Arete

Today in class, we learned that arête means excellence of any kind, moral virtues, and most importantly the act of living up to full potential. Arete comes from the ancient Greeks. It involves all of the abilities and potentialities available to humans. We also learned that the highest human potential is knowledge. We also learned some words and had to look up their meanings. The words are: agora, polis, the importance of 508 BC, Socrates, the death of Socrates, the Socratic method, and the meaning of the term idiot when ancient Greeks used it.

• agora- a public open space used for assemblies and markets
• polis- a city state in Greece, especially as considered in its ideal form for philosophical purposes
• importance of 508 BC- Athenian democracy in the city of Athens is established under Cleisethenes following the tyranny of Hippias
• Socrates- an ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato
• the death of Socrates- Hemlock poisoning & forced suicide
• the Socratic method- a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas
• idiot (ancient Greek meaning)- a private person