Greek Philosophy
By- Tay
The Ancient Greeks from the Classical Period created philosophy which changed the way we focus on how we live life. With philosophy styles changing, philosophers made their own ways. Many changes also occurred during Alexander the Great’s Death. While researching this essay, I had many questions. Why did philosophers make their own ways? What did they feel needed to improve in life?
With the beginning of Greek Philosophy, came philosophers who created their own styles and schools. When Greek Philosophy started, it began as a study of the universe.
But that all changed as Socrates changed it to the way we live life and how humanity functions. One of the most popular and important philosophers was Plato because of his huge collection of mostly-completed works. This has influenced many readers and fans over the past 2,000 years, learning great things about his discoveries and lessons. One of Plato’s students, Aristotle, was a powerful philosopher of the middle ages. His students collaged many works of art of other philosophers, showing that he was the most determined philosopher in history. With these philosophers who have mostly focused around their studies, other philosophers made ways for others to learn from.
Philosophers have made a lot of types of philosophy, trying to improve the way we live life. Epicurus created Epicurism, which the goal for humans should be pleasure in life.
One belief was that gods aren't real, but if they were, they would be physical people. Zeno created Stoicism, with a school called Stoa Poikile. He partnered with successors, Chrysippus and Cleanthes, debating that the only way to happiness was virtue. To Stoicism believers, virtue meant to free oneself from wishes of the flesh and the development of the soul and mind. Phyrrhon of Elis created Skepticism, which was a belief that our senses were unreliable and that happiness was achieved by freeing ourselves from unreliable beliefs.
Skepticism wasn’t made a school for its study, but it has influenced many Hellenistic thinkers. These schools influenced many professionals who learned the ways to live life. Along with many of these schools came many important events.
During the Hellenistic Change, many changes changed the way philosophy worked. Founded by Diogenes of Sinope, who refused to accept the unreal rules in place of society, Cynism’s name means “dog” which he chose because he and his companions wanted to separate from approved human behavior modes. Cynicism’s anti-establishment stopped it from becoming an organised movement but was a movement for future thinkers. Hellenistic philosophy came about during the Hellenistic Era, the time period when Aristotle died in 322 BCE and Alexander the Great a year earlier. With the Hellenistic philosophy being the successor to the classical era, the main change was that philosophy and science split into different studies. Even though the natural philosophy studies (science) in Alexandria, Egypt, The Lyceum and Academy still dug into the study of human existence.
The Ancient Greeks from the Classical Period created philosophy which changed the way we focus on how we live life. Philosophers have changed the way we live life. My 2 questions were answered. Why did philosophers make their own ways? Because they wanted to show us how THEY thought how we should live. What did philosophers feel like they needed to improve in life? They wanted to change the GOAL of our lives. This is why Greek philosophy has a great impact on our lives today.