However, around 600 BC there was a transformative shift in thinking. Essentially, myth gives order and understanding. Furthermore, the deities could be influenced by prayer and ritual (if you have read Homer, you can easily see multiple human characteristics attributed to the gods). Some gods and goddesses were good and benevolent and others were not. For instance, a mythic explanation of a tsunami might be that the god Poseidon was angry, whereas now we give a rational and physical explanation of such. think Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and the early Greeks) was that all events were the result of some spirit’s action. The basic way to understand the world at this time (i.e. With respect to myth, everything in nature is thought to have powers and to be alive: water, air, sun, and the like. Rational inquiry in Greece begins by giving physical and natural explanations of things and using law, predictions, and scientific thinking instead of myth.

Myth gives anthropomorphic explanations of the world and refers to gods, magic, and the like. It arises as an alternative way to understand the world in comparison to myth.

In the western world, rational thinking begins in Ancient Greece.

This chapter provides a brief overview of how philosophy developed in the west by looking at some key elements of Plato’s Apology. (Summary by zaaf)įor further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.įor more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.Western philosophy begins in Ancient Greece, with a range of thinkers pushing the status quo to delve into topics that affect us as human beings.

It is the earliest and most eloquent expression of what has been termed 'philosophical faith', as that love and search for truth which gives meaning to life and trust in the face of death. The Apology is Plato's version of the speech delivered by Socrates before the Athenian people in his defence agaist charges of impiety and of misleading others, which ended in his condemnation and death in 399 BC. LibriVox recording of The Apology of Socrates by Plato.

The apology plato audio