Western philosophy

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/western-philosophy

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the etymological root?Greek 'philosophia' meaning 'love of wisdom'
2. What is the historical genesis?Ancient Greece, marked by a transition from mythological to rational explanations (pre-Socratics)
3. Who were the first Greek thinkers that started Western philosophy?The pre‑Socratic philosophers like Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus looked for natural explanations for the world instead of stories about gods.
4. Why did Socrates say the unexamined life is not worth living?He believed that thinking about our own actions and values helps us become better people.

Epistemology: The branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge.
Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality.
Dialectical Method: A method of argument or discourse involving the resolution of contradictions.