Report: Ancient Greek philosophers among the greatest thinkers of all time

Ancient Greek philosophy opened the doors to a particular way of thinking that provided the roots for the Western intellectual tradition and civilisation, so it comes as no surprise that these philosophers of ancient Greece are known as some of the greatest thinkers to have ever stepped foot on this earth, greekcitytimes.com notes in the following report:
Ancient Greek philosophers were the first that doubted the contemporary philosophical paradigm, observed and interpreted the world they lived in and set the foundations of Western civilization.
These early philosophers broke tradition and sought rational explanations, their speculation also shaped the early basis for science and natural philosophy.
There are so many great minds who have made a difference to the way we live, so the article focuses on five of the most influential ancient Greek philosophers to have given humanity a lot to think about, and so much to learn from.
Pythagoras
“As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom.”
Pythagoras is a famous mathematician who is credited with inventing the Pythagorean Theorem, one of the key computations in geometry. Although better known for his legendary contribution to mathematics, his philosophical works and ideas have had a great influence on modern philosophy and on Plato as well. He regarded the world as perfect harmony and aimed his teaching on how to lead a harmonious life. Some legends also indicate that he was the first to teach that the Earth was round.
Thales
“Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.”
Thales of Miletus is regarded as one of the fathers of Greek philosophy, being a major influence for following generations of famous thinkers, philosophers and scientists. He was the first to try to explain natural phenomena without the inclusion of myths, by theories and hypothesis, ergo science. Aristotle points Thales as the first person to have investigated basic principles such as origination of matter. Thales is also said to be the founder of school of natural philosophy.
Plato
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Plato, a student of Socrates, is regarded as the father of political science and the founder of one of the world’s first known institutions of higher learning, the Academy in Athens. The primary groundwork of Plato’s philosophy is a threefold approach – dialects, ethics and physics, the central point of unison being the theory of forms. For him, the highest of forms was that of the ‘good’, which he took as the cause of being and knowledge. Plato wrote one of the first and most influential works on politics, The Republic, which described an ideal or Utopian society. Like his mentor Socrates, Plato was a critic of democracy.
Socrates
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”
The most well-known ancient Greek Philosopher of all time, Socrates, was a master stonemason and social critic. He never wrote anything and most of his philosophical contributions come through his students, mainly Plato. Socrates embarked a whole new perspective of achieving practical results through application of philosophy in our daily lives. Socrates became famous for encouraging people to critically question everything. Socrates’ greatest contribution to philosophy was the Socratic Method in which discussion, argument, and dialogue are used to discern the truth. Eventually, his beliefs and realistic approach in philosophy led to his end, as he was tried and convicted for criticizing religion and corrupting the youth. Socrates then chose death by suicide over exile from his homeland of Athens. His legendary trial and death at the altar of the ancient Greek democratic system has changed the academic view of philosophy as a study of life itself
Aristotle
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
A student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great, Aristotle is considered one of the world’s greatest ancient philosophers. Aristotle studied a wide variety of subjects, including science, ethics, government, physics and politics, and wrote extensively on them. He believed that people’s concepts and all of their knowledge were ultimately based on perception. All aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today.
Read more at greekcitytimes.com
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Matt Neale License: CC-BY-SA
- 1) Priceless antiquities returned to the people of Greece at New York Consulate
- 2) China and Greece join forces to create mutual learning model between cultures
- 3) UK’s Prime Minister rules out return of Parthenon Marbles to Greece
- 4) British Museum head on solving 200-year-old dispute with Elgin Marbles
25/03 23:03
Greek FM: Positive turn in relations with Turkey due to neighboring country's attitude change
25/03 15:53
Congratulatory messages from state leaders and embassies on Greek Independence Day
25/03 13:40
Greek Independence Day celebrated with parades and cultural events
25/03 10:58
Tourism commits to water action agenda at 2023 United Nations water conference
23/03 22:50
IATA and AWS launch firsf Datathon to promote diversity in aviation
23/03 22:27
Greek battle ships dock at Piraeus port for public visits over Independence Day
23/03 22:18
23/03 19:55
Passenger traffic in Greek airports grows 53.3% in February compared to 2022
23/03 18:13
Fall in coronavirus infections and rise in flu cases in Greece on March 13-19
23/03 14:23
22/03 23:37
Priceless antiquities returned to the people of Greece at New York Consulate
22/03 22:42
22/03 21:46
Greek summer school organized in Peloponnnesian city of Kalamata in 2023
22/03 18:52
Downtown Athens traffic restrictions imposed for Greek Independence Day parades
22/03 17:31
ABNA-SE conference concluded with general assembly in Thessaloniki
21/03 23:17
UNWTO organizes tourism statistics workshop for Asia and Pacific in Nepal
21/03 23:00
Calilo Resort on Ios: A Greek hotel in the 11 most sustainable hotels in the world
21/03 22:21
HRADF inks Igoumenitsa Port share purchase deal with Grimaldi-led joint venture
21/03 16:15
19/03 14:10
UNWTO launches new Women in Tech startup competition across the Middle East
19/03 14:07
Greek president attends memorial march for Thessaloniki Jews killed in Holocaust
19/03 09:14
Greek Minister: Relaunching railway services key to restoring public's confidence
18/03 14:07
FM launches official campaign of Greek candidacy for UN Security Council
18/03 13:37
18/03 13:28
Greek Tourism Minister forecasts that 2023 will be a very strong year for sector
18/03 09:02
Greek Minister meets visiting Israeli minister of science and technology in Athens
17/03 23:10
Passenger traffic rises in Greek ports but cargo drops in Q3 2022
17/03 16:09
17/03 15:04
China and Greece join forces to create mutual learning model between cultures
17/03 12:14
Τhe new minimum wage set by Greek government at 780 euros as of April 1
16/03 21:37
Walk against discrimination 2023 to take place at Syntagma Square on March 21
16/03 19:30
Central Athens road traffic restored after rallies and transport strikes
16/03 19:12
Athens Half-Marathon to affect traffic in and around downtown Athens on Sunday
16/03 14:17
Greek state budget recorded primary surplus of 4.201 billion euros in Jan-Feb
16/03 14:12
FinMin: Greek banks able to absorb any turbulence from global markets
16/03 14:03
IATA and Afroport Mauritanie ink agreement on ground handling safety
16/03 13:07
15/03 13:59
Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino opens this summer in Peloponnese of Greece
14/03 23:09
Greek mining enterprises planning to invest 300-400 million euros in 2023
14/03 20:41
Public transportation in Athens halted partially by 24-hour strike on Thursday
14/03 20:19
14/03 19:15
Nominations open for 2023 IATA Diversity and Inclusion Awards in aviation
14/03 19:02
Health Minister: Greece lifting Covid measures with some exceptions
14/03 18:52
UNWTO Best Tourism Villages ceremony focused on tourism for rural development
14/03 17:33
Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air cancel all flights in Greece on Thursday
14/03 13:06
7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum in Thessaloniki on April 25-26
14/03 12:11
Hellenic Train: Buses to transport passengers for free on certain routes from March 15
14/03 12:00
Thessaloniki Urban Transport employees annunce 24-hour strike on March 16
14/03 00:10
Hellenic College - Holy Cross full accreditation reaffirmed by NECHE
13/03 23:23
75th Anniversary of Dodecanese unification marked on March 12 in Astoria
13/03 22:33
Greek Transport Minister and railway unions meet on safe restart of train services
13/03 19:18
UK’s Prime Minister rules out return of Parthenon Marbles to Greece
13/03 16:49
Hellenic Republic President: Cyprus top national priority of Greek foreign policy
12/03 14:23
British Museum head on solving 200-year-old dispute with Elgin Marbles
12/03 14:20
Greek unions call 24-hour national strike on Thursday over Tempi train crash
12/03 14:05
Summer tourism season kicks off in Greek island of Rhodes earlier than ever
12/03 13:11
Athens metro stations closed as protest rally is held over Tempi train collision
11/03 21:05
11/03 19:05
UNWTO marks Best Tourism Villages ceremony in AlUla of Saudi Arabia
11/03 17:15
Huawei VP CEE & Nordic Europe Region: Greece is a valuable market
11/03 13:27
UNWTO report on methodologies and tools to measure greenhouse gas emissions
11/03 12:58
GWTO head: Greece among most promising emerging wine tourism destinations
11/03 10:13
New Cyprus President to visit the Greek capital Athens on March 12-14
11/03 09:48
Hellenic Statistical Authority: Greek trade deficit fell 21.9% in January
10/03 20:20
Tourism's potential centered at LDCV, UN conference on least developed countries
10/03 19:24
Panhellenic Exporters Association: High Greek exports growth to continue
10/03 18:33
Construction commences on 'Giannis Antetokounmpo' BB court in Ghana
10/03 11:12
SKY Express offers free flights for Athens-Thessaloniki students
09/03 23:09
UNWTO and Saudi Arabia join forces to promote education and training in tourism
09/03 21:46
09/03 20:20
UNWTO: New report to support climate action in the tourism industry
09/03 13:45
Natural gas prices for households in Athens dropped 23% during February
09/03 02:13
Feminist organizations rally in downtown Athens for International Women's Day
09/03 00:18
The UK’s National Theatre staging Homer’s epic Odyssey across England
08/03 23:29
08/03 22:37
International Air Transport Association releases 2022 airline safety performance
08/03 22:06
Railroad employees to continue strike action in Greece through Friday
08/03 20:47
Archbishop of Greece meets with visiting Pakistani Shia Muslim leader in Athens
08/03 20:36
SNF Institute for Infectious Disease Research founded at Rockefeller University
08/03 18:53
Europarliament's Civil Liberties Committee completes two-day visit to Athens
08/03 17:01
UN World Tourism Organization: Women take "centre stage"in sector development
08/03 00:46
EU officials to discuss railway safety and modernization in Athens on Wednesday
08/03 00:13
07/03 22:29
Greek PM asks shipping minister to increase security on ships ahead of Easter
07/03 21:25
Athens mass transport to operate on limited schedule during Wednesday's strike
07/03 20:39
Founder of company renovating Athens’ Archaeological Museum wins ‘Architecture Nobel ’
07/03 20:28
IATA: Disjointed EU PLACI roll out risks customs clearance delays
07/03 19:42
Three Athens Parthenon fragments returned to Greece at Vatican ceremony
07/03 16:20
Media: ‘Modern Elgin’ arrested trying to steal pieces of Athens Acropolis
07/03 14:16
06/03 22:47
Hellenic Cables and IPTO ink deal on Lavrio-Serifos and Serifos-Milos interconnection
06/03 22:06
Melina Mercouri exhibition organized at Elefsina, European Capital of Culture
06/03 20:38
Lamda Development signs deal with TEMES for joint development of hotels in Ellinikon
06/03 18:24
24 hour general strike to affect transport across Greece on Wednesday March 8
06/03 17:43
IATA slams disjointed EU PLACI roll out risks customs clearance delays
06/03 16:02
AHEPA honored at Hartforf and visits UConn’s Hellenic Studies Center Paideia
06/03 15:51
European Union promises to modernise Greece's railways and improve safety
05/03 23:59
Cyprus port of Paphos wins EU 2023 European Capital of Smart tourism competition
05/03 15:54
Tripadvisor: These are the two Greek beaches among the World’s top-25
05/03 15:47
Associated Press report: Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas
Tourism commits to water action agenda at 2023 United Nations water conference
Greek FM: Positive turn in relations with Turkey due to neighboring country's attitude change
IATA and AWS launch firsf Datathon to promote diversity in aviation
Greek Independence Day celebrated with parades and cultural events
Congratulatory messages from state leaders and embassies on Greek Independence Day
Passenger traffic in Greek airports grows 53.3% in February compared to 2022
Greek battle ships dock at Piraeus port for public visits over Independence Day
Fall in coronavirus infections and rise in flu cases in Greece on March 13-19
Founder of company renovating Athens’ Archaeological Museum wins ‘Architecture Nobel ’
SNFCC becomes again most magical Christmas destination in Athens
Greece less dependent on Russian gas during the first 10 months of 2022
Report: Which Christmas destinations abroad did Greeks prefer this year
Impressive results recorded by the Cyprus port of Limassol during 2022
'Economist' report lists Greece among the 'economic winners' of 2022
CNT Reader’s Awards 2022: Greece among top 10 of world’s best countries to travel to
Researchers use drone to measure black carbon in Cyprus capital of Nicosia
UNWTO launches new Women in Tech startup competition across the Middle East
27.8 million tourists visited Greece in 2022 and spent 618 euros per trip on average
New Cyprus President to visit the Greek capital Athens on March 12-14
Media: ‘Modern Elgin’ arrested trying to steal pieces of Athens Acropolis
UNWTO organizes tourism statistics workshop for Asia and Pacific in Nepal