CHAPTER 8 LESSON 2 THE GREEK MIND DAY

CHAPTER 8 LESSON 2: THE GREEK MIND DAY 1

It Matters Because… • Greek thinkers developed ideas that shaped their world as well as ours today. The Greeks created the stud of history, political science, biology and logic.

Greek Thinkers • During the Golden Age of Greece, from approximately 500 B. C. to 350 B. C. , art, architecture and literature all flourished. • Most thinkers were part of this time as well. • They were pondering deep questions about truth and also developing the study of science and math.

Greek Thinkers • One type of thinker was involved in creating a new body of knowledge, they were known as philosophers. • The word philosophy means “love of wisdom”, it is the study of the most basic questions about human life. • For example: Are humans basically good or bad? What happens after we die? • Most philosophers were also teachers.

The Sophists • Sophists are Greek teachers of philosophy, reasoning and public speaking. • They taught many subjects but were best known for teaching rhetoric, or the art of public speaking and debate. • Sophists did not believe that the gods influence human actions. They also rejected the idea of absolute right or wrong. They believed that was right for one person might be wrong for another. • The Sophists not only challenged Greek traditions but they also accepted money for their teaching. • Other Greek philosophers did not approve of this practice. They thought Sophists were focusing on teaching students to win arguments rather then searching for the truth.

Who Was Socrates? • Socrates lived in Athens and spent most of his time teaching philosophy. • Socrates was a harsh critic of the Sophists. • He believed in absolute truth and that all real knowledge was within each person. • In his search for truth, Socrates created the Socratic method which is a philosophical method of questioning to gain truth. • Instead of lecturing, he asked pointed questions and waited for his students to respond. He wanted his students to find the answers for themselves and form their own opinions.

Who Was Socrates? • Athens did not trust open debate because they believed it was dangerous and could lead to uprisings. • However, Socrates thought it was necessary so he continued to teach his students. • In 399 B. C. , city leaders-fearing his influence- arrested Socrates. • They charged that he had urged young people to rebel against the government. • A jury found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. • He said that he was living under the city’s laws and as a result he was committed to obeying them. • Socrates then drank poison to carry out the jury’s sentence and died.

Plato’s Ideas • The philosopher Plato was one of Socrates' students. • Unlike Socrates, Plato recorded his ideas in writing. One work Plato wrote was called The Republic. It presented is ideal society and government. • In The Republic, he organized society into three groups. • Top: Philosopher Kings. They ruled through Logic and wisdom. • Middle: Warriors. Their job was defend society from attack, using force. • Bottom: Everyone Else. Their role was to produce society’s food, clothing and shelter. They Philosophe r Kings Warriors All other citizens

Who Was Aristotle? • Another great thinker of ancient Greece was Aristotle. • He wrote more then 200 works on topics such as government, astronomy and political science. • He taught students the “golden mean”. The mean is the middle between two extremes. The ideas of the golden mean is to live moderately. • For example, individuals should not eat too little or too much. Instead

Who Was Aristotle? • In his book, Politics, Aristotle wrote about government. • He hoped to find the best political system. • He divided governments into three types. The first was monarchy, or rule by one person. The second was oligarchy, which is rule by a few people. The third type was democracy, or rule by many. • He believed the best government had features of all three. A chief executive would serve as head of state. A council of legislature would assist this leader and be supported by the people. • He believed no one person or group should have too much or

TURN AND TALK • How were Plato and Aristotle similar? How were there ideas different?

Greek Philosophers Main Idea Important Contribution Sophists Socrates Plato Aristotle Sophists thought people should use knowledge to improve themselves. They believed there was no absolute right or wrong. He was a critic of Sophists. He believed there was an absolute truth Plato rejected the idea of democracy as a form of government. He believed that philosopher-kings should rule society Aristotle taught the idea of the golden mean. He believed observation and comparison were necessary to gain knowledge. They developed the art of public speaking and debate. He created the Socratic Method of teaching He described his vision of the ideal government in his work the Republic. He wrote over 200 books of philosophy and science. He divided all governments into three basic types. His methods influenced the way teachers interact with students He introduced the His political ideas idea that still shape political government should ideas today. be fair and just Influence on Today The importance of public speaking can be seen in political debates

VIDEO 5: 19 • https: //app. discoveryeducation. com/learn/videos/147 a 3306 -bd 94 -4 e 21 -9 aa 0 dd 958 ed 4 b 59 e

END DAY 1 HERE

THE GREEK MIND DAY 2

The Greeks and History • The Greek thinker Herodotus, wrote a history of the Persian Wars. • He wrote that the gods played a role in historical events. • However, he made a great effort to separate fact from fiction. • Like a news reporter, he questioned many people to get information but then he investigated the truthfulness of these sources. • Because of his careful research, many historians consider him the “father of history”

The Greeks and History • Another famous historian was Thucydides. He was a general in the Peloponnesian War. • He considered this war to be a major event in world history, he wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War. • Unlike Herodotus, Thucydides rejected the idea that the gods affected human history. • He tried hard to be accurate and impartial. • He did not just state the facts. He also explored the causes and effects of events. He also believed future generations could learn from the past.

TURN AND TALK • Why was Herodotus considered the father of history? • Why is it important historians that both Herodotus and Thucydides rejected the idea that the gods affected human history?

The First Scientists • In ancient times, most people thought that their gods controlled nature. • Early Greek scientists had a different idea. They though that natural events could be explained logically and that people could discover the causes of these events by using reason. • The first important Greek scientist was Thales of Miletus. • He studied astronomy and mathematics and made discoveries and developed theories by observing and

The First Scientists • Another Greek scientists, Pythagoras taught his students that the universe followed the same laws and governed music and numbers. • He believed all relationships could be expressed in numbers. • As a result, he developed many new ideas about mathematics. • Most people know his name because of the Pythagorean Theorem that is still used in geometry to determine the lengths of the sides of triangles.

Ancient Greek Medicine • Greek scientist also studied medicine, or the science of treating diseases. • Hippocrates was a physician in ancient Greece who is regarded as the “father of medicine”. • He believed diseases came from natural causes where as most people of his time though evil spirits caused natural diseases. • He created a Hippocratic Oath which is a set of promises about patient care that new doctors make when they start practicing medicine. • Today, doctors around the world still promise to honor the

VIDEO • https: //app. discoveryeducation. com/learn/videos/db 083 ea 0 -1 db 7 -41 fc-a 6013 ba 6131 cdc 05/ • Start at 6: 10 • 20 minutes long.