PHI 2174 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Skill, Fertile Crescent, Relativism
26 Jun 2016
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Document Summary
Persian influence came from asia minor, which is modern day turkey, and other influences also emerged from the phoenicians and egypt and their monotheists. Geography determined the development of golden age greece due to the fact that it was surrounded by other rich cultures. Poor agriculture meant that greeks naturally took to the seas for fishing; slowly, a maritime economy developed. It was climatically similar to the fertile crescent. Interaction with other cultures forced the greeks to question why their own beliefs were considered right rather than the beliefs of other cultures and these questions put explanation systems (mythologies) under erasure. The greek peninsula which contained mountains at the top and was surrounded by water meant that the culture developed like an island and was insular. Ethics comes from the ancient greek word ethos which means customs, habits, and norms; marcus tullius cicero translated ethics as mores, the latin word for morality, which also meant customs, habits, and norms.
