Pioneers of Philosophy That Influenced the World With Their Quotes

I thought that learning our ancient history in school was all I had to do. Wars, mythology, important people. I knew them all, and that was it. Then, I went to university. I started thinking about things. All sorts of things. I started philosophizing… Philosophy.

Philosophy (from Greek: φιλοσοφία, Philosophia, ‘love of wisdom’) is the mother of thinking. Astronomy, medicine, and physics. Psychology, sociology, linguistic, and economics. These and many other fields are part of the same ecosystem, created by philosophy.

I gotta confess that I didn’t pay as much attention as I should. The irony is that I’m Greek myself. I took a ride through history, learning more about our philosophers. Their quotes and perception about life changed mine along the way.

Having Aristotle’s school a couple of minutes away from me got me into him, but also his teachers.

The holy trinity of philosophy. These 3 philosophers were linked. Socrates taught Plato, and Plato taught Aristotle. But all grew to something else. Not only students but mentors.

History has the ability to teach what was wrong and what to avoid. 2400 years after, and you can still self-improve from their quotes. 2400 years before, and they were still more moral than us. That’s insane.

People like them dedicated their lives to think. Now, we can dedicate a little of our time to learn.

More importantly, now we can take the moment and become philosophers ourselves. Philosophy never ends. Philosophy always evolves.

Socrates — The First Moral Philosopher

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” ― Socrates

How often do you see people having an opinion about everything?

Even if you are a pro in your field, you don’t know half of it.

Socrates is showing us that instead of pretending we know all about a topic, we should know our limit.

Don’t discourage others by thinking you are the best in your field. Instead, share your wisdom.

But Socrates here teaches us something deeper, too.

When it comes to our view of the world, we often fall victim to prejudice. We make assumptions fast. We judge without knowing all the variables. Even worse, we create an image of someone in our minds from our first impression of him/her.

If you changed, why do you judge people from their past?

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Being wise is accepting that you know less than you believe you do, to make a judgment.

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” ― Socrates

Think of this quote for a minute. Think especially of the time you were in school. Back then, teachers were sharing knowledge “aggressively”. The only way you would learn something was by memorizing it.

Now think of your moral compass. Did you build this compass based on your parents/school teaching? (you know the answer better than me)

Socrates was trying to make people think, instead. He was sharing thoughts, not forcing them into people. He knew he didn’t know anything, so he was teaching based on that principle.

Mathematicians believe that the fundamentals they know are true — and this may be the case. But the mathematicians who did a breakthrough are the ones who stepped out of the box. They didn’t take fundamentals for granted.

If we lived by the rules our teachers taught us, we would never evolve.

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” ― Socrates

And if we wrote in Medium in one format, we would be boring and repetitive.

Next time you’ll have to teach something to someone, try to make them think. Don’t force your opinion on them. You’ll end up having a person with an open mind, sharing his thoughts with other people too.

How I wish my parents did that.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” ― Socrates

You spend one-third of your life working. Another third is sleeping.

You have only one-third left for you. And it will be routine, once again.

Routine makes us still. We think we have more important things to do than examining our lives. The very first thing that makes exist. We actually live the lives we saw from others.

Routine keeps me in line

Helps me pass the time

Concentrate my mind

Helps me to sleep

― Steven Wilson

Right now, I’m examining my life. I avoided the need for a 9-to-5 that my parents taught me to live by. I’m following something that feels right. Writing. And it’s hard to escape your routine, I know. But are you happy with it? Are you what your child-self dreamed about?

20 Quotes from Socrates That Will Make You A Better Person

Plato — One of The Western Philosophy Pioneers

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” ― Plato

People will never understand what you’ve been through, right? So, why do you act like you know what others have been through?

We often see the surface and judge the depth cause of it. But that surface we see is only a timestamp of one’s life.

My surface shows a happy person, without any problems. But the reality is that I have a lot of them. I’m just hiding them by being ignorant. The surface of another person might be sad, but he may be sad because his favorite team lost the cup. Not something that lasts. But something temporary.

Don’t judge the surface and equally be kind to one another.

Your silence gives consent. ― Plato

A quote that can relate to everything in life.

When you see injustice around you, are you silent? If yes, you consent. When you disagree with politics, are you silent? If yes, you consent. When you disagree with ethics and morals, are you silent? If yes, you consent.

Your silence is part of the problem. Don’t fool yourself. And to be frank? I am a part of the problem too. I try to change every day. Step by step I evolve. I share my thoughts. I’m trying to get loud. My silence is raging.

“Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” ― Plato

The world is moving faster and faster. We are so eager for progress, we can’t settle for even a minute. Newcomers have a lot to process because of the progress that happened in the past. They often get discouraged by people that have been in the field for a longer period.

Try not to be that person. Try to encourage people more. You’ll never understand where they came from, so don’t judge them by the speed they are progressing.

I’m a slow learner. I need my time. I get discouraged by people who force me easily. But when I have someone who encourages me, I excel.

20 Quotes From Plato To Improve Your Way of Life

Aristotle — The Great Sum of His Tutors

“Anybody can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. ” ―Aristotle

Add up all the quotes you read here and you’ll get the mastermind of Aristotle. His wisdom shows in the quote above.

Judging people is the easiest thing of all. We do it constantly. Being able to make decisions in the right way, requires perspective.

Our actions create reactions.

Next time you’ll be angry at someone and make them angry in return, think of them making someone else angry too. And that one will make 2 more people angry in return. Do you really want to be that person who brought angriness to 10 others? A simple gesture can change the world around you.

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives. Choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” ― Aristotle

People rely on fate more than they should.

I am the sum of my actions. My choices brought me where I am. And waiting for a chance, was a choice too. It left me still, for years.

But reading quotes like this made me think of my life. I’m changing and I hope you can apply this to your life, and change too.

We all can excel if we stop hoping and start acting.

“To perceive is to suffer.” ― Aristotle

I kept this quote for the end and you may understand why.

We search for different perspectives because we can’t settle down. But as we do that we suffer. It’s a paradox.

20 quotes from Aristotle That Will Shape Your Character

Final Thoughts

Greek philosophers lead the way when it comes to a moral compass. They had all the time in the world to develop their beliefs. We are lucky that we can read them and drain knowledge from them.

We shouldn't leave such brilliance unseen. We have time to change. Escape our routine and evolve.

Socrates shows us how to be moral.

Plato shows us how to live in a society.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you can apply some of the quotes for further self-improvement.

This article was originally posted on Medium. Here's the link for it.