Portraits in Philosophy

By M. James Ziccardi

Readers of this decorative and informative book will find a treasure-trove of valuable information about many of the greatest thinkers ever to have shaped the Western world. Beginning with the water as first principle of Thales of Miletus and ending with Robert Nozick's novel approach to social contract theory, Portraits in Philosophy examines 50 of the most influential Western philosophers of the past two millenniums.

Whether the reader is a seasoned student of philosophy or a person interested in learning how the Western world's present ideology has been shaped, this book has something for everyone. Presented in an easy-to-read and colorful style, this book offers not only the key biographical and philosophical points of each of these thinkers, but also their most important works and famous quotes, all with interesting and beautiful representative artwork.

The quotes included for each philosopher will specifically interest the reader. The goal is that the reader will come away with the conclusion that most of these quotes have the same meaning today. In fact, the reader may exclaim "He said that back then?" when referring to a quote that the reader has been saying all of his life without knowing where it came from. For me, it was the quote "To each his own" from Cicero, who lived between 106 BC and 43 BC.

The reader may prefer to read Portraits in Philosophy from cover to cover. However, since this book is more of an encyclopedia of influential thinkers, finding the reader's favorite philosophers or leafing through the book to find an image or quote of interest will be enjoyed just as well. Either way, this is the kind of book that you won't be able to put down.

Portraits in Philosophy will make a wonderful addition to your library as well as the perfect gift for anyone interested in philosophy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. James Ziccardi
• Release date: May 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301650859

M. James Ziccardi

M. James Ziccardi lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and has been a software analyst for over twenty-five years. Reading and writing about philosophy is his passion.

Book preview

Section 1 - Introduction

Readers of Portraits in Philosophy will find a treasure-trove of valuable information about fifty of the greatest thinkers ever to have shaped the Western world. Beginning with the water as first principle of Thales of Miletus and ending with Robert Nozick’s novel approach to social contract theory, Portraits in Philosophy examines many of the most influential Western philosophers of the past two millenniums.

Whether the reader is a seasoned student of philosophy or a person interested in learning how the Western world’s present ideology has been shaped, this book has something for everyone. Presented in an easy-to-read and colorful style, this book offers not only the key biographical and philosophical points of each of these thinkers, but also their most important works and famous quotes, all with beautiful and interesting representative artwork.

The quotes included for each philosopher will specifically interest the reader. The goal is that the reader will come away with the conclusion that most of these quotes have the same meaning today. In fact, the reader may exclaim "He said that back then? when referring to a quote that the reader has been saying all of his life without knowing where it came from. For me, it was the quote To each his own" from Cicero, who lived between 106 BC and 43 BC.

The reader may prefer to read Portraits in Philosophy from cover to cover. However, since this book is more of an encyclopedia of influential thinkers, finding the reader’s favorite philosophers or leafing through the book to find an image or quote of interest will be enjoyed just as well. Either way, this is the kind of book that you won’t be able to put down.

Section 2 - Thales of Miletus

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Bust of Thales of Miletus

Birth: c. 624 BC; Miletus, Greece (Aydin Province, Turkey)

Death: Date Unknown; Greece

Period: Pre-Socratic

Noted For: Seven Sages of Greece; Water as First Principle; Thales' Theorem

Biography and Philosophy:

It is a widely held belief that Western philosophy began with the teachings of Thales of Miletus, one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Born in the Ancient Greek city of Miletus (in the Aydin Province of Turkey) sometime around the year 624 BC, Thales was one of the first to look beyond the beliefs and traditions of mythology to find answers to questions regarding the existence and substance of nature as a whole. Specifically, Thales wanted to know whether there was a fundamental substance which was constituent of and primary to all things, and if so, what that substance was. For his willingness to reject the explanations offered by the prevailing mythology, Thales is often regarded as one of the fathers of science.

According to Thales, the ultimate substance which comprises all things is water, and for this reason he considered water to be the first principle. Furthermore, Thales held that water is not only the primary substance underlying all things, but that it is also the cause of all things. In this regard, water as first principle forms the basis of Thales’ cosmological theory, or in other words, his theory on the origin of all things. As Thales left us with no texts of his own, we must look to the writings of others, including Aristotle, Diogenes Laertius (the third-century AD Greek biographer), and Heraclitus Homericus, to find the reasoning behind this belief. As far as can be surmised, Thales formulated his notion by observing that as moist things evaporate, air is formed; and that likewise, as moist things dry out, solid matter, i.e., earth, results. Thus air and solid matter can only come about if water is the primary substance of all things.

Perhaps the most important consequence of the water as first principle theory, however, lies in the direct succession of thought that resulted from it. This line of succession began with Anaximander, one of Thales’ pupils, who held that all things are derived not from water, but from their own principle, or in other words, all things have their own particular essence. Then Anaximenes, the successor to Anaximander, ascribed air to be the first principle of all things. The line continued in this fashion going from Anaximander to both Anaximenes and Anaxagoras, who was the first to claim that a divine mind, or Nous, was responsible for the creation and essence of all things. From Anaximenes the succession was passed to Diogenes, and from Anaxagoras it was passed to Archelaus, the teacher to Socrates, who in turn was master of Plato. Plato, as we shall see, held the belief that all things derive their being from ideal forms, and consequentially that all things are nothing more than imperfect replicas of these forms.

Thales also made significant advances in astrology and geometry. For instance, Thales’ Theorem, which holds that right angles are formed from the points on a circle, was a precursor to the famous Pythagorean Theorem). It is believed that Thales knew how to predict solar eclipses and that he was the first to apply a scientifically based approach to the study of electricity.

Thales not only taught philosophy and science, but it is said that he applied them both to virtually all of his endeavors, including his forays into politics and business. As a case in point, in an attempt to prove the value of such knowledge, Thales used his understanding of weather patterns to predict future olive harvests, and by purchasing an olive-press on this basis of this knowledge, he was able to turn a tidy profit.

Thales died in Ancient Greece at the age 78 during 58th Olympiad, which was the four-year span between 548 and 545 BC.

Quotes:

Know thyself

All things are full of gods.

Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.

Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.

A multitude of words is no proof of a prudent mind.

Section 3 - Pythagoras of Samos

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Pythagoras of Samos

Birth: c. 570 BC; Island of Samos, Greece

Death: c. 495 BC; Metapontum, Magna Graecia (Southern Italy)

Period: Pre-Socratic

Movement: Pythagoreanism (founder)

Noted For: Coined the word Philosophy; Pythagorean Theorem; Harmony of the Spheres

Biography and Philosophy:

It is always a tragedy anytime the passage of time robs us of the works of history’s greatest thinkers, and it would seem to be all the more so in the case of Pythagoras, since he is the man to whom philosophy owes its very name. Not only are there no known surviving texts from Pythagoras, but the earliest known accounts of his life and teachings were written several centuries after his death. Consequently, virtually all that is known about Pythagoras comes to us by way of second and thirdhand accounts, and for that reason they must be taken with a degree of caution.

Pythagoras was born around the year 570 BC on the Greek island of Samos, which is located in the eastern Aegean Sea. As his father was a successful merchant in the gem-engraving trade, the young Pythagoras was afforded a first-rate education. His early studies, in which he excelled, included geometry, astrology, religion, and ethics. Travel also played a key role in Pythagoras’ education, and as a young man he spent many years traveling the world from Egypt to as far away as India. It was during this period of extensive travel that Pythagoras formulated many of his ideas on mathematics, music, medicine, and religion.

With regard to music, Pythagoras held that not only could musical notes be correlated directly to numbers, but that within certain arrangements they could generate healing powers as well. In astrology Pythagoras formulated the idea that has come to be known as the harmony of the spheres, which is the notion that the spheres of the universe, or roughly the obits of the planets, move according to numerical equations, and that their corresponding musical tones produce a harmonious sound. Indeed, Pythagoras placed so much emphasis on the power of numbers that he is considered to be one of the originators of the mystical belief system, numerology. As a case in point, Pythagoras held that the odd numbers exhibit male qualities, while the even numbers exhibit female ones.

Unquestionably, however, Pythagoras is most widely known for his advances in geometry, for it was his work regarding right triangles that revolutionized the field. His famous theorem (the Pythagorean Theorem) holds that for any right triangle the sum of the areas of the squares of the two sides is equal to the area of the square of the opposing side, or hypotenuse. In mathematical notation, the theorem reads: a² + b² = c².

Around the year 530 BC, Pythagoras moved to the town of Croton in Magna Graecia (in Southern Italy) where he established a school for his followers, the Pythagoreans. Although the school taught Pythagoras’ ideas on mathematics and science, it was as much a religious sect and brotherhood as it was an academic institution. One of the key doctrines espoused by the Pythagoreans was the belief in the reincarnation of the soul, an idea which was at odds with the prevailing belief which claimed that the soul continues on in an afterlife. As a result of their extreme views, the Pythagoreans fell victim to various persecutions and were eventually forced to disband. It is believed that the attacks on both his school and his followers led directly to Pythagoras’ death, possibly by his own hand.

As was mentioned at the beginning, Pythagoras was the first to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom. He did so in order to set himself apart from the ignoble sophists - those travelling wise men who would dispense with their wisdom, but only for a price. As a true philosopher, the influence Pythagoras had on future thinkers, especially Plato, cannot be overstated. In fact, Bertrand Russell once claimed that the influence of Pythagoras was the most important in all of Western philosophy.

It is also worth noting that Pythagoras was the first known philosopher to advocate for vegetarianism on moral grounds.

Quotes:

Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.

As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom.

Silence is better than unmeaning words.

Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they will.

Choose rather to be strong of soul than strong of body.

Section 4 - Socrates

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The Death of Socrates

Jacques-Louis David (1787)

Birth: c. 469-470 BC; Athens, Greece

Death: 399 BC; Athens, Greece

Period: Ancient Greek

Noted For: Socratic Method; Socratic Dialogue

Biography and Philosophy:

In all of Western philosophy one would be hard-pressed to find a figure more venerated than Socrates. While this would be a remarkable achievement by any standard, it is even more so when one considers that Socrates never put any of his thoughts to writing. Instead, what we are left with are the philosophical dialogues of others, primarily those of Xenophon, an admirer and contemporary philosopher, and those of Plato, Socrates’ most famous student. Other second-hand accounts of Socrates’ life are found in the writings of the satirical playwright, Aristophanes, and specifically in his work, The Clouds, a slanderous comedy which helped instigate Socrates’ trial and subsequent execution.

Socrates was born in Athens around the year 469 BC, and there he remained for the duration of his life. He married a much younger woman named Xanthippe, and together they raised three sons. It is doubtful whether Socrates held any specific occupation; however, there are accounts of him serving honorably in the military. Apart from this, Socrates most likely lived his entire life doing what he loved the most, discussing philosophy.

The manner in which Socrates conducted his discussions has come to be known as the Socratic method, a form of dialectics similar in style to debating, but where the opponents are not beholden to any particular point of view such that the goal is to win the debate, but rather where the objective is to employ reasoned arguments and critical thinking in such a manner whereby a more thorough understanding of the issues may be had. Another form of discourse employed by Socrates is what is referred to as Socratic questioning, a form of follow-up questioning where the objective is to arrive at a deeper sense of understanding with respect to a statement. Examples of questions in the Socratic style are: What do you mean by that?, Is that true for every case, or just this one?, and You say that this is justice, but how do you define justice? This approach to questioning is used to this today in such fields as education, psychology, and law.

As was mentioned, virtually all of our knowledge of Socrates come to us through the writings of others, and most significantly, through those of Plato. In all, Plato composed thirty-five dialogues which depict Socrates at his best with regard to his ability to get others to consider at a deeper level what they had previously taken for granted. In these Socratic dialogues, Socrates discusses such things as what it means to exhibit justice, goodness, beauty, and courage;