SOWK 2501 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Anthony Kenny, Bertrand Russell, Western Philosophy
17 Mar 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Most western scholars agree that the origin of our knowledge began in ancient greece. As stated by bertrand russell, a well-known authority on the history of western philosophy, * he was born in athens in 469 bce; ten years after the persians were defeated at the battle of plataea he was an athenian citizen of moderate means, who taught philosophy to the young. He was a controversial figure who spent much of his time in disputation. Tried for impiety and for corrupting youth, socrates was condemned to death and executed in 399 bce at around seventy years old. (kenny, 2004). * although socrates was widely known during his time in greece as a very wise man, he insisted that he was ignorant (kenny, 2004). * furthermore, he believed that no one (during his time) knew anything worth knowing. * he admitted that what sets himself apart from other supposedly wise men was his acknowledgement that he knew nothing.
