He is the same universal God worshipped by people of all faiths. But it is jarring and a real contribution to global thought about ultimacy to consider dropping axiological ultimacy from the trio: what is most deeply real may not be all good, though contact with it may still manage to fulfill us deeply all the same. Indeed, even after the conquest of Greece by Rome in 146 bce Greek schools of thought continued to thrive. The small, independent city-states of ancient Greece were incorporated into the empire founded by Alexander the Great and then later folded into the Roman Empire. Knowing his army was outnumbered, Hannibal decided to lure the Roman army into a trap where he drew back his center as they advanced, only to then surround the Romans on all sides. After Ali also was assassinated, with a poison-laced sword at the mosque in Kufa, in what is now Iraq, his sons Hasan and then Hussein claimed the title. This method ultimately led to the well-known Socratic method called the dialectic, or finding the truth through questioning and considering opposing beliefs and then modifying one’s own beliefs. He emphasized that one could live a good life by questioning one’s own preconceived notions, particularly through a method of self-examination called elenchus.

No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14 vs. Parmenides, on the other hand, argued that being itself was the one and only constant reality. He theorized that these atoms were in constant motion. He further stated that the senses see the collective presence (the “big picture”) rather than the separateness and diversity of atoms. Heavier atoms formed Earth, while lighter ones made up the planets and stars. Socrates was brought to trial and executed in 399 bce on the charges of disbelieving in the gods and corrupting the young people of Athens through his teachings. The Sophists were teachers in Athens who were skeptical about what the human mind could know. The goal of Stoicism was ataraxia, or peace of mind. Thought and the mind were the instruments to be used for such a goal. That is, people should pursue knowledge through the use of logical systems of thought. His theory of elements remained in use until the modern era.

If we see the world as merely something to be utilized for our own comfort – for producing objects for our use – and strip it of a higher dignity that might encourage us to pursue other goals rather than just consumption, we will eventually run out of material to consume and room in which to do it; the experience of peak oil and global warming testify to this. Since that time it has been sensed that the term “American” carries too much negative baggage overseas to use it as a title on the foreign mission field. There is much practical wisdom in the biblical admonitions to put money in its proper place. In many ways Plato blended much of the work that had come before. Plato wrote about moral virtue, how to lead a good life, and the nature of knowledge. He also wrote about the immortality of the soul.

300 bce, got its name because the original thinkers met in a stoa, or a columned porch. He did that because she was harassing his own son, Heracles (born out of wedlock).” When Hera’s own son, Hephaestus, came to her rescue, Zeus was incensed and ejected him from the mountain. “This one is sort of a mirror image of the first,” Martin says. “Clearly, the stories got spun depending on whether the husband or wife divinity was being made to look bad. His conception was that humans wanted to become one with the bigger and eternal world of the Idea and the Ideal, of which the waking world was only a shadow. Rather, his starting point was the world of reality that humans perceive. In this way, unhappiness is caused, not by the world, but by the individual’s reactions to the world. It’s also one of the smartest animals in the world, not to mention the smartest pets.