FREE ESSAY ON GREEK PHILOSOPHY

GREEK PHILOSOPHY

During the Greek Golden Age, art and philosophy expressed 
hellenic weltanschauung, their unique outlook on the world and 
way of life. Through the works of artists, playwrights, and 
philosophers, one can see both sides of the conflicted systems of 
the world, such as; good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, stability vs. 
flux, relativism vs. absolutism and balance and harmony.
The Greeks were materialists. They adopted the philosophical 
doctrine which says that physical matter is the only reality in the 
universe; everything else, including thought, feeling, mind and 
will can be explained in terms of physical laws. Their materialism 
was expressed in an excessive regard for worldly, beautiful 
material things and concerns. They used their art to show the 
glories of humanity and man. The sculptors of the Golden Age aimed 
to create graceful, strong and perfectly formed figures. Their art 
showed natural positions and thoughtful expressions rather than 
abstract art forms. Their standards of order and balance became 
standards for classical art in western civilization.
The Greeks were proud of their temples and other architecture, 
made to honor the gods and beautify the polis (city-state). Their 
famous architectural styles were the heavy Doric columns and the 
slender scrolled Ionian columns. The Parthenon, the Greek temple 
for the goddess Athena, is a impeccable example of symmetry and 
proportion. The sides of the Parthenon give an optical illusion of 
perfect balance on all sides. Their desire for balance in art and 
architecture represents the balance of the world; order and 
moderation are expressed in the simplicity of lines and shapes. 
The resulting overall structure works together to achieve harmony.
In ancient Greece, public drama was more than entertainment. 
It was a form of public education. It dealt with issues of 
importance to the people, such as; the authority of the leaders, 
the power of the people, questions of justice, morality, wars, 
peace, the duties of the gods, family life and city living.
Aeschylus wrote about the furies and how they punished man for 
wrongdoings. This shows that he believed that chaos would be 
punished because order (and law) is the ideal state.
Sophocles is best known for his plays of Oedipus. Those plays 
dealt with family and civic loyalty. The Greeks emphasized, 
particularly in their plays, the importance of loyalty as a goal to 
strive for.
We learn a lot about Greek views through their philosophy, 
which literally means the love of knowledge. The Greeks educated 
through a series of questions and answers, in order to better teach 
about life and the universe.
The first philosopher was Thales. He believed in absolutism 
and eternal matter. He said that water was the original matter and 
that without it, there would be no life.
Parmenides stated that stability and permanence were the 
underlying conditions of the universe. He believed that change is 
only an illusion and that one's senses can only grasp superficial 
realities of change.
Heroditus argued with Parmenides saying that change was the 
basic condition of reality. He further claimed that all permanence 
was false. Thus he saw things as naturally being in flux rather 
than a stable state.
Democritus argued with both Parmenides and Heroditus. He 
insisted that there is nothing spiritual and that only matter 
existed. He then went on to say that everything is made of little 
invisible particles, hooked up in different arrangements. He was 
an atomist. 
The Greek philosophers went on to question the nature of being 
and the meaning of life. Pythagoras was the first metaphysicist, 
one who studies beyond physical existence. He believed in a 
separation between spirit and body, an opposition between good and 
evil and between discord and harmony.
In the 5th century, the Greeks learned from Sophists, who 
believed that the views of society are standards and the sole 
measurement of good, truth, justice and beauty. Protagoras was a 
sophist. He said that, man is the measure of all things. He 
believed in a constant flux, and that nothing is absolutely right 
or wrong, but subject to change. His view is much like that held 
by Parmenides.
The philosophers then asked a question such as; what would 
happen if things that were wrong were seen by society as 
acceptable? What, for example, if society condoned murder? 
Socrates was one who argued this point of view. He stressed truth 
as absolute, not changeable depending of the thinking of society as 
a given time. He believed in set standards of ethics. He said 
that right and wrong can be figured out on an absolute level. If 
one understands the truths, he can live a good life, without evil.
Plato agreed with Socrates. He, too, said that morals, 
ethics, as well as matter, were absolute. He stated two levels of 
existence; the physical world of shadows and the real world of 
ideas. Plato wanted a philosopher-king who would stress harmony 
and efficiency, as Plato did.
Another philosopher, Aristotle, believed in a world of 
moderation and balance. He disagreed with Plato's two levels of 
existence. Instead, Aristotle said that all functions of the soul 
die with the body and that there is no afterlife. Aristotle also 
said that truth followed logically from other truths. One must 
reason, step by step, before reaching conclusions.
Greek thinkers assumed that the universe was put together in 
an orderly way. They insisted that people could understand their 
laws, merely, through the process of reason.
There were many conflicting ideas among the elite of ancient 
Greece, of what the Greek outlook is. Our western society has 
learned a lot from the Greeks. We inherited their art and love of 
symmetry, their literature and understanding of man, their 
philosophies which stimulate our thinking, causing us to ask 
questions about our existence. As modern and knowledgeable as we 
are today, we would not be nearly as sophisticated if not for our 
ancestors the great thinkers of Greece in ancient times.
Bibliography
Jantzen, Steven L., Krieger, Larry S., Neill, Kenneth. World 
History, D.C. Health & Company: Massachusetts, 1988.
The American Heritage Dictionary, Dell Publishing Co. Inc., 
New York, 1986.