Wednesday, October 2, 2012: Impact of War: Politics and Philosophy Due: A Presocratics Reader: Introduction, Milesians, Pythagoras, Xenophanes,

Heraclitus, Empedocles, Leucippus and Democritus, Sophists; Greece Textbook pgs 142-164 1. Big picture: Compare and contrast the way Hesiod explained and understood the cosmos and the way Presocratic thinkers (and reference at least 3) tried to explain and understand the cosmos.

2. Since no Presocratic book exists, how do we know about their philosophical views? What kind of sources do we have? What are some of the problems with relying on this kind of evidence?

3. Know the basic arguments for each of the philosophers in your reading and their schools of thought. Jot down a pg number/quote or two for each. - Milesians (pattern as a group)

- Pythagoras

- Xenophanes

- Heraclitus

- Empedocles

- Leucippus and Democritus

- Sophists (pattern as a group)

4. Who was Socrates? How do we know about his philosophy (since he didnt write anything down himself.) What are some of the problems with relying on these sources?

5. Know the basic ideas surrounding: - Socrates proposition that virtue is knowledge:

- Platos Allegory of the Cave:

6. Based on the timeline below and the timeline in your textbooks, observe when these philosophers were living/teaching/writing. What else was going on in Greece at the time? How do you think the context (especially wars) impacted their views and vice versa?