Cosmopolitanism
Dynamic intellectual environment
Intense focus on the human existence
Socrates questioned Athenians and encouraged them to
explore the big questions in life; what is justice, courage,
love and the soul?
Socrates: “An unexplored life is not worth living.”
Plato, Socrates’ student, asked:
“What makes a good and just
individual and what is an ideal
state?”
Aristotle’s book Problems shows
the great range of topics the
Greek philosophers explored.
Why, why, why, why, why, why….?
Athens was a city of words
Gave display lectures in the Agora
Socrates’ technique was to make people
see that they had very limited knowledge
about something
More interested in showing people how to
think about topics than providing clear
answers