Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
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PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy comes from the Greek word sophos (meaning wisdom) and philos (meaning love). Philosophy therefore is the love of wisdom. It is an enquiry into the unknown, the use of reason in the quest for an accurate understanding of reality.
PLATO AND SOCRATES
Plato’s writings are the earliest records of Ancient Philosophy that we know of. Plato’s ideas were influenced by his tutor, Socrates, but since Socrates did not write anything down our only record of Socratic thought is in Plato’s writings. Socrates openly spoke against the democratic system of Athens and his ideas came to be very unpopular with the general public. As a result he was sentenced to death by poison in 399 BCE. Plato (428-348 BCE) subsequently left Athens and went travelling. He started writing in the form of dialogues which incorporated various figures including Socrates; thus preserving his Socratic influence whilst providing a platform on which to express his own ideas.
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle (384 to 322 BCE) was a pupil of Plato who studied at Plato’s academy in Athens. Not much of Aristotle’s work was written down, but what does remain is written in the form of lecture notes from his time as a lecturer, which were clearly not originally intended to have been read in the same way that Plato’s dialogues were. In his later life Aristotle also became unpopular with the people of Athens and was charged with similar crimes as Socrates. As a result he was forced to leave Athens, and died the following year.
PLATO AND ARISTOTLE’S INFLUENCE
Plato and Aristotle are arguably the two most important and influential philosophers and their ideas have shaped the way we look at the world today. Bertrand Russell, in his ‘History of Western Philosophy’, writes:
Plato and Aristotle were the most influential of all philosophers, ancient, medieval, or modern; and of the two, it was Plato who had the greater effect on subsequent ages.
It is inevitable then that much of Aristotelian and Platonic thought form the basis upon which the Christian and Jewish doctrines of thought have emerged. Many parallels therefore can be drawn between Ancient Greek and Religious Philosophy. The first section of module 2760 thus looks at Plato and Aristotle’s ideas, how they have influenced Judaeo-Christian ideas and how Judaeo-Christian ideas have influenced Religious Philosophy.
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