Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers
[Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers ]
Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers
I will compare the Western philosopher Socrates to the Eastern philosopher Lao Tzu. These two philosophers had some things in common with their ideas and philosophies that they pursued. Socrates was a western philosopher that lived in Athens Greece and Lao was thought to be from what is now known as the Hunan province of China.
Socrates
Socrates lived in Athens which was a city that taught it was better to solve problems through debate rather than violence. It was because of this environment he grew up in that he became a great debater and strived to discover something important, namely, the essential nature of knowledge, justice, beauty, goodness, and, especially, traits of good character such as courage (McGraw-Hill, pg.37, 2008) . He believed that power was not attained through wealth or physical strength but rather it was achieved through discussion or debate. The Delphi Oracle is said to have pronounced Socrates the wisest of people. To Socrates this meant he was aware of his own ignorance not that he was the wisest man in the world. Socrates made many enemies after this because he set out to find a man wiser than him and exposed many of them as frauds this brought about his demise as he was sentenced to death for corrupting young men's minds. Even though it is said by Plato that he could have gotten out of prison he choose to remain there because by living in Athens he agreed to live by their laws. Lao Tzu Lao Tzu believed that it was not through intervention but rather through understanding of how it functions. He also believed that the foundation of life was through peace and not through strife. The wise ruler, Lao Tzu believed, understands that violence is a last resort and knows that it can often be avoided by anticipation, by reconciling potential enemies
and
Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers
I will compare the Western philosopher Socrates to the Eastern philosopher Lao Tzu. These two philosophers had some things in common with their ideas and philosophies that they pursued. Socrates was a western philosopher that lived in Athens Greece and Lao was thought to be from what is now known as the Hunan province of China.
Socrates
Socrates lived in Athens which was a city that taught it was better to solve problems through debate rather than violence. It was because of this environment he grew up in that he became a great debater and strived to discover something important, namely, the essential nature of knowledge, justice, beauty, goodness, and, especially, traits of good character such as courage (McGraw-Hill, pg.37, 2008) . He believed that power was not attained through wealth or physical strength but rather it was achieved through discussion or debate. The Delphi Oracle is said to have pronounced Socrates the wisest of people. To Socrates this meant he was aware of his own ignorance not that he was the wisest man in the world. Socrates made many enemies after this because he set out to find a man wiser than him and exposed many of them as frauds this brought about his demise as he was sentenced to death for corrupting young men's minds. Even though it is said by Plato that he could have gotten out of prison he choose to remain there because by living in Athens he agreed to live by their laws. Lao Tzu Lao Tzu believed that it was not through intervention but rather through understanding of how it functions. He also believed that the foundation of life was through peace and not through strife. The wise ruler, Lao Tzu believed, understands that violence is a last resort and knows that it can often be avoided by anticipation, by reconciling potential enemies
and
References: Moore, B. N. & Bruder, K. (2008). Philosophy: The power of ideas (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.