Philosophy with humor - interesting stories from the lives of great philosophers
PHILOSOPHERS OF THE XV-XVIII CENTURIES

Who to share eternity with?

While occupying the position of secretary of the Second Chancellery in Florence, Niccolo Machiavelli became closely acquainted with Cesare Borgia. It must have been because of his friendship with this very controversial character, whose admiration Machiavelli never hid, that he was nicknamed “the devil’s majordomo.”

Having mastered all the subtleties of the political game based on lies, blackmail and manipulation, the thinker finally became convinced that any means are good to protect state interests, and the main task of a politician is to maintain power and maintain order. To evaluate the actions of the head of state, there is only one criterion - success. End justifies the means.

Machiavelli's views on human nature, as you might guess, were not very optimistic. At the end of his days, the philosopher dreamed that he had already died. In a dream he saw both hell and heaven. Heaven was full of hungry, meek and poor in spirit, but hell was full of philosophers, politicians and rebels. When Machiavelli told his friends his strange dream, they asked where he would prefer to spend eternity. The philosopher replied:

What doubts can there be here? The company of kings, princes and popes is a hundred times better than monks, beggars and apostles.

NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI (1469-1527)

Miracle child

The outstanding Italian Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola became famous for his sharp mind and phenomenal memory. Even as a child, he amazed everyone with his deep knowledge and deep judgments beyond his years. One day, young Pico had the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities to his father’s guests. A cardinal who was among them caustically remarked that overly gifted children usually grow up to be fools.

Pico was not at a loss:

It is immediately obvious, Your Eminence, that you were a gifted child.

Lutheran stomach

The great 16th-century writer Erasmus of Rotterdam, a humanist and devout Catholic, was distinguished by his open-mindedness and tolerance. He was united with the Lutherans by the desire to radically reform the Christian Church. Even Catholic philosophers admitted: “Erasmus broke the eggs from which Luther made scrambled eggs.” And yet Erasmus of Rotterdam remained an implacable opponent of the Protestants. He was disgusted by Luther's fanaticism and cruelty. The rebellious pastor himself hated the writer. He said: “Whoever finishes Erasmus will crush a half-dead bug.”

Erasmus dreamed of a revival of the apostolic spirit, a return to the simple-minded and merciful faith of the first Christians, who did not know inert dogmas and meaningless prohibitions. When the writer was caught eating meat during Lent, he joked:

I am a Catholic at heart, but a Lutheran at heart.

Anti-philanthropist

At thirty years of age, Erasmus finally received financial assistance from the Bishop of Cambrai to continue his theological education in Paris. Meager funds were enough for Montagu College, where strict discipline and ascetic routine were combined with a complete lack of hygiene and an abundance of biting insects. The great humanist humorously described this wonderful educational institution in his “Conversations”, concluding that graduates left college not crowned with laurels, but bitten by fleas.

Erasmus more than once spoke unkindly about the bishop’s charity, calling it an example of anti-patronage.

Pedro Gonzalez Calero - Philosophy with a joke. About great philosophers and their teachings

ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM (1466-1536)

King of the Amphibians

Erasmus of Rotterdam, a contemporary of Pope Julius II and Luther, valued independence above all else and categorically did not want to join any movements or groups. When the pope invited him to speak out against Luther’s heresy, Erasmus replied: “I would rather die than add my voice to the choir.” Luther, in turn, laughed at such love of freedom, believing that his opponent did not want to quarrel with either side. He called Erasmus "the king of the amphibians."

Thomas More's Last Joke

Erasmus's friend, the English humanist Thomas More, became famous for his book called "Utopia", in which he mercilessly criticizes the order of his era and paints a picture of a just society where there are no oppressors and the oppressed (model ideal state becomes an imaginary island called Utopia - translated from Greek this word means “a place that does not exist.”

Thomas More was an advisor to King Henry VIII. Refusing to recognize the monarch as head of the British Church, More was sentenced to death. Before his execution, Sir Thomas asked the executioner to help him ascend the scaffold, promising: “I will come down, so be it, myself.” In the last moments of his life, already on the chopping block, the philosopher continued to joke. “My beard grew a lot in prison,” he told the executioner. She didn’t do anything wrong before the king. Try not to hurt her.”

Philosophy with a joke. About great philosophers and their teachings ................................................

12.12.2016

Plato was an outstanding personality - one of those mighty sons of ancient times, such as the Earth no longer produces in our time. If it were not for Plato, we would not know much of the thoughts of Socrates, whose sayings Plato faithfully recorded for posterity. And he himself made a great contribution to the development of philosophy. Let's get acquainted with some interesting facts from the life of Plato.

1. The future philosopher was born into a family of aristocrats. His father's ancestors were of the royal family, and his maternal ancestors were engaged in lawmaking. It is not surprising that in such a family a new light of mind has appeared.
2. Plato is not the philosopher's real name. In his youth, this nickname was given to him by a teacher, and it meant “broad” (the young man was athletically built and very broad-shouldered).
3. At first, Plato prepared himself for political activity and writing theatrical productions. One day he was going to the theater with a fresh play, but on the way he met Socrates. After talking with the sage, Plato decided to leave both poetry and politics, and chose a different path - philosophical quests.
4. Plato was a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle.
5. One of the philosopher's hobbies was sports. He won the pankrateon competition 2 times in Olympic Games ah (it was a kind of struggle).
6. Those who knew Plato closely noted his modesty and shyness.
7. After Plato received his education, he decided to leave Athens and went on a journey. His path lay to Italy, Egypt and other states. In Syracuse, Plato met the ruler - a cruel and cunning man. He tried to instill more democratic views in the tyrant, but nothing came of this idea: Plato was suspected of plotting against the ruler and was reported to the tyrant. He sold the philosopher into slavery. It is unknown how Plato’s life would have developed further (whether he would have remained alive at all) if not for the friends who managed to ransom the young scientist.
8. Returning to Athens, Plato founded his own school - the Academy (the name came not from the academic knowledge that the students received, but from the name of the Academ garden, where the school was located).
9. Before teaching philosophy, Plato required his students to acquire skills in solving geometric problems. He also considered the science of arithmetic necessary to study. Both disciplines were used by him as a means to exercise the mind before moving on to a more serious science - philosophy.
10. It was Plato who first spoke about the disappeared continent - Atlantis, citing his evidence of its existence.
11. The phrase “platonic love” appeared thanks to the famous philosopher. He put a slightly different meaning into this concept, not the one that is familiar to us today. The love-friendship between teacher and students was platonic.
12. Plato believed that there are 2 parallel worlds - the world of ideas and the world of things. The soul comes from the higher spheres and inhabits a person even before birth. She already has everything from the start necessary knowledge- you just need to help her “remember” them.
13. Plato lived a long and contented life happy life. He died at the age of more than 80 years at a wedding feast, where he was invited as a guest.

Plato left to posterity many discussions about the structure of the world, about the correct organization of society. He believed that rulers are born with a golden soul, legislators with a silver one, and farmers and artisans with a copper one. Therefore, everyone has their own place in society. When a person leaves it, unrest ensues. But there are exceptions: sometimes the “copper” ones give birth to a child with a soul made of gold. In this case, we need to help him get to his “rightful” place.

In this original way, Plato was one of the first to say that every person should realize in life the talents allotted to him. He himself used his to the fullest: to this day, future historians, philosophers and political figures study it without fail.

Surely Plato, when he wrote his famous “Dialogues,” did not even suspect that he would be known to mankind even two and a half thousand years later.

The mystery of the missing continent of Atlantis has not yet been solved, despite amazing technical means.

The desire to find the lost Atlantis has been driving scientists and historians around the world for more than a millennium. The work of the searchers for the “cradle of Atlanteans” cannot be called useless, because many significant discoveries were made precisely during the search for the mysterious country.

The ancient philosopher devoted more than one page of his works to the description of Atlantis.

The mainland amazes with its luxury and wealth, the Atlanteans are entirely cultural, highly developed individuals, which is not surprising, because they are all descendants of Poseidon. According to Plato, and he described Atlantis in great detail, the disappeared civilization was one of the most developed on the planet.

It can be assumed that the historian visited the Atlanteans personally, and later described his impressions and experiences. However, the facts suggest otherwise.

While traveling in Egypt, he wrote down the stories of Solon, his uncle, and passed them off as his own. Solon, in turn, heard the story from the priest of the goddess Neith. The priest not only spoke about the superior race, but also confirmed his words with inscriptions on the walls of the temple.

Judging by them, the Atlanteans were aware of their unenviable fate and they made a lot of efforts to preserve the gene pool of people. The ancient Hellenes and Egyptians had no doubts about the existence of Atlantis, but the mainland has not been found to this day.

Plato in his writings hinted at the Strait of Gibraltar, but nothing was found there. Maybe the mythical Poseidon is to blame for everything, who does not allow the home of his descendants to be disturbed, or the Atlanteans themselves, living among people, preserve the peace of their disappeared homeland?

The search for the "cradle of the Atlanteans"

The famous traveler, explorer of the deep sea and writer Jacques Yves Cousteau made a lot of efforts in this area. With his team, the Frenchman scoured the entire Mediterranean in search of a fairyland, but, alas, he was not able to solve this mystery either.

The aspirations of the Russian writer Vladimir Shcherbakov, who collected many facts and myths about this continent in his book “In Search of Atlantis,” were also unsuccessful. Shcherbakov not only collected and analyzed bits of information about the Atlanteans and their homeland, but also tried to find it in the Atlantic and Siberia. But, despite the bones and volcanic ash found, no one has yet been able to prove the existence of the continent.

Video "Atlantis - literally according to Plato"

“Atlantis, if you believe Plato of Athens literally.”

Historical reconstruction of the legendary city-state in strict accordance with Plato’s “dialogues” and news on the issue of reconstructing the map of Atlantis. The author's hypothesis about the location of objective information about Atlantis. At the club lecture "The Origins of Civilizations"./p>

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Interesting Facts about scientists

It is thanks to the dedication and devotion of scientists to their work that many achievements are possible today, without which it is difficult to imagine our lives. Their high personal qualities become a common example of how a person should actually serve society. The whole life of these wonderful people, their difficult destinies, disputes with circumstances shows their faith in the power of science and the benefits their work can bring to humanity as a whole. Each of these scientists is a unique personality, with whom many interesting and sometimes shocking facts are associated, revealing to us the veil over such an interesting area as science.

The famous Plato was not only a philosopher. He was also Olympic champion. He won the pankration competition twice. This is a mixture of wrestling and boxing. Another participant in the Olympic Games was Pythagoras. He was a champion in fist fighting.

Rousseau, standing bareheaded in the sun, forced his brain to work more intensely. Schiller constantly kept his feet in cold water, working on his works.

The French philosopher, educator and writer Diderot forgot the names of his closest people, days and months, as well as years.

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer refused to pay at hotels and became furious and angry if his last name was written after two paragraphs.

In 347 BC. after the death of Plato, Aristotle became a mentor to the son of the Macedonian king, the future Alexander the Great.

Socrates despised luxury. He believed that what is necessary in life is only valuable.

Socrates at the age of 70, in 399 BC. e. convicted, sentenced to death and executed.

The very first collection described in a scientific work was Aristotle's collection. He was a great plant collector. He collected and described many plants from different countries. The collection was mainly supplied great Alexander Macedonian.

Ancient legends said that the famous Diogenes lived in a barrel. But, in reality, his shelter was a very large clay vessel - pithos. It was buried in the ground and grain was stored there.

Distrust and extreme suspicion of people distinguished Arthur Schopenhauer. He was very afraid that he would die from a contagious disease, so in case of a possible epidemic, he quickly changed his place of residence.

Pythagoras was nicknamed this because he was a great orator. Translated from Greek, “Pythagoras” means “persuasive by speech.” After my first public lecture 2 thousand people followed him. His followers were vegetarians and did not sacrifice animals, since Pythagoras believed that souls transmigrated into the bodies of people and animals.

It is believed that Pythagoras invented the “mug of greed” so that all slaves would drink equally, because there was little water on Samos. It had to be poured to a certain limit. When this mark was exceeded, the water completely flowed out of this mug.

The Greek philosopher, mathematician and astronomer Archytas of Taren created the first flying machine in the 4th century. BC e. Its shape was similar to a bird, and with the help of a steam jet it could fly 200 meters.

Socrates did not write down a word of his teaching. Today we know his thoughts thanks to the notes of his student Plato.

The floor of the famous French philosopher and writer Montesquieu was full of dents and indentations from the constant twitching of his legs.

Confucius considered the highest goal of human activity to be service to the people, and therefore he was always a poor petty official. Only after his death did followers of his teachings begin to write down his thoughts, and Confucianism began to conquer successive Chinese dynasties.

Interesting fact #1

"I know that I know nothing", is a well-known saying Socrates. Besides him Plato recorded another Socratic phrase: “I always say that I know nothing, except perhaps one very small science - erotica (the science of love). And I’m terribly strong at it.”

Interesting fact #2

Plato was not only a philosopher, but also an Olympic champion. Twice he won competitions in pankration - a mixture of boxing and wrestling without rules.

Interesting fact #3

The Italian philosopher Cardano imagined that all governments were spying on him, and the meat that was served to him was specially impregnated with wax and sulfur.

Interesting fact #4

It was said about Montesquieu that on the floor near the table where he studied, one could notice indentations from the constant twitching of his legs.

b]Interesting fact No. 5

Rousseau forced his brain to work harder by standing in the sun with his head uncovered. Friedrich Schiller always had his feet in cold water while working on his works.

Interesting fact #6

Denis Diderot forgot days, months, years and the names of loved ones.

Interesting fact #7

Arthur Schopenhauer became furious and refused to pay hotel bills if his name was written two paragraphs apart.

Interesting fact #8

Disciples of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato once asked him to define a person, to which he replied: “A person is an animal on two legs, devoid of feathers.” However, after Diogenes of Sinope brought a plucked rooster to the Academy and presented it as Plato's man, Plato had to add to his definition: “And with flat nails.”

Interesting fact #9

The Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is credited with the phrase “If they have no bread, let them eat cake!”, which she allegedly uttered after learning that the peasants were starving. But this phrase was first recorded by Jean-Jacques Rousseau even before the birth of Marie Antoinette. Apparently, it was said by some other queen or princess, but there is no clear answer as to who exactly.

Interesting fact #10

After Plato's death in 347 BC. e., Aristotle became a mentor to the son of the king of Macedonia, the future Alexander the Great.

Interesting fact #11

The young man asked Socrates:
- Sage, tell me whether I should marry or not.
- Do as you wish - you will still regret it.

Interesting fact #12

Socrates deeply despised luxury, believing that only what is necessary for life is valuable.

Interesting fact #13

It is reliably known that in 399 BC. BC, when Socrates was about 70 years old, he was convicted, sentenced to death and executed.

Interesting fact #14

The first known clock was the sundial, which evolved from the gnomon. But sundials have one significant drawback - they need the sun, that is, if it is cloudy or night, the sundial cannot be used. Therefore, in Babylon (or Egypt - scientists cannot determine for sure) in the 16th century BC, a clepsydra - a water clock - was invented. The design of the clepsydra is extremely simple - water dripped through the hole, and on the glass you could tell what time it was by the mark. The great Plato created an alarm clock based on the clepsydra - the flowing water compressed the air in the lower container in which there was a fuse. At a certain pressure, the fuse opened and compressed air rushed into the figure of the flutist, passing through the flute he caused a sharp sound that woke up Plato's students, calling them to practice.

Interesting fact #15

The very first collection described in a scientific work belonged to Aristotle. Aristotle was an avid collector who collected and described a large number of plants from many countries. The main supplier of his collection was Alexander the Great.