asdsad专用课件.pptVIP

European Culture -- An Introduction d. Contending Schools of Thoughts Sophists, who were teachers of the art of arguing. The most eminent of them was Protagoras, born about 500 B.C., who wrote a book On the Gods. He is chiefly noted for his doctrine that “ man is the measure of all the things.” In the 4th century B.C., four schools of philosoph- ers often argued with each other. They were the Cynics, the Sceptics, the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Cynics, leader named Diogenes, he rejected all the conventions, and advocated self-sufficiency and extreme simplicity in life. He lived by begg- Ing. He proclaimed his brotherhood, not only with the whole human race, but also with animals. On the other hand, he had no patience with the rich and powerful. The Sceptics followed Pyrrhon , who held that not all knowledge was attainable. He and his followers doubted the truth of what others accepted as true. The Epicureans were disciples of Epicurus, who believed pleasure to be the highest good in life, but by pleasure he meant, not sensual enjoyment, but freedom from pain and emotion- al upheaval. Epicurus was a materialist, he believed the world consisted of atoms. Opposed to the Epicureans were the Stoics. To them, the most important thing in life was not “pleasure”, but “duty”. This developed into the theory that one should endure hardship and misfortune with courage. The chief Stoic was Zeno. e. Science We have seen that many Greek philosophers were at the same time scientists. Thus Plato was a mathematician and Aristotle contribut- ed to Zoology. Two men may be mentioned for what they did to push science forward. They are Euclid and Archimedes. Euclid is well-known for his Elements, a textbook of geometry. Archimedes did important work not only in geometry, but also in arithmetic, mechanics, and hydrostatics. 8.Art, Architecture, Sculpture and poetry a. Art Greek art is a visual proof of Greek civiliza- tion. b. Architecture The most important temp