Philosophers in the World :: Philosophy Philosophers Paperes

Philosophers in the World Philosophers are often thought of as hopelessly inept in the â€Å"real† world, the theoretical counterparts of the 90-pound weakling on the beach of the material world. Nothing could be more mistaken. As mentioned, Alexander the Great studied with Aristotle and then went on to conquer the world (well, the parts of the world the Greeks knew). Coincidence? Perhaps, but the extent to which other ancient figures were influenced by philosophy is far less ambiguous. To take the most obvious example, Socrates was committed to a life of social criticism and public debate, so much so that he was tried and executed by Athenian officials who felt threatened by his influence over the young. Consider also the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (the guy Richard Harris played in the movie Gladiator). As a young man, Aurelius was so motivated by his love of truth (the Emperor Hadrian nicknamed him â€Å"Verissimus†) that he turned from studying rhetoric to philosophy. Conscientious to his subjects and magnanimous to his enemies, Aurelius sold off personal items rather than raise taxes to fund the imperial expansion into Eastern Europe. Despite his dislike of violence (he made gladiators fight with blunt tips), Aurelius spend much of his reign on the battlefield fighting German tribes on the Danube front; The Meditations was written down as notes, sometimes in military camp at the end of a weary and bloody day. Like many other ancients, Aurelius took the philosophical life to be one lived in the world according to philosophical principles and values, drawing on Epictetus’ admonition: Eat like a man, drink like a man, get dressed, get married, have children, lead the life of a citizen †¦ Show us all this, so that we can see whether or not you have really learned something from the philosophers. (Discourses III, 21, 5) One important thinker who exemplified Epictetus’ ideal was John Locke. Bored with the scholastic curriculum during his studies at Christ Church, Oxford, he spent much of his time as an undergraduate reading French literature. After receiving his B.A. in 1656, Locke plunged into the study of medicine and chemistry, later supervising a surgery to drain an abscess on Lord Ashley’s liver (the operation probably saved Ashley’s life). Locke saw his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, the locus classicus for modern empiricist philosophy, as providing part of the conceptual framework for the new scientific advances of Boyle, Huygens, â€Å"and the incomparable Mr.