Are the Classical Philosophers Still Relevant?

 

Many modern philosophers cite the Classical Philosophers as influences; but are the philosophies of Socrates and his students Plato and Aristotle still relevant? For me personally, I would not hesitate in answering “yes.”

Socrates, who is termed as “the father of philosophy” is incredibly important in the growth of classical philosophy. Not much of his life is known and we only know of his “philosophies” through the writings of Plato, arguably his most devoted and well-known student. The most interesting aspect of Socrates’ life, for me at least, is his death. He was sentenced to death by the Athenian government for his controversial ideas and died by drinking hemlock. Plato writes in his Phaedo that Socrates’ last words were "Crito [one of Socrates’ closest friends], we owe a rooster to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt." I find this interesting and yet conflicting on the surface. Asclepius was the god of healing. Why I find this so conflicting is Socrates was sentenced to death supposedly for his outspoken atheism and for “corrupting young minds.” However, many interpretations of this are that Socrates was referring to death – death is freedom for the soul and for the mind; in death the soul is heading for an idyllic place where it is free from society’s constraints. Fast forward two thousand five hundred years later and many people believe in the same sort of concept; albeit in a religion of some kind.

We are much more knowledgeable about Platonic and Aristotelian Philosophy, because unlike Socrates, they wrote down their philosophies. The most famous concept of Platonism is the Theory of Forms. This theory suggests that the world was far from perfect, but that there is a perfect world in which people were once acquainted with. Plato believed that we were somehow damaged by living in the imperfect world in which we live; but we could get reacquainted with the perfect world by listening to our own human reasoning. This is similar to the Augustinian Theodicy and this is because Augustine, like many of Early Christian philosophers was heavily influenced by Platonism.

Aristotle is more concerned with ethics as opposed to philosophy and is especially concerned with humankind’s ability to be virtuous. He believed that studying philosophy and being contemplative was the best way of reaching eudaimonia; a Greek word meaning the maximum wellbeing. Alasdair McIntyre, a Scottish philosopher, famous for his work in Virtue Ethics is a modern day Aristotelian. His belief that with good character comes good judgement stems from Aristotle’s work.

 I think it is very clear that the Classical Philosophers are fundamental still. However, why are they still paramount to philosophy and ethics today? I think the answer is simple. Although they lived thousands of years ago; the issues that were problematic for philosophy and ethics then are still causing problems for philosophers now. 5^th Century Athens was a place that was a cultural hot spot so to speak; the tragic playwrights were the “celebrities” of the day and they were becoming more daring and began asking questions about the Greek gods in their plays. An example of this is Euripides’ “The Bacchae,” a play in which the hero not only questions the god Dionysus’ existence, but the god himself and his all-female followers are shown to be moral deviants. Philosophy was thriving in an age in which the citizens were discovering agnosticism and becoming more aware of the world around them; and it is my belief that unless either religion or atheism become extinct; in another two thousand years’ time there will be another philosophy student making the same point about the Classical Philosophers as I have.

 

By L.L.