#2 -

Why did Socrates have to die? (This is not a simple question. Give it careful thought in the context of Athen's in Socrates' time, Socrates' life as a citizen of Athens, and Socrates' own beliefs.)

• *Have to provide evidence from the unit material to back up your thought
• *Focus on something particularly intrigued or caught your attention

Context 8; Question for CU-B: Socrates, Plato 8r. Aristotle Context of Discussion Forum Questions The trends towards naturalism, materialism, and humanism reached their full ower in Athens during the time of Socrates. Though the general population of the Greeks still honored the gods, either with true devotion or habit, the cultural and political atmosphere was turbulent and ripe as various aspects of democracy and intellectual development converged, and were represented in the opposing philosophies of the Sophist and Socrates. Socrates \"called philosophy down from the sky and established her in the towns and introduced her into homes and forced her to investigate life, ethics, good and evil (p.68). \"Socrates entered the philosophical arena at the height of tensions between the ancient Olympian traditions and the vigorous new intellectualism. By virtue of his extraordinary life and death, he would leave the Greek mind radically transformed, establishing not only a new method and new ideal for the pursuit of truth, but also, in his own person, an enduring model and inspiration for all subsequent philosophy\" (Tarnus p. 31) Plato and Aristotle knew the works of the Natural Philosophers and they both assumed that something had always existed, and that that something was archetypal. But Plato saw that a materialistic universe gave no explanation as to how one, or many, basic substances, could be reformed over and over into things in this world with no pattern to go by (many still wonder this todayI}. In addition, he saw in this explanation of realty no grounds for moral behavior or evaluation of beauty, justice, goodnesseternal truths. Finally, the most basic nature of reality is transformation and Plato thought that it was impossible to have true knowledge of that which our senses tell us is in constant change. \"For Plato, the ultimate reality is not only ethical and rational in nature, but also aesthetic.\" when directly experienced by the pure philosopher, [it evokes] intense emotional response and even mystical rapture. The philosopher is literally a \"lover of wisdom\" and approaches his intellectual task as a romantic quest of universal significance. \" "The philosopher must permit himself [or herself] to be inwardly grasped by the most sublime form of Erosthat universal passion to restore aformer unity, to overcome the separation from the divine and become one with it. (Passions p. 41) Aristotle however, as Alberto puts it\"turned Plato's ontology on its head\" and we call him an empin'cist for his belief in his senses. But in many other ways, Aristotle was in much agreement with Plato, and still held the rational mind to have access to eternal truth. "The soul is the form of the body, just as the body is the matter of the soul. But the divine intellect, of which each man has a potential share and which distinguishes man from other animals, is immortal and transcendent. indeed, man's highest happiness consists in the philosophical contemplation of eternal truth.\" Questions(s] Drawing on what you learned in your unit studies, answer ONE OF THE TWO [Your choice} questions below: 1. What comparisons and/or contrasts particularly stood out to you between Plato and Aristotle's philosophies? {You might consider their ontologies, epistemologies, or their ideas of how one should live.) 0R: 2. Why did Socrates have to die? [This is not a simple question. Give it careful thought in the context of Athen's in Socrates' time, Socrates' life as a citizen of Athens, and Socrates' own beliefs} Remember you don't have to be comprehensive in your answer, or even cosmically correct, though you have to provide evidence from the unit material to back up your thoughts. Focus on something that caught your attention or particularly intrigued you. The forum is designed to be a collaborative learning experiencefeel free to agree or challenge group mates in your replies. Together you will raise your understanding to new levels