The Contribution Of Philosophers To Society

The contribution of philosophers to society

The contribution that philosophy has given to science in general is magnificent and in fact, is greater than the one that science has been able to deliver to philosophy. This essay seeks to explain what the main Greek philosophers and their contribution to social sciences thought, based on the idea that they study human behavior and society. At present it could be said that "man is a social being and has always lived in society as a natural fact" (Abccolor, 2004), in this way the positions of Greek philosophers when studying the human being as the center of societyThey help understand the development of social sciences.

In the beginning for Greek philosophers, philosophy was considered "love of wisdom" (Antúnez, 2002);But later this definition evolved to become the love and search for the principles and identity of things. For example, the philosophers of nature: such, Anaximandro and Anaximounts were based on questioning and finding answers to the nature of things, that is, they studied the processes of nature studying nature itself, concluding that everythingIt is made of a raw material that does everything else. However, other ideas by Parmenides, Heraclitus, Empédocles and Anaxágoras arise later, who have a discussion about whether the senses are truly trustworthy or what they are and if there are constant changes in nature. Additionally, they begin to talk about the forces that unite things and that these things are composed.

It is important to keep in mind these primitive approaches since they gave way to develop reflections on what the human being is composed by other philosophers.

Some time later, Athens becomes a cultural center in which nature stays to theCurrently constitutes social sciences. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle “were based on social philosophy and tried to define how social relations should be, and how good societies should work. They did not analyze what they were, but theorized about what they should be ”. (Aula365, 2018). In this way Socrates starts from the idea that there are certain absolute and universal norms that must be fulfilled with respect to the world and man. This philosopher studied human behavior through interaction with people, causing them to use their common sense and give way to knowledge through their own reasoning;For him the reason is the basis of everything and even "the ability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong is in reason, and not in society" (Gaarden, 2010). From this idea, the explanation of human and society behavior starts, leading to practices that allow the organization of collective life, attending to sociological structures in which there is a process of creation and cultural self-information. (Gonzales Moro & Fernandez, 1993).

On the other hand, Plato refers to philosophy as that special knowledge that men have, and divides knowledge into two parts: Doxa (knowing that you have knowledge without previously looking for it) and episteme (scientific knowledge). As in the social sciences, it makes man seek that “sense of rational knowing, reflective knowledge, scientific knowledge” (Antúnez, 2002) and proposes a contrast between the factual situation of society and what is real (Gaarden, 2010). It should be noted that the fact that the disciple of Socrates is interesting, it is proposed that man divides into body and soul and that this is involved both in the world of ideas and in the world of things (dualism). This study of the human being forms a basis of development to understand man and his actions. It also proposes that the State must be governed by philosophers and gives women an important role by arguing that it has the same ability to reason as the male man. After Plato, the Aristotle philosopher refers to philosophy as human knowledge in its entirety;For him "Philosophy means the doctrine of the first principles and causes. Philosophy is the investigation of the principles because they are precisely foundations ”(Antúnez, 2002), especially emphasizing that knowledge is obtained through experience, making philosophy complementary to science and especially the branch of science that studiesTo society and man. Additional to this proposes different models to handle a state: monarchy, aristocracy and democracy.

In conclusion, it can be said that Greek philosophers put their knowledge and thought to use the human being. In the case of social sciences, they adopt critical positions and seek manifestations in both material and immaterial behavior, for this reason the study of body, soul and reason is important as explained by Greek philosophers. Currently scientific and social research continues to have a livelihood in philosophy since it designates human knowledge. Author Ángel Antúnez (2002) exposes the following about philosophers:

The philosopher of social sciences could help the social researcher to consider the community, not as a set of ideas, attitudes, norms and values in the abstract, but as a system of people, of thinking human beings that adopt attitudes and norms (…)(123).

Finally, it should be noted that throughout history, philosophy has managed to have great influence on science since it resembles the processes of formulation of theories, hypotheses and laws.