PHIL-230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Natural Philosophy, Pre-Socratic Philosophy
Document Summary
Most of what we know about socrates is through plato, and a few others: 3 primary sources of socrates: aristophanes (playwright of the clouds in which socrates is presented as a sophist), xenophon (a greek historian, accounts of some of socrates conversations), and plato. Not 1 of the 3 sources can give us an exact report of socrates. Reports : he reshapes, dramatizes, as does xenophon to an extent (though xenophon may be slightly more aimed at accuracy) Thus we only have interpretations and representations of socrates. Socrates as a turning point between presocratic and socratic philosophy; yet he is contemporary with the final 3 we studied. His position is overprivileged; underemphasizes the role of plato as the actual turning point, transformative figure of philosophy. What follows socratic philosophy will have roots of socratic philosophy. Socrates brings together sophistry and the natural philosophy of the milesians.
