Natural Philosophy the Seven Sages

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Natural Philosophy The Seven Sages: Thales of Miletus (624-547 BC.) Solon of Athens (c.624-560) Pittacus of Mitylene (650-570) Bias of Priene (flourit ca. 570) Chilon of Sparta (Ephor in 556) Cleobulus of Lindus (6th. cent.) Myson of Chen (6th. cent.) Or: Periander of Corinth (late 7th. Cent) Myson Pittacus Solon Bias Thales Chilon Cleobulus The Presocratics: Kosmos (order) Chaos (disorder) Nature (physis) Sought the origin (arche) of all things Milesians: Thales Anaximander Anaximenes Essence, Arché Thales Of Miletus A descendant of Cadmus 624 - 547 Learned Geometry in Egypt Five Theorems of Elementary Geometry Foretold of the eclipse of 28 May, 585 Water is the arche. Anaximander The earth floats free in space Celestial bodies circle the earth. Anaximenes Student of Anaximander B. ca. 526 BC Air is the ‘arche’ "Being made finer it [air] becomes fire, being made thicker it become wind, then cloud, then (when thicker still more) water, then earth, then stones; and the rest come into being through these" (Phys. 24. 26). Air is arche, ergo eternal, ergo divine Natural Philosophy Pythagoras of Samos 569 – 476 Captive in Babylon Philo (love) sophia (wisdom) Lovers of wisdom – but no man can be wise Harmonic ratios 2:1, 3:2 and 4:3 used in music. "Golden Mean" 1:1:2:3:5:8:13:21:34:55:89 Ration of 1 to 1.618 Earth rotates around the sun Transmigration of the soul b = 89 a = 55 a Chilon Ephor of Sparta 556 Engraved the three maxims at Delphi Know thyself Nothing overmuch A pledge, and ruin is nigh. Relativism: Xenophanes of Colophon ca. 550 BC “Mortals made their gods, and furnished them with their own body, voice and garments. Our gods have flat noses and black skin, say the Ethiopians. The Thracians say, our gods have red hair and hazel eyes” Protagoras of Abdera 481 – 411 BC Ethical Relativism “Man is the measure of all things” “Whatever each city judges to be just and fine, these thing in fact are just and fine for it, so long as it holds these opinions.” (Plato Theaetetus 167c. 4-5) The Sophists Materialist presupposition Rejection of nomos Sought physis through examination Truth is a function of the dialectic Logos Argument, story – without examination cannot be true Dissoi Logoi Conflicting arguments Truth is a result of the agona – the competition A well educated man must be able to argue Gorgias of Leontini Visited Athens in 427 Taught the dissoi logoi for a fee Plato, Gorgias Criticism: Aristophanes and Plato: “…to make the weaker argument the stronger” Original: “… make the weaker argument stronger” Hippocrates 460 – ca. 375 BC Author (?) of the Hippocratic Corpus Likely a single epithet for a collection of authors More than 60 books Hippocratic Oath.

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The Roles of Solon in Plato's Dialogues
The Roles of Solon in Plato’s Dialogues Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Samuel Ortencio Flores, M.A. Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Bruce Heiden, Advisor Anthony Kaldellis Richard Fletcher Greg Anderson Copyrighy by Samuel Ortencio Flores 2013 Abstract This dissertation is a study of Plato’s use and adaptation of an earlier model and tradition of wisdom based on the thought and legacy of the sixth-century archon, legislator, and poet Solon. Solon is cited and/or quoted thirty-four times in Plato’s dialogues, and alluded to many more times. My study shows that these references and allusions have deeper meaning when contextualized within the reception of Solon in the classical period. For Plato, Solon is a rhetorically powerful figure in advancing the relatively new practice of philosophy in Athens. While Solon himself did not adequately establish justice in the city, his legacy provided a model upon which Platonic philosophy could improve. Chapter One surveys the passing references to Solon in the dialogues as an introduction to my chapters on the dialogues in which Solon is a very prominent figure, Timaeus- Critias, Republic, and Laws. Chapter Two examines Critias’ use of his ancestor Solon to establish his own philosophic credentials. Chapter Three suggests that Socrates re- appropriates the aims and themes of Solon’s political poetry for Socratic philosophy. Chapter Four suggests that Solon provides a legislative model which Plato reconstructs in the Laws for the philosopher to supplant the role of legislator in Greek thought.
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