Classical Athens Philosophy: Sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Classical Athens: Political and Cultural Power (460–late 5th c. BC)

From the year 460 BC until the late 5th century BC, Athens was the most important polis because of its political, social, and cultural power and influence. During this period, Athens fought wars against the Persians (the Greco-Persian Wars) and Sparta (the Peloponnesian War), which highlighted its naval supremacy. The city opted for equality before the law (isonomy), experienced population growth, and its social environment was characterized by religious laxity (more open disclosure of feelings), ideological and political pluralism (greater freedom, education, diversity of opinion, and democratic progress), and ambiguity or moral relativism (absence of singular sacred myths).

This social environment led philosophy to focus on moral, social, and political questions, which drew the attention of the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Sophists and Democratic Rhetoric

Sophists: At their peak around 440 BC, the Sophists helped democratize power through the method of rhetoric. They used persuasion to shape norms and values, and participated in the public meetings of the Ecclesia in the agora to discuss various issues. Their emphasis on conventionalism and persuasive argumentation made rhetoric central to civic life.

Socrates and the Dialogical Method

Socrates: Socrates opposed mere rhetorical persuasion and called for dialogue as a means to clearly define concepts, values, and things. His method is typically described in two parts: maieutics (the midwifery of ideas) and irony, using questioning to expose assumptions and move toward clearer definitions and truth.

Plato (426–347 BC)

Plato was influenced by several factors and thinkers. These shaped his search for truth and goodness and his philosophical system:

• ^a The political situation in Athens — corruption, the pursuit of power and money, and injustices such as the death sentence of Socrates; these events led Plato to withdraw from active politics and devote himself to philosophy.
• ² The Sophists: their conventionalism and relativism suggested that if all opinions were equally correct, truth would be undermined.
• ³ Socrates, his teacher, especially regarding the importance of dialogue as a means to define concepts and reach the truth.
• ⁴ Orphism and the cosmogony of Hesiod.
• ⁵ Pythagoras, particularly his doctrine of the soul.
• ⁶ Parmenides, whose emphasis on reason points toward truth.

Myths and Platonic Themes

Plato was also influenced by new myths that helped to express what is difficult to explain purely by reason. Some of these mythic themes include the distinction between material and immaterial, the preexistence of souls, the incarnation (or incorporation) of the soul, the Good as a supreme model, and various spiritual functions.

Legacy and Influence of Plato

Plato influenced Aristotle (though Aristotle opposed Plato's theory of Forms and his political proposals), the Neoplatonists, and later Christian thinkers such as Augustine (who adopted immutable ideas in God). He also influenced modern thinkers like Descartes (on reason and innate ideas), and provoked criticism from philosophers such as Nietzsche, who challenged Platonic ideals.