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292 Society and Beliefs

Philosophy comes from the Ancient Greek words for

“love of wisdom”. It is the search for truth based on

reason rather than religious teaching. Most philosophy

is concerned with questions of being, knowing, and

acting, such as: “Why are we here?”; “What is real?”;

and “How should we behave?”

4 HUMAN PROPORTIONS

One of philosophy’s main objectives has

been to understand humankind’s place

in the Universe. Renaissance artist

Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing,

Vitruvian Man, showed how

the arms and legs of a human

figure could be fitted in a

square and a circle. He

believed these two shapes

formed the basis of

IS PHILOSOPHY LIKE RELIGION? the Universe.

Like religion, philosophy tries to explain the

mystery of the world and of human existence.

Unlike religion, which relies on faith,

philosophy applies reasoned thought to its

problems, such as the question of moral

obligation or free will.

WHO WERE THE FIRST PHILOSOPHERS?

We do not know when philosophy began. The Western

tradition originates with the writings of Ancient Greek

thinkers, such as Plato and Aristotle, from 500 BCE

onwards. Plato and Aristotle’s thoughts on logic,

science, classification, ethics, and politics have

guided Western thought for over 2,000 years.

WHAT IS LOGIC?

In philosophy, logic is the search for a way of

distinguishing good from bad reasoning. The classic

example given by Aristotle shows how a conclusion

may be drawn from two facts. If “Socrates is a man”,

and “All men are mortal”, then “Socrates is mortal”.

Man is the measure of all things Protagoras c. 5th century BCE

Knowledge is power Francis Bacon 1561–1626

I think, therefore I am René Descartes 1596–1650

[Without] law, there is no freedom John Locke 1632–1704

Man was born free, and everywhere Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712–1778

he is in chains

Man makes himself Jean-Paul Sartre 1905–1980

SCHOOL OF ATHENS 2

This 16th-century fresco from

the Pope’s library in the Vatican,

Rome, was painted by the Italian

artist Raphael. It shows wise men

from different eras as colleagues in a

timeless academy. At its centre, Plato and

Aristotle can be seen deep in discussion.

Philosophy

Socrates in animated discussion

with Xenophon and Alexander

the Great (in armour)

Plato points up to

represent the Universe and

abstract thought

Aristotle gestures down

to represent the Earth

and ethical thought

FAMOUS SAYINGS BY FAMOUS PHILOSOPHERS

philosophy