I was reading Ben Shapiro’s newest book, The Right Side of History, and found that it was time to educate myself on the most important philosophers in history. The same philosophers that influenced the rise of Western Civilization and shaped our Founding Fathers as they created one of the greatest documents in human history. That document laid the path for the most exceptional political, economic and social experiment in history, the United States. The country that is responsible for creating great wealth a spurring technology beyond our wildest dreams. The document is the Constitution of the United States.
Shapiro points out that the philosophies that formed western thought came from the merging of two philosophies from Greece and Jerusalem. I have read the Bible a couple of times and was raised with a Catholic education. I am currently reading the Bible again, just a little per day. But I have very little knowledge of Greek philosophy. I thought that was a shame. So I started with Plato’s work, The Republic, even though it is not, as you will see later, not the base of Western Philosophy.
Today will be an introduction and, once a week, I will go over a book which is a chapter today.
Plato and Socrates
Plato (427-347 BC) is kind of an enigma in the philosophical world as far as scholars are concerned. I consider him one of the greatest philosophers to have ever walked the earth with Socrates as his teacher. But the scholars have questions.
Plato wrote thirty-five dialogues and wrote thirteen letters. The letters could not be validated as hit writings so they have been dismissed and not really studied. The thirty-five dialogues were not presented as Plato’s own words and he has not taken true credit for any of them. Most were in the words of Socrates (470-399 BC). Scholars believe Plato may have never used his own quotes because of Socratic Ignorance.
Socratic Ignorance is a paradox: One acknowledges what he doesn’t know. Socrates believed that that the only way one can learn is to acknowledge that he knows nothing. Socrates expressed this belief with his famous quote, “I only know one thing- That I know nothing.” The irony is that Socratic Ignorance is referred to as Socratic Wisdom.
Plato, a student of Socrates, also may have believed in this and that might explain why he wrote in the way he did. It is in the acknowledgement that he knows nothing and the ideas published were not worthy to come from him. But that’s just a theory.
Plato should have taken credit (though he was already rich and founded the first institution of higher learning in Western Civilization) because Socrates was a little lite on the literature. If you search Socrates on Amazon, all that will come up is Plato. That’s because Socrates never wrote a darn thing. But Socrates was important. He influenced his student Plato and Plato influenced his student Aristotle (384-322 BC).
Greek Reason and Judaeo/Christian Moral Purpose
Aristotle is considered the Father of Western Civilization. In his writing, Ethics, he defined “telos” which states that each human being has a purpose in life, a means to an end. Each person is an individual with purpose and capacity. Purpose is the reason one exists and capacity is the limit we all have. I have the capacity to be a great father but I do not have the capacity to be a great guitarist.
Aristotle’s philosophy has influenced science, mathematics, physics and is the base of Western Civilization. It is also one of the main influences for the Founding Fathers in the United States. It was one of the main themes, focusing on the individual’s God given rights. It led to that little paper called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Of course, it wasn’t just Greek philosophy that influenced our Founding Fathers. To the dismay of the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the other atheists, the Founding Fathers were also influenced by the need for moral purpose which was developed through Judaeo/Christian philosophy. Moral purpose is the drive for us to be better and moral people through faith. Judaeo/Christian philosophy believes that we have a greater calling; in this case, to be with God, and doing immoral acts makes us worse individuals.
There was just one problem: The two philosophies ran parallel to each other. Greek reason and Judaeo/Christian moral purpose were competing philosophies and this was bad. Both civilization were decaying.
Tying the Knot
This is where an Italian friar and philosopher came into play. His name was St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).
Aquinas was heavily influenced by Aristotle. Unlike many of the philosophers of the time, Aquinas believed that reason could be found in God (and, for that matter, the Bible). He was able to combine scripture with Aristotle’s works. St Aquinas was able to marry Greek reason with Judaeo/Christian moral purpose.
Western Civilization was born.
Why Do It?
I have given you a very simplistic history of the political philosophy of the United States and Western Civilization. I have ignored the other major philosophers that, whether it be good or bad, have made us who we are today including Machiavelli, Luther, Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Smith, Paine, Marx and Nietzsche just to name a few. Again, if you are interested in a brief look at how political philosophy was built and where it is going, read The Right Side of History by Ben Shapiro. I know the title makes it sound like it is a conservative manuscript but it is actually pretty politically neutral. It is a very good read and may spur interest. It did for me.
Let’s get back to my little project.
You might be asking yourself: If Aristotle is the Father of Western Philosophy, why am I starting with Plato? By the way, the reason I am concentrating on Greek philosophy instead of the Judaeo/Christian philosophy is because I have read the Bible twice nd was raised with a Catholic education. I am actually reading the Bible again. Got a great version recommended for me and have been reading it since my son passed away.
I am starting with Plato because everything that Aristotle developed came from Plato and, indirectly, Socrates. And I know very little about any of them.So I figured it would be a good exercise to read Plato.
The Republic is the first of three volumes that go over Socrates political philosophy. The other two volumes are entitled The Statesman and The Law. The Republic focuses on the meaning of justice and injustice. What is it? Who has it? Who deserves it and who doesn’t? It is made up of ten books or chapters. The discussions about justice that Socrates involve men (not women) from different economic statuses, different classes and different ages. This was done on purpose because people of different walks of life have different opinions.
I have already gotten through the first two books (chapters) before I decided to dedicate