different, with certain appeals being more credible than others, the idea of referring to the divine for support is constant throughout the tradition.
Finally, it is interesting that the pre-Socratics studied many different areas of interest under philosophy. They gave no thought to the idea that their philosophical ideas had to be separated from the science, politics, or mathematics of their time. Rather, these ideas of thought helped inform their decision making and actions when studying issues in other fields. In today's society, all of these fields are completely independent and separated from each other from pre-school to college. Is this the best way to educate students? Should these fields be kept isolated from each other or should we not be afraid to let our philosophical beliefs inform our pursuits in other fields?
-BaylorBear16
Additionally, Hesiod brings forth another practice found throughout the tradition which is an appeal to the divine. Hesiod often appealed to the muses to support his claims about the beginning of the universe. This is seen in later pre-Socratics such as Homer and can be found throughout history in different forms whether it be an appeal to divine revelation, miracles, or faith. Although the context and support is very different, with certain appeals being more credible than others, the idea of referring to the divine for support is constant throughout the tradition.
Finally, it is interesting that the pre-Socratics studied many different areas of interest under philosophy. They gave no thought to the idea that their philosophical ideas had to be separated from the science, politics, or mathematics of their time. Rather, these ideas of thought helped inform their decision making and actions when studying issues in other fields. In today's society, all of these fields are completely independent and separated from each other from pre-school to college. Is this the best way to educate students? Should these fields be kept isolated from each other or should we not be afraid to let our philosophical beliefs inform our pursuits in other fields?
-BaylorBear16
Hello PHI 3310
This is my first "blog" that I have ever done and I will be learning as I go. I'm interested in the comments that I will receive and look forward to the year ahead for this classical philosophy class. I haven't spent any time on a blog before, but I will give it my best shot when making posts. Hope you enjoy it!
-BaylorBear16
-BaylorBear16
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