Asceticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Aurora Asceticism (/əˈsɛtɪsɪz(ə)m/; from the Greek: ἄσκησις áskēsis, "exercise" or "training") is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various worldly pleasures, often with the aim of pursuing spiritual goals. Many religious traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and some Christian groups (for example, the Desert Fathers) include practices that involve restraint with respect to actions of body, speech, and mind. The founders and earliest practitioners of these religions lived extremely austere lifestyles, refraining from sensual pleasures and the accumulation of material wealth. They practised asceticism not as a rejection of the enjoyment of life, or because the practices themselves are virtuous, but as an aid in the pursuit of physical and metaphysical health. Etymology[edit] The adjective "ascetic" derives from the ancient Greek term askēsis, which means training or exercise. Sociological and psychological views[edit] Religious motivation[edit] Bahá'í Faith[edit]
Zeno's paradoxes Zeno's arguments are perhaps the first examples of a method of proof called reductio ad absurdum also known as proof by contradiction. They are also credited as a source of the dialectic method used by Socrates.[3] Some mathematicians and historians, such as Carl Boyer, hold that Zeno's paradoxes are simply mathematical problems, for which modern calculus provides a mathematical solution.[4] Some philosophers, however, say that Zeno's paradoxes and their variations (see Thomson's lamp) remain relevant metaphysical problems.[5][6][7] The origins of the paradoxes are somewhat unclear. Diogenes Laertius, a fourth source for information about Zeno and his teachings, citing Favorinus, says that Zeno's teacher Parmenides was the first to introduce the Achilles and the tortoise paradox. Paradoxes of motion[edit] Achilles and the tortoise[edit] Distance vs. time, assuming the tortoise to run at Achilles' half speed Dichotomy paradox[edit] Suppose Homer wants to catch a stationary bus.
Platonism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Aurora Platonism (with a capital "P") is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. With a lower case "p", "platonism" refers to the philosophy that affirms the existence of abstract objects, which are asserted to "exist" in a "third realm distinct both from the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness, and is the opposite of nominalism (with a lower case "n").[1] Lower case "platonists" need not accept any of the doctrines of Plato.[1] Philosophy[edit] The primary concept is the Theory of Forms. [Socrates:]"Since the beautiful is opposite of the ugly, they are two." Platonist ethics is based on the Form of the Good. History[edit] The Academy[edit] Site of Plato's Academy in Athens Platonism was originally expressed in the dialogues of Plato, in which the figure of Socrates is used to expound certain doctrines, that may or may not be similar to the thought of the historical Socrates, Plato's master.
Socrates Socrates (/ˈsɒkrətiːz/;[2] Greek: Σωκράτης [sɔːkrátɛːs], Sōkrátēs; 470/469 – 399 BC)[1] was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity, though it is unclear the degree to which Socrates himself is "hidden behind his 'best disciple', Plato".[3] Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. Socratic problem Nothing written by Socrates remains extant. Socrates as a figure Socrates as a philosopher Biography Early life Military service Arrest of Leon Trial and death Notes
Stoicism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Aurora Philosophical system Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia (happiness, lit. 'good spiritedness'): one flourishes by living an ethical life. The Stoics identified the path to eudaimonia with a life spent practicing virtue and living in accordance with nature. Stoicism flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century CE, and among its adherents was Emperor Marcus Aurelius. History[edit] Scholars[who?] Philosophical system[edit] Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject-matter. Chrysippus, the third leader of the Stoic school, wrote over 300 books on logic. Logic[edit] Categories[edit] Physics[edit]
Zeno of Elea Zeno of Elea (/ˈziːnoʊ əv ˈɛliə/; Greek: Ζήνων ὁ Ἐλεάτης; c. 490 – c. 430 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic.[1] He is best known for his paradoxes, which Bertrand Russell has described as "immeasurably subtle and profound".[2] Life[edit] Other perhaps less reliable details of Zeno's life are given by Diogenes Laërtius in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers,[5] where it is reported that he was the son of Teleutagoras, but the adopted son of Parmenides, was "skilled to argue both sides of any question, the universal critic," and that he was arrested and perhaps killed at the hands of a tyrant of Elea. According to Plutarch, Zeno attempted to kill the tyrant Demylus, and failing to do so, "with his own teeth bit off his tongue, he spit it in the tyrant’s face Works[edit] Zeno's paradoxes[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit] References[edit]
Orphism (religion) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Aurora Orphic mosaics were found in many late-Roman villas Orphism (more rarely Orphicism) (Ancient Greek: Ὀρφικά) is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices[1] originating in the ancient Greek and the Hellenistic world,[2] as well as by the Thracians,[3] associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned. Orphics also revered Persephone (who annually descended into Hades for a season and then returned) and Dionysus or Bacchus (who also descended into Hades and returned). Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus.[4] Poetry containing distinctly Orphic beliefs has been traced back to the 6th century BC[5] or at least 5th century BC, and graffiti of the 5th century BC apparently refers to "Orphics".[6] The main elements of Orphism differed from popular ancient Greek religion in the following ways: Compare with Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Gnosticism. I am a son of Earth and starry sky.
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (/kænt/;[1] German: [ɪˈmaːnu̯eːl kant]; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher who is widely considered to be a central figure of modern philosophy. He argued that fundamental concepts structure human experience, and that reason is the source of morality. His thought continues to have a major influence in contemporary thought, especially the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics.[2] Kant's major work, the Critique of Pure Reason (Kritik der reinen Vernunft, 1781),[3] aimed to explain the relationship between reason and human experience. Kant argued that our experiences are structured by necessary features of our minds. Kant aimed to resolve disputes between empirical and rationalist approaches. Biography[edit] Immanuel Kant was born in 1724 in Königsberg, Prussia (since 1946 the city of Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). Young Kant was a solid, albeit unspectacular, student. Young scholar[edit] [edit]
Commentary on Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations Shawver Commentary: This commentary in the pages of this website is not meant to replace your reading of Wittgenstein in the original. For that, of course, you will need to acquire the book. This commentary is meant to give you a taste of Wittgentein, or, if you are really ready, to help you get started. One of the most difficult or misleading aspects of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations is the way in which he uses multiple voices to converse with himself. The Philosophical Investigations is written in aphorisms, short numbered passages that are loosely tied together in terms of theme. It is useful to think of there being two additional voices. Then, there is a third voice in which Wittgenstein makes an incisive point in the face of the tradition and aporia. So, the basic format of many of the aphorisms is: Of course, these examples greatly simplify the content of all Wittgenstein will say, and, not every passage has quite this form.
Wittgenstein : Language Games This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License In his later work Wittgenstein developed the idea that the job of philosophy was to clear up the conceptual confusions that arose through our unexamined use of language. Dissatisfied with the traditional expressionist and reflective approaches to language he sought a new model which would allow greater flexibility. We can easily imagine people amusing themselves in a field by playing with a ball so as to start various existing games, but playing many without finishing them and in between throwing the ball aimlessly into the air, chasing one another with the ball and bombarding one another for a joke and so on. At every step we are following the rules, but not the same rules at every step. Augustine describes the learning of human language as if the child came into a strange country and did not understand the language of the country; that is, as if it already had a language, only not this one.
On Certainty On Certainty (German: Über Gewißheit) is a philosophical book composed from the notes written by Ludwig Wittgenstein just prior to his death. Some of the notes were left at the home of G. E. M. The book's concerns are largely epistemological, its main theme being that there are some things which must be exempt from doubt in order for human practices to be possible (i.e. Another important point is his claim that all doubt is embedded into underlying beliefs and therefore that the most radical forms of doubt must be rejected since they form a contradiction within the system that expressed them. See also[edit] External links[edit] On Certainty - translation by Denis Paul and G.