1.6 Religion and philosophy

Question 1

define Presocratic philosophers

Answer 1

philosophers living before Socrates

Question 2

when was Socrates born?

Answer 2

469 BC

Question 3

who was the first person to suggest one ‘cosmic’ god?

Answer 3

Xenophanes

Question 4

define monotheism

Answer 4

the denial of the existence of all gods except one

Question 5

when was Xenophanes born?

Answer 5

560 BC

Question 6

who was Xenophanes?

Answer 6

a Presocratic philosopher from Asia Minor

Question 7

who was Plato?

Answer 7

an Athenian philosopher and follower of Socrates

Question 8

when was Plato born?

Answer 8

429 BC

Question 9

who was Aristotle?

Answer 9

a Greek philosopher from northern Greece and student at Plato’s Academy

Question 10

when was Aristotle born?

Answer 10

384 BC

Question 11

what did Presocratic philosophers discuss?

Answer 11

the Olympian gods and the ritual their worship entailed

Question 12

in the 6th and 5th century BC, what lines of thinking were there no clear divisions between?

Answer 12

science and philosophy

Question 13

who was Thales of Miletus?

Answer 13

a famous engineer, geometer and astronomer from the 6th century who was named the first Presocratic natural philosopher by Aristotle

Question 14

according to Aristotle, who was the first Presocratic natural pholisopher?

Answer 14

Thales of Miletus

Question 15

how did Thales question the traditional views of the gods as presented by Homer and Hesiod?

Answer 15

he enquired about the world from a scientific perspective, including astronomical and cosmological studies

Question 16

where was Xenophanes from, and to where did he bring teach his ideas?

Answer 16

he was an Ionian scholar, and brought Ionian intellectualism to Magna Graecia, the Greek colonies in southern Italy, including Sicily

Question 17

in what form have Xenophanes’ works survived?

Answer 17

in fragmented form, often taken from sources hostile towards him

Question 18

how did Xenophanes write?

Answer 18

• various metres and genres
• two long elegiac passages
• on how to conduct a civilised symposium
• and the importance of his own work and wisdom

Question 19

according to Xenophanes’ cosmology, what is the origin of everything?

Answer 19

‘we all came from earth and water’

Question 20

how did Xenophanes explain heavenly phenomena such as the stars?

Answer 20

clouds originating in the sea

Question 21

how did Xenophanes undermine supernatural interpretations of natural phenomena such as rainbows?

Answer 21

‘she whom they call Iris, she too is a cloud’

Question 22

what does Xenophanes say about the anthropomorphic depiction of the gods? (x2)

Answer 22

‘mortals seem to have begotten Gods to have their own garb and voice’

‘if horses or oxen or lions had hands or power to paint and make the works of art that men make, then would horses give their gods horse-like forms in painting or sculpture, and oxen ox-like forms, even each after its own kind’

Question 23

what does Xenophanes say about the depiction of the gods by Homer and Hesiod?

Answer 23

‘Homer and Hesiod have ascribed unto the gods all that is reproach and blame in the world of men, stealing and adultery and deceit’

Question 24

what does Xenophanes say about the emotions and behaviour of the gods?

Answer 24

‘the Greeks give their gods human passion as well as human shape’

Question 25

how does Xenophanes criticise polytheism?

Answer 25

'there's one god greatest among gods and men, who is like to mortals neither in form or mind'

Question 26

define stoics

Answer 26

followers of a philosophical school founded in the late 4th century which advocated belief in one cosmic god

Question 27

define henotheism

Answer 27

the worship of a single, supreme god, without denying the existence of other gods

Question 28

what charges were brought against Socrates by the Athenian state?

Answer 28

- not believing in the Olympian gods - introducing new deities - corrupting the youth with his ideas

Question 29

who defends Socrates against the charges brought against him by the Athenian state, and how did he defend him?

Answer 29

Plato defended Socrates in his Apology by stating he was not an atheist, just someone who engaged in theological thinking

Question 30

who compares Socrates to the sophists?

Answer 30

Aristophanes in his comedy Clouds

Question 31

how did Plato and Xenophanes distinguish Socrates' practices from those of the sophists?

Answer 31

Socrates refused to receive money for his teaching

Question 32

define sophists

Answer 32

teachers and philosophers who charged for their services and teachings

Question 33

define the Socratic method

Answer 33

the method of question-and-answer cross-examination as practiced by Socrates in public and private symposia

Question 34

define daimonion

Answer 34

a divine sign that prevents Socrates from doing certain things

Question 35

when was Socrates tried and executed?

Answer 35

399 BC

Question 36

how did Socrates engage in politics?

Answer 36

- one of the presidents in the assembly when the Athenian generals were being tried for abandoning the bodies of fellow Athenian soldiers at the battle of Arginusae in 406 BC - was the only person to vote against trying the generals as a single group

Question 37

who did Socrates associate with who undermined Athenian democracy?

Answer 37

Critias and Alcibiades

Question 38

how was Socrates executed?

Answer 38

drinking hemlock

Question 39

who consulted the Delphic oracle about Socrates, and what did he ask?

Answer 39

Chaerephon asked if there was anyone wiser than Socrates

Question 40

what response did the Delphic oracle give when questioned about the wisdom of Socrates?

Answer 40

there was no one wiser than Socrates

Question 41

what did Socrates do to interpret the oracular response from Delphi stating there was no one wiser than him?

Answer 41

he questioned people who were considered wise (politicians, poets, teachers of rhetoric etc) about what constituted wisdom and excellence

Question 42

what conclusions did Socrates make after trying to interpret the oracular response from Delphi stating there was no one wiser than him?

Answer 42

- none of the people he questioned were wise enough to answer his query adequately - he himself was unable to reach a clear conclusion without divine inspiration - his wisdom came from accepting the limitations of his human knowledge

Question 43

what is at the heart of Socrates' belief system?

Answer 43

the best way to live is to pursue goodness

Question 44

how did Socrates challenge the traditional views of what makes someone 'good'?

Answer 44

he questioned people on what justice is, what beauty is, what virtue is etc, to reduce the interviewee to a state of perplexity, at which point he would propose his own radical view which was out of keeping with the ethos at the time

Question 45

how is Socrates shown to be pious in Plato's apology?

Answer 45

he swears oaths by Athena and Zeus at his trial

Question 46

how is Socrates shown to be pious through his interpretation of the oracle from Delphi?

Answer 46

he acknowledges Apollo's authority, takes the oracle as truth so seeks to understand it, and accepts only the gods can impart knowledge of excellence

Question 47

why was Socrates accused of introducing new deities?

Answer 47

he claimed his actions were influenced by his daimonion

Question 48

how did Socrates describe his daimonion?

Answer 48

'a sort of voice' 'holds me back from what i'm about to do but never urges me forward'

Question 49

what does Socrates say about rightness and wrongness?

Answer 49

- human actions are not made right or wrong by the approval or disapproval of the gods - rightness and wrongness are established independently of the gods, but the gods affirm what they are - all wrongdoing is done out of ignorance, not the intention to do evil

Question 50

who wrote an account of the plague that struck Athens in 430 BC?

Answer 50

the historian Thucydides

Question 51

how does Thucydides describe the city's general perspective of religion and the gods in his account of the Athenian plague? (x3)

Answer 51

'useless were prayers made in the temple, consultation of oracles' men 'became indifferent to every rule of religion' 'it seemed to be the same whether one had worshipped them or not'

Question 52

in the context of Plato's dialogues, what does 'apology' mean?

Answer 52

defence

Question 53

in Plato's Apology, what does Socrates say about the portrayal of him as a sophist in Aristophanes' Clouds?

Answer 53

'nonsense about which i know nothing whatsoever' 'i, men of Athens, have nothing to do with these things'

Question 54

in Plato's Apology, how does Socrates defend himself against Meletus' accusation of not believing in the gods?

Answer 54

'but i believe in supernatural matters, according to your statement, and you swore to that in your statement. but if i believe in supernatural matters, it is quite inevitable that i believe also in supernatural beings too'

Question 55

when was Heraclitus born?

Answer 55

540 BC

Question 56

who was Heraclitus?

Answer 56

a presocratic philosopher

Question 57

according to Heraclitus, what was the first principle?

Answer 57

fire

Question 58

what was Heraclitus' central concept?

Answer 58

logos (divine reason, all things are interrelated)

Question 59

what did Heraclitus say about human souls?

Answer 59

- humans have a soul - your soul is connected with logos and fire - moderate living is best for the soul rather than excessive behaviour

Question 60

what traditional religious rites and festivals was Heraclitus critical of?

Answer 60

excessive events and celebrations such as: - Dionysian rites - funeral customs