EXPLORING TRUTHComparing cultures and their view of truth

Previous Lesson Targets

Students will be able to… Understand other people’s perspectives of

truth: Human Rights Video & C.S. Lewis article:

There are some basic human rights, values, and expectations of behavior; but people freely break them

Express your opinion about universal truth Begin exploring cultural perspectives

(Greece, Asia, Africa, Middle East)

Today’s Lesson Targets

Students will be able to… Understand details about Greece, Asia, and

possibly Africa and draw some conclusions about how these details highlight their values The Greeks’ belief in afterlife & Hades shows

expectations of human behavior and ramifications if you do wrong

The Greeks’ interest in philosophy shows a belief that “truth” exists and further exploration of the earth will reveal this truth

(Gathering this data and drawing these conclusions will help you for future test prompt)

Current Schedule

Friday: Africa continued, contemporary psychology activity

Yesterday: Australia, contemporary Today: Contemporary continued (Amber),

Mayans, India Wednesday: Final truth exploration Thursday: Due: review questions; Review &

conclusions Friday: Test

TRUTH AMONG EARLY MEN

Exploring early man to 400 A.D.

Previous Lesson Targets

Students will be able to… Understand other people’s perspectives of

truth: Human Rights Video & C.S. Lewis article:

There are some basic human rights, values, and expectations of behavior; but people freely break them

Allowed you to express your opinion about universal truth

Began exploring cultural perspectives (music, religion, philosophy, survival, daily life, sports)

Today’s Lesson Targets

Students will be able to… Understand details about early man and early civilizations

draw some conclusions about how these details highlight that era’s values and views of truth The term “Music” came from the Greek word “muse,” which

means “think” and refers to the muses – the gods and goddesses who inspired and were the source of knowledge for literature, science, and the arts. The fact that they believed in a central source of knowledge again displays the culture’s belief in knowledge and “truth.”

Music seemed to play a central role in celebrations, funerals, etc. in Greece, Rome, Mayan culture, etc. showing that man has had a common need to express emotion through music for ages.

(Gathering this data and drawing these conclusions will help you for future test prompt)

Current Schedule

Friday: daily life review & sports

Yesterday: Architecture, Art Today: Art conclusion; added info – from

caves to community & foundational philosophy

Wednesday: Final exploration Thursday: Due – review questions; Review &

conclusions Friday: Test

FROM CAVES TO COMMUNITY

An exploration of truth

Today’s Learning Targets

Understand the big picture – the growth of societies and how this relates to some possible universal truths or qualities about humanity

Understand some basics of philosophy and tenets of major philosophers which have influenced today’s laws, society, etc.

Put the following ages in chronological order…

First farming societies Developing States Early civilizations Stone age Hunters and gatherers Ancient Empires

Put the following ages in chronological order…

Stone age (2.5 million – 20,000 years ago)

Hunters and gatherers (20,000-12,000 years ago)

First farming societies (12,000-5,000 years ago)

Early civilizations (3000 -1500 BC) Ancient Empires (1500 – 0 BC) Developing States (0 – 1500 AD)

Some general characteristics: Stone Age (2.5 million – 20,000 years ago)

Began in Africa Began making stone tools Big brained and talented modern humans

began to spread Sometimes broken into 3 sub-ages: early

(2.5 million – 200,000 years ago), middle (200,000 – 45,000 years ago), and late stone age (45,000 – 20,000 years ago) Early: Australopithecus, homo erectus

roamed the earth and began making stone tools

Middle: Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens developed sophisticated stone tools, cared for elderly, did some hunting, and had some early symbolic or ritual behavior

Late: Neanderthals in decline, modern humans spread all over, early cave art is found; wide range of tools—stone, bone, ivory and antler

Some general characteristics: Hunting & Gathering (20,000 – 12,000 years ago)

Relied on hunting and gathering as a way to live Collect food (foraging)

rather than grow or tend crops Fishing, gathering fruit

and vegetables from wild plants, etc.

Used bow and arrow, harpoon, etc.

Some general characteristics: First Farming Societies (12,000 – 5,000 years ago)

Began to invent a whole range of useful behaviors like deliberately grow animals and crops Began in East and

Southwest Asia Included some

domestication of plants and animals

Some areas more likely to be successful than others due to natural resources

Some general characteristics: First Farming Societies (12,000 – 5,000 years ago)

By 8,000 BC, it was set Some common early crops

Wheat Barley Chickpeas

Early animals Sheep Goat Cattle Pigs

Some general characteristics: Early Civilizations (3,000 – 1,500 BC)

Characteristics: Sophisticated political and social organizations

Some Early cultures Mesopotamia (4700-600 BC)

First urban civilizations Area of modern Iraq and Syria –

between Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Old Babylonian, Assyrian, and Sumerian cultures

Shang Dynasty (1700-1050 BC) Bronze age in China Creation on writing

Some general characteristics: Ancient Empires (1,500 – 0 BC)

Characteristics: End of late bronze age, beginning of Iron age, first true imperialist societies

Included… Hittites (1340-1200) Greek Civilization (800-

169 BC) Persian Empire (648 BC –

637 AD) Roman Empire (49 BC –

476 AD)

Some general characteristics: Developing States (0 – 1,500 AD)

Characteristics: Rise of modern societies throughout the world

Included… Mayans (250 – 900 AD) Islamic Civilization (622 –

1500 AD) Byzantine Empire (476 –

1453 AD) Vikings (800 – 1050 AD) Incans (1250 – 1532 AD) Aztecs (1430 – 1521 AD)

REVIEW

Place the following eras in order

First farming societies Developing States Early civilizations Stone age Hunters and gatherers Ancient Empires

Place the following eras in order

Stone age (2.5 million – 20,000 years ago)

Hunters and gatherers (20,000-12,000 years ago)

First farming societies (12,000-5,000 years ago)

Early civilizations (3000 -1500 BC) Ancient Empires (1500 – 0 BC) Developing States (0 – 1500 AD)

Place the following civilizations in order

Greeks Aztecs Mesopotamia Romans Shang Dynasty Mayans

Place the following civilizations in order

Mesopotamia (4700-600 BC) Shang Dynasty (1700-1050 BC) Greeks (800-169 BC) Romans (49 BC – 476 AD) Mayans (250 – 900 AD) Aztecs (1430 – 1521 AD)

PHILOSOPHERS: EARLY EXPLORERS OF TRUTH

Philosophy Origins

Earliest philosophers clustered around the Mediterranean Sea, most notably ancient Greece.

However, activities that we would ascribe to modern science were happening all over the world.

Some notable philosophers

Ancients Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) Socrates (469 BC – 399 BC) Plato (429 BC – 347 BC) Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

Early Modern Descartes (1596-1650 --”I think, therefore I am”) Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) Nietzsche (1844 – 1900)

Twentieth Century Dewey (1859 – 1952) Sartre (1905 – 1980)

Major Issues in Philosophy

Metaphysics: The ultimate structure of reality Typical questions include:  Does life have a meaning? Does God

exist? How does one event cause another? What is essential and what is accidental in something’s nature? What can we say exists?

Epistemology: The nature of knowledge Typical questions include:  How is knowledge justified? What

are the different sources of knowledge? What different kinds of knowledge are there? How can we know anything at all?

Ethics: The study of morality Typical questions include:  Are there objective rules for moral

conduct? On what grounds can we say an action is right or wrong? Do we have free will? To what extent are we responsible for our actions? Should our moral decisions be indifferent to those affected by them (agent-neutral) or should we behave differently toward those close to us (agent-relative)?

Founding Philosopher: Socrates Socrates believed that all real

knowledge involves defining Developed the “Socratic

Method” – learn by asking deep questions

Learn about a subject through deduction – moving from very general observations to more specific knowledge about a subject

You move to more specific knowledge through the use of syllogisms

Socrates’ Trial: Why?

One of the most famous trials of all time

Charged for: Corrupting the youth

Shared idea such as “I is not the majority opinion that yields correct policy, but rather genuine knowledge and professional competence which is possessed by only a few”

Impiety Failing to acknowledge the gods that the

city acknowledges Introducing new deities (often referred to

his spirit, but was really referring to his intuition)

Socrates’ Death

Sentenced to death by drinking a hemlock-based liquid

Who is Plato?

Teacher

Teacher

Socrates

Plato Aristotle

Plato’s Biography

• Born around the year 428 B.C. in Athens• His father died when he was young• Plato’s birth name was Aristocles (not to be

confused with Aristotle) and he gained the nickname “Platon” because of his broad build

• When he was young, his basis of study was music and poetry

• Plato was in the military service from 409 B.C. to 404 B.C. and then joined a group called the Thirty Tyrants, but ended up leaving it because of the violence

Plato was Socrates’ disciple and Plato started to adopt his philosophy & style of debate.

After Socrates’ death in 399 B.C., Plato left Athens with some friends and traveled for the next 12 years while studying geometry, geology, astronomy, and religion.

Plato’s studies were directed toward the question of virtue & the formation of noble character

Platos’

Plato Back In ATHENS

When Plato returned to Athens in 387 B.C., he started a school of learning called the Academy, which was eventually described as the 1st European University

At the Academy, he taught his subjects astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy.

Plato’s Works

He had 36 dialogues (books) and 13 letters- “The Republic”

Give readers a sense of philosophy as a living and unfinished subject, to which they will need to contribute to finish

Modern scholars doubt the authenticity After writing, his works were “lost” until the

Renaissance They have been steadily studied since Big influence in math and science

Difference between arithmetic and logistic

“He believed that ideas were far more real than the natural world. He advised that astronomers not waste their time observing the stars and planets. It was better he believed, just to think about them”- Carl Sagan

Plato Back In ATHENS

Allegory of the Cave

People lived life chained facing a blank wall of a cave.They could only see the moving shadows projected by the people and fire behind them.The people began to think this of was reality.However philosophers are people from the cave that understands that the shadows are being cast by other people in true form. Fascinated with the idea of “Perfect Form”

What If Plato Were to Run For Presidency?

Plato & Politics

The Republic Virtues of Justice Courage Wisdom and Moderation (Individual and Society)

3 Part Society Workers (producing)

The “appetite” of the soul Warriors (protecting)

The “spirit” of the soul Rulers (governing)

The “reason” of the soul

Plato & Politics Cont.

Courage is not merely military courage but primarily civic courage: the ability to preserve the right, law-inspired belief, and stand in defense of such values as friendship and freedom on which a good society is founded.

Plato & Politics Cont.

Plato’s Government Would Have: Multiparty System Periodic Elections Professional Civil Service (Union)

Plato believed that that there could be a body of knowledge whose attainment would make it possible to completely heal political problems.

The End of Plato

Plato died in 347 B.C., leaving the Academy.

The Academy remained a model for institutions of higher learning until Emperor Justinian closed it