西方思想经典导读.PPT

1、1From the Pre-Greek Time to Roman Period2The General Structure:vPre-Greek PeriodvGreek CulturevRoman Culture3Two Main Parts: Mesopotamian and Egyptian CulturevTime: 5 to 6 thousand years ago and shortly after that at the end of the 4th millennium B.C.vGeography: Mesopotamia near the Tigris and Euphr

2、ates River and Egypt around the NilevSiganificance: Although westerners are more ready to recognize their roots in Greek Civilization, actually western civilization was born in the ancient Near East. 4vThe word “Mesopotamia” is in origin a Greek name “land between the rivers”, is a toponym for the a

3、rea of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwestern Iran. 5vMesopotamia is characterized by constant warfare and a succession of shifting empires.vBronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer

4、and the Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires. In the Iron Age, it was ruled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. The indigenous Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians & Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon

5、in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. (阿契美尼德帝国). 6vIt fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC and after his death it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthians. Mesopotamia became a battleground between the Romans an

6、d Parthians, with parts of Mesopotamia (particularly Assyria) coming under periodic Roman control. vIn 226 AD, it fell to the Sassanid Persians, and remained under Persian rule until the 7th century Arab Islamic conquest of the Sassanid Empire. A number of primarily Christian native Mesopotamian sta

7、tes existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD.7vAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. 8v The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unificatio

8、n of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. Its history occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods. Ancient Egypt reached its pinnacle during the New Kingdom, after which

9、it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was conquered by a succession of foreign powers in this late period, and the rule of the pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early Roman Empire conquered Egypt and made it a province. 9Similiarities between the Two Cultures:vBoth were dependent on r

10、ivers and the rich soil deposited be periodic floods;vBoth had to develop and maintain organized systems of irrigation and flood control;vBoth eventually had powerful kings and a priestly caste;vBoth believed in all-powerful gods who played an active role in the world.10Difference between the Two Cu

11、ltures:vMesopotamia was not as well protected geographically as Egypt and was thus more open to attack;vThe rivers Trigris and Euphrates were not as navigable, nor were the floods as regular as the Niles;vSo the culture of Mesopotamis reflected a sense of instability and pessimism in comparison to t

12、he stability and optimism that characterized Egyptians.11Other Cultures between the Two:vBetween these two areas there arose a number of smaller states, the most important of which were the Phoenician and the Hebrew states.vThe Phoenicians, a merchantile people, facilitated trade, established colini

13、es, and spread Near Eastern culture.vThe Hebrews developed religious and ethical ideas that would be a foundation for both Christian and Islamic civilization.12The Main Contents:vGeographyvBrief HistoryvSignificancevKey figures and representative works 13vAncient Greece is the term used to describe

14、the Greek-speaking world in ancient times.14Areas Covered by Ancient GreecevIt refers not only to the territory of the present Greek state, but also to those areas settled by Greeks: Cyprus, the Aegan coast of Turkey, Sicily and southern Italy, and the scattered Greek settlements on the coasts of wh

15、at are now Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Libya, Romania, Spain, and Ukraine.15Brief History:vThe history of Greece can be traced back to Stone Age hunters. Later came early farmers and the civilizations of the Minoan and Mycenaean kings. This was followed by a period of wars and invasions, known

16、 as the Dark Ages. In about 1100 BC, a people called the Dorians invaded from the north and spread down the west coast. In the period from 500-336 BC Greece was divided into small city states, each of which consisted of a city and its surrounding countryside.16vClassical Period (500-336 BC) - Classi

17、cal period of ancient Greek history, is fixed between about 500 B. C., when the Greeks began to come into conflict with the kingdom of Persia to the east, and the death of the Macedonian king and conqueror Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. In this period Athens reached its greatest political and cultu

18、ral heights: the full development of the democratic system of government under the Athenian statesman Pericles; the building of the Parthenon(希腊的帕台农神庙) on the Acropolis; the creation of the tragedies of Sophocles（索福柯勒斯）, Aeschylus（埃斯库罗斯） and Euripides（欧里庇得斯）; and the founding of the philosophical sc

19、hools of Socrates and Plato.17vHellenistic Period (希腊化时期)(336-146 BC) - period between the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and the establishment of Roman supremacy, in which Greek culture and learning were pre-eminent in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. It is called Hellenisti

20、c (Greek, Hellas, Greece) to distinguish it from the Hellenic culture(古希腊文化) of classical Greece. 18Significance on Western Civilization:vAncient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture of Western civilization. Greek culture has a powerful influence on the Roman Empire

21、, which carried a version of it to many parts of Europe. Ancient Greek civilization has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and architecture of the modern world, particularly during the Renaissance in Western Europe and again during various neo-

22、classical revivals in 18th and 19th century Europe and America.19Key figures and representative works vHerodotusvThucydides The Funeral Oration of PericlesvPericlesvSocratesvPlato The ApologyvAristotle Politics20vHerodotus (484 425 B.C.) was an ancient Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC

23、. He is regarded as the Father of History in western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. But he absorbed myths and the gods in his writing.21vThucydides

24、(460395 B.C.) was a Greek historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of scientific history because of his strict standards of evidence-gathering and analysis i

25、n terms of cause and effect without reference to intervention by the gods. And it is this sets him apart form other historians. As he himself put it, My history is an everlasting possession, not a prize composition which is heard and forgotten. 22vThe Funeral Oration of Pericles in our textbook is p

26、art of his work History of the Peloponnesian War, which is a famous speech presented by the Athenian leader Pericles for the Athenian killed in the first campaigns against the Spartans.vThe speech is first a glorification of Athens uniqueness and achievements, designed to stir the spirits of a state

27、 still at war. It also shows how Pericles defined the proper balance between Athenians freedom as individuals and their commitments as citizens.23vPericles (495 429 B.C.) was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the citys Golden Agespecifically, the time betwee

28、n the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. He had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, his contemporary historian, acclaimed him as the first citizen of Athens. The period during which he led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 B.C, is sometimes known as the Age of Pericles. He prom

29、oted the arts and literature, which was a chief reason Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural centre of the ancient Greek world. Furthermore, Pericles fostered Athenian democracy to a high extent .24vSocrates (469-399 B.C.) was one of the most adimired men ever in western

30、civilization. He was the eyewitness of the ups and downs of Athenian democracy- from Pericles democratic reform to the decline of democratic tolerance after the Athenians humiliating defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 B.C.vSocrates marked a decisive turning point in Greek philosophy and in the h

31、istory of western thought. The Socratic conception of the rational individual became an essential component of the tradition of classical humanism.25vSocrates had a positive philosophy. He believed that human beings possess the inborn knowledge only to be drawn out if peoper education is employed. A

32、n educated mind, according to him, is on the way to a virtuous and wise life. To test his philosophy, Socrates created a distinctive approach- dialectic method, namely, a technique by asking a series of knowledge-seeking questions. He wandered about Athens, asking people from all walks of life quest

33、ions that might help him reveal truth and wisdom. While gaining a large number of young disciples along the way, he had offended those whose ignorance was laid open to the public. They counter-attacked by accusing him of impiety and corruption of youth. So Socrates was found guilty by a vote of 280

34、to 220 and condemned to death by the Athenian assemby. Despite the fact that he had the chance to get away, he chose to drink poisonous hemlock.26vSince Socrates left nothing for us to read , our knowledge of his thought came from his contemporaries,chiefly from Plato(428-347B.C.),his disciple. It i

35、s said that Plato was present when Socrates took his own life. Plato took Socrates as his main character in his collections of dialogues in line with Socrates life and teachings in earlier dialogues, while in later ones he apparently conveyed his own thought through Socrates.vPlatos philosophy is a

36、comprehensive entity of physics, metaphysics, ethics and politics. He accepted part of his teachers ideas and developed others.27vIn the year 380 Plato founded his Academy, which was the ultimate ancestor of the modern university.vPlatos influence on Western thinking is immeasurable. His ideas on po

37、litics, ethics and world outlook serve as the road map for generations of varied philosophic schools. Many agree that his masterpiece The Republic is second only to the Bible in Western civilization. His influence is best dspicted by the 20th-century philosopher Alfred Whitehead who said that “the s

38、afest general characterization of the Eurpoean philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”28vThe Aplolgy in our text book is written by Plato as an account of Socrates defense in the court, and it gives an interpretation of Socrates career: he has been a “gadfly,”

39、 trying to awaken the noble horse of Athens to an awareness of virtue, and he is wisest in the sense that he is aware that he knows nothing. This account gives a clue to Socrates understanding of freedom and virtue in a democratic state. Up until now, the condemnation of Socrates is generally consid

40、ered as a symbol of the failure of Athenian democracy.29vAristotle (384322 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, bi

41、ology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Platos teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. vAristotles views on the physical sciences profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, and their influence extended well into the Renaissance, although th

42、ey were ultimately replaced by Newtonian physics. In the biological sciences, some of his observations were confirmed to be accurate only in the nineteenth century. 30vHis works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, which was incorporated in the late nineteenth century into modern formal

43、 logic. vIn metaphysics, Aristotelianism had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it continues to influence Christian theology, especially Eastern Orthodox theology, and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Ch

44、urch.v His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotles philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today. 31vIn Politics, Aristotle conducts a comprehensive examination of the origin and structure of

45、the state, dealing with the timeless topics on political science: the role of human nature in politics, the relation of the individual to the state, the place of morality in politics, and so on. The part in our textbook focuses on the nature and purpose of a state and the central role of the middle

46、class in politics.32The Main Contents:vGeographyvBrief HistoryvSignificancevKey figures and representative works 33vThe areas highlighted in yellow represent the regions under Roman rule. The emperors from 96-180 AD built a strong government, extended the boundaries of the empire, and did much to im

47、prove the beauty of Rome. After Aurelius died in 180 AD, frequent frontier attacks and plague weakened Rome, beginning its downfall.34Brief History of Ancient RomevAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th ce

48、ntury BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world. vIn its centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to an increasingly autocratic empire. The Roman Republic was established around 509 B.C., and

49、 lasted until 27B.C., when Augustus became the first Roman emperor. His long reign, from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14, marks the beginning of the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, which endured until A.D. 180. 35vThe period of the Pax Romana was one of the finest in the ancient world. Revolts against Roman rule we

50、re few, and Roman legions ably defended the Empires borders. The Mediterranean world had never enjoyed so many years of peace, effective government, and economic well-being. Strethcing from Britain to the Arabian Desert and from the Danube River to the sands of the Sahara, the Roman Empire united so

51、me seventy million people. The same law bound together Italians, Spaniards, North Africans, Greeks, Syrians, and other peoples.vDuring the 3rd century, the Roman Empire suffered hard times, and the ordered civilization of the Pax Romana was destroyed. The Empire was plunged into anarchy as generals

52、vied for the throne. At the end of the 4th and the opening of the 5th century, several babarian tribes poured into the Empire in great numbers. In 476, the Roman Empire in the west fell; the eastern provinces, however, survived as the Byzantine Empire until 1453. 36Significance of Roman CulturevThe

53、history of the Roman Empire influenced western civilization in many ways. From Latin, the language of Rome, came the Romance languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romania. Roman law became the basis of the legal codes of most modern European states. Rome preserved Greek culture, the f

54、oundation of western learning and aesthetics, and spread it to other lands. And Christianity, the religion of the west, was born in the Roman Empire. In a word, Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology, religion, and language in the W

55、estern world, and its history continues to have a major influence on the world today.37Key figures and representative works vAelius Aristides Roman OrationvMarcus Aurelius The Meditations 38vAelius Aristides (A.D. 117 - 181) was a popular Greek orator , who lived during the Roman Empire. In the prac

56、tice of his calling he travelled through Greece, Italy, Egypt and Asia, and in many places the inhabitants erected statues to him in recognition of his talents. Aristides works were highly esteemed by his contemporaries; they were much used for school instruction, and distinguished rhetoricians wrote commentaries upon them. His style, formed on the best models, is generally clear and correct, though sometimes obscured by rhetorical ornamentation. And his admirers compared him to the g