WesternPhilosophy

1、Western PhilosophyOrigins of Western ThinkingHistory of Western Philosophy Ancient philosophy Transition to Medieval Era Renaissance philosophy Early modern era (17th & 18th Centuries) Modern philosophyAncient Philosophy600 BCE 500 CE Why Does the West Think the Way It Does? It goes back to the

2、ancient Classical Greeks. They created a system of thinking: Philosophy. The Greeks prized order and perfection in shapes and nature. They wondered about numbers, orders, and logic. This was passed down to the Romans, and beyond. Western philosophy and thinking all begins with doubt and uncertainty

3、regarding the world. Nothing is certain, so a certain wonder must be present to know anything for sure. The first is to formulate a question or problem to be solved. Christianity and religious doctrine was popular in the West because it took away that uncertainty in the Middle Ages. Eight Schools of

4、 Ancient Philosophy1. Cynicism: the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature, rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, fame; living a simple life (Diogenes)第欧根尼第欧根尼 (约公元前约公元前404-323) 2. Epicureanism: Epicurus believed that what he called pleasure is

5、the greatest good, but the way to attain such pleasure is to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of ones desires.伊壁鸠鲁（公元前伊壁鸠鲁（公元前341前前270年）年） 3. Hedonism: bodily pleasure “戏得你生”-享乐主义 4. Eclecticism: multiple types折衷主义 5. Neo-Platonism: focused on the spiri

6、tual and cosmological aspects of Platonic thought, synthesizing Platonism with Egyptian and Jewish theology.6. Skepticism: absolute truth is uncertain7. Stoicism: 斯多葛学派 The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of moral and intellectual

7、perfection, would not suffer such emotions. Zeno of Citium8. Sophism: In ancient Greece, sophists were a category of teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric for the purpose of teaching excellence or virtue predominantly to young statesmen and nobility. Philosophers Soc

8、rates - Math Plato - Philosophy Aristotle - ScienceTheir collective influence extended into the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution. Transition to Medieval Era500 -1350 During the Medieval times, Christianity ruled all of Europe. So, God dominated the landscape. God is the Source:

9、In medieval philosophy God is the foundation of everything. The influence of medieval philosophy is still widely apparent in the Western world today. The founders of the United States all included God as the supreme authority in their writings. it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first o

10、fficial act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government

11、instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, (美国总统乔治华盛顿第一次就职演讲) “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” (from the Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights) Many western philosophers agree that because God is true, therefore all else is true Cosm

12、ological Argument (宇宙论)Cosmological Argument Everything that exists has a cause But, what caused the first cause? The cause that caused all other causes is known as God That first cause has no cause Thus, God has always existed 来源网站 | 查看原图Medieval Philosophy Basically relied on Platos mystical teach

13、ings rather than Aristotles scientific thinking But, Charlemagne, the French conqueror in the Middle Ages, attracted British scholars to establish schools, and started the Scholasticism movement 来源网站 | 查看原图Scholasticism 经院主义 Mixed Christianity with ancient philosophy Logic and perfection of geometry

14、 used to explain the existence of God So a relationship was created between faith and reason St. Thomas-Aquinaswho was important for connecting true knowledge with religion托马斯托马斯阿奎纳阿奎纳 Medieval Scholastic SchoolsInfluence Today In the USA, some universities are very religious In Western countries, s

15、cience and God often go togetherThe University of Notre Dame Georgetown University Renaissance Philosophy1350 - 1600Philosophical changes during this time was what started the Modern worldThere were five main categories of philosophical development:HeliocentrismHermeticismHumanismNeoplatonism1. Secu

16、larismHeliocentricism (日心说) ancient Greece and Rom:geocentrism 地心说 In the Renaissance, Galileos observations, Keplers mathematics, and Copernicus theory of heliocentrism proved the mechanicsHumanism More emphasis was placed on the individual, instead of on the country as a whole Artists and philosop

17、hers studied human beings and their struggle within lifeHumanism The Humanist movement is what started the democracy movements in the United States and FranceThe Humanists believed in the power of people to solve problems and understand the worldSecularism世俗主义;政教分离论 Society should be free from relig

18、ion and God Even though America was founded on Christian religious beliefs, the makers of the country believed in a separation of government and the ChurchEarly Modern Era17th & 18th Centuries Rationalism(理性主义) Empiricism（经验主义） Political PhilosophyRationalism Rene Descartes French mathematician

19、“I think therefore I am” He found that he could question everything in the world: whether God was real, whether anything was real, but he could not doubt that he existed.Empiricism Reason accompanied sensual knowledge Sensual knowledge is any information gained from seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting

20、, and smelling John Locke and Francis Bacon were key members of this movement Political Philosophy Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacque Rosseau They advocated revolutionary and new theories of organizing governmentModern Philosophy 19th, 20th, 21st Centuries Socialism Philosophy of the “Will” Exis

21、tentialismSocialism Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels The Communist ManifestoPhilosophy of the Will Schopenhauer and Nietzsche尼采（18441900）德国著名哲学家 Schopenhauer (17881860）Nietzsche Nihilism: Human life is without objective meaning or purpose There is no objective morality or value system, and everything is created by the people The Will to Power 权力意志Existentialism 存在主义 focused on the condition of human existence, and an individuals emotions, actions, res