Pre-Socratic Philosophy and Stoicism

Pre-Socratic means “before Socrates”. The term covers Greek thinkers of the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. They are seen as the first philosophers and scientists of the Western tradition.

What did they do that was new?

Earlier Greeks explained storms, floods and the stars through gods and myths. The Pre-Socratics looked for natural causes instead. They asked what the world is made of and why it changes.

Who was the first of them?

Aristotle names Thales of Miletus as the first to ask such questions. Miletus was a Greek city on the west coast of what is now Turkey. Thales said that water was the first cause of things. Anaximander and Anaximenes, also of Miletus, followed him.

Why do we still study them?

Their answers were often wrong. Their method was not. They gave reasons, argued with each other, and tried to explain the world without calling on gods. Later Greek ethics grew from this habit of reasoned argument.

What is the memory hook?

Pre-Socratic means reasons in place of myths. Thales of Miletus comes first.

Pythagoras lived from about 570 to 490 BCE. He grew up on the island of Samos. At about forty he moved to Croton in southern Italy. Most of his teaching happened there.

Was he mainly a mathematician?

Many people think so. The early evidence says otherwise. His fame in his own day did not rest on mathematics or science. People knew him for four other things:

• He taught that the soul is immortal and passes through a series of rebirths.
• He was seen as an expert on religious ritual.
• Stories told of him as a wonder-worker.
• He founded a strict way of life with diet rules, ritual and self-discipline.

Did he write his ideas down?

No. Pythagoras wrote nothing. Later writers added many stories. That is why scholars argue about what he personally believed.

What is the “harmony of the spheres”?

It is the idea that the heavens make music, based on number relationships in musical notes. It grew in later tradition. It is doubtful that Pythagoras himself thought of heavenly spheres.

What is the ethical point?

Pythagoras joined a belief about the soul with a disciplined daily life. He was seen as the founder of that strict way of living.

What is the memory hook?

Pythagoras means soul, ritual and a strict way of life. The maths image came later.

Heraclitus lived in Ephesus, an important city on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor. It was not far from Miletus. We know almost nothing about his life apart from his own surviving sayings.

Where does the river saying come from?

The popular line comes from Plato, who reports that all things move and nothing stays. Plato compares this to a river. The words that survive from Heraclitus himself are different. They say that other and other waters flow on those who step into the same rivers.

What does that mean?

The water is always changing. The river stays the same river. So Heraclitus is not saying that nothing lasts. He is saying that a lasting thing can be made of constant change.

What is the logos?

Logos means a reason, account or measure. Heraclitus held that a law of change runs through the world. He used fire to symbolise it. The world is not one fixed substance. It is an ongoing process.

Does this law touch human life?

Yes. He saw the law of nature as also a moral law for people. He is called the first Western philosopher to move from physical theory to moral questions. He held that a virtuous life keeps the soul “dry” and intelligent. Drunkenness makes it moist and damages it.

What is the memory hook?

Heraclitus means change with a pattern. The river stays, the water moves.

Greek medicine slowly turned from divine ideas toward observation and logical reasoning. Hippocrates is credited with turning away from divine notions of illness and using observation of the body. The name Hippocrates became linked with medical thought in the fifth century BCE.

What is the Oath?

The Hippocratic Oath is one of the best-known Greek medical texts. A new physician swore by healing gods to follow set professional standards. It also bound the student to his teacher and to the community of physicians, almost like a family.

What duties does it list?

• Use diet and treatment for the benefit of patients.
• Do no harm or injustice to them.
• Do not give a deadly drug if asked.
• Enter a patient’s home only to help the sick.
• Keep private what you learn about patients.

Does it say “first, do no harm”?

No. This is a common mistake. The Oath does not contain that exact phrase. It does say the physician will do no harm or injustice to patients. The short slogan came later.

Do doctors still take it today?

Most modern medical schools do not require it. Some use modern versions that suit the profession today. Over the centuries the Oath has been rewritten to fit different cultures.

What is the memory hook?

The Oath says “no harm or injustice” and “keep secrets”. The famous short slogan is not in it.

The Stoic school was founded around 300 BCE by Zeno of Citium. Zeno studied under the Cynic Crates and read the dialogues about Socrates. The school met in Athens and competed with the school of Epicurus.

What is the aim of life for a Stoic?

Cleanthes, Zeno’s first successor, put it as “living in agreement with nature”. For Stoics, nature includes the order of the world and human reason. A good life uses reason well.

Why is virtue so important?

Stoics held that virtue is necessary and enough for happiness. Virtue here means knowing what is good, bad and neither.

What did Epictetus add?

Epictetus was a former slave who taught Stoicism in Rome. His student Arrian recorded his teaching. The Enchiridion, or Manual, begins with a split. Some things are in our power: our opinions, our desires and our own actions. Other things are not: the body, property, reputation and public office.

Why does that split matter?

Epictetus says that if you treat what belongs to others as your own, you will be hindered and upset. If you care only about what is truly yours, no one can force you. A person can fail to get a job and still keep a calm mind and honest conduct.

What do Stoics say about strong feelings?

They define a passion as an impulse that is excessive and disobeys reason. The ideal wise person feels no such passions.

What is the memory hook?

Stoicism means virtue plus control. Mind your opinions and actions, accept the rest.

Marcus Aurelius lived from 121 to 180 CE. He became Roman Emperor in 161 CE and ruled alone from 169. Much of his reign was spent on military campaigns.

What are the Meditations?

They are his personal writings.

They follow the ideas of Epictetus and work as practical exercises. The aim is to examine your own judgements and to take a wide view of life. They show Stoicism as a daily practice, not only a theory.

What did Epictetus say about opinions?

He wrote that people are disturbed not by what happens but by their opinions about what happens. Even death is not terrible in itself, he says. The opinion that it is terrible is what hurts. So when we are upset, we should look at our opinions before we blame others.

How does this connect to CBT?

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, teaches people to notice and test the thoughts behind their feelings. Its two main founders, Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, both said their therapy had roots in Stoic philosophy. Ellis drew heavily on Stoic ideas and had read Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus.

What are the limits of this link?

CBT is a modern clinical method. Stoicism is an ancient philosophy of life. The link is about shared ideas, not that they are the same thing.

What are the common traps?

• “First, do no harm” is not in the Hippocratic Oath.
• Pythagoras was famous for his teaching on the soul, not for his proofs.
• Heraclitus did not say that nothing stays the same at all.
• Stoic “passion” means an impulse that goes against reason, not every feeling.

What is the memory hook?

Marcus Aurelius means Stoicism at work. Judge your opinions, not the event.