西方文化特质教学课件电子教案全套课件.pptx

[ The Greek Philosophy ]GEN 2112 The Characteristics of Western Culture2023/7/3Prof. Frederick Hok-ming CHEUNG Ancient Greek Philosophy In ancient Greece (c. 5th c. B. C.) physics and astronomy were included as parts of “philosophy”— “the love of wisdom”.deals with the universe as a wholeseeks to view the entire universeseeks to trace everything back to its “ultimate grounds”. Ancient Greek PhilosophyWhat is the origin of the universe? e.g. the science of geometry deals with the law of space, but it takes space for granted (no geometrician asks what space is), BUT, “space” is a problem for philosophy.e.g. “universe” Philosophy and the UniversePhilosophy seeks to know why there is a universe at alle.g. the law of “causation”everything which has a beginning has a cause[Plato: “the unmoved mover, the uncaused cause” — the prime mover 原動力]∴ Philosophy deals with the universe as a whole; and it seeks to take nothing for granted. The Earliest Greek PhilosophyThe Ionic School(Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes = men of Ionia, coast of Asia Minor)? Thales (c. 624-550B.C.)= founder or father of the Ionic School of philosophy, famous for his mathematical astronomical learning for his practical wisdom Thales’s Philosophythat the principle of all things is water, that all comes from water, to water all returnsthat the earth is a flat disc which floats upon waterThe significance of Thales is not that this “water” philosophy has any value in itself, but that this was the first recorded attempt to explain the universe on naturalistic and scientific principles (not by myths Gods). Thales’s PhilosophyThales asserted that the ultimate reality is “water”Later,Anaximander: “indefinite matter”Anaximenes: “air”Pythagoras: “number”Heracleitus: “fire”Empedocles: “the 4 elements” (地、水、火、風)Democritus: “atoms”∴ This 1st period (pre-Socratic)= essentially cosmological in character AnaximanderAnaximander, c. 611-547 B.C.Anaximander agreed with Thales that the ultimate principle of things is m