Summary of the Lesson
It is consequential for people not only to know their selves but also to understand their selves. Knowing yourself and understanding yourself is entirely different. Philosophy is the study of reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, and mind. With this, it could help us to understand ourselves better. Philosophers literally mean ‘lovers of wisdom,’ and they are also called great thinkers. They contributed several topics about the philosophy that gave inspiration to people. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle are some famous philosophers in history. They are known as the Three Big Philosophers.
Socrates’ famous contribution was the Socratic Method. It is the way of asking people without telling them if they are right or wrong, letting them figure out the answer themselves. Socrates didn’t leave anything when he died because he doesn’t like to write. All the facts about him were based on Plato’s writings. Through his dialogue, Socrates was recognized as a brilliant philosopher. Plato was a student of Socrates. He believes in two kinds of world, the realm of shadows and the realm of forms. He is also the one who contributed the famous theory of forms. He described the characteristics of the forms as ageless, unchanging, and unmoving. He believes that the world is just a shadow of the real ones, and he used the “Allegory of the Cave” to explain this philosophy further. After the death of his mentor, Socrates, he continued some of his teachings. One of these is the subject of the soul, in his book, the Phaedo. He describes the soul as having three components, the reason, the spirited, and the appetites. Each soul has a combination of the three. The third famous philosopher is Aristotle, a student of Plato. He contributed a lot to the field of Science, also known as the father of logic. He also lectures about happiness. Nicomachean Ethics is one of his works that presents a theory of happiness.
Another philosopher is St. Augustine, a Christian philosopher and a saint of the catholic church. He’s following the views of Plato and adds Christianity. He wrote a lot of works that discuss Christian doctrines. He believes that knowing God is equal to knowing our self.