Western Civilization

Today we continued with the main focus of philosophy. Some new vocabulary words were introduced as well. Mr. Schick indicated that we did not have to write down this word as it will not be on a test but the word is 'synchronicity.' Synchronicity is a causal connecting principle linking to causes which are similar but yet happen in different places-this is how I would define synchronicity. The dictionary defines synchronicity as the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. Today we also go down three branches of philosophy. The first branch is Metaphysics which is the branch that studies the nature of reality. Then the second one is epistemology which is the branch that studies the nature and scope of knowledge. The final branch which is actually divided up into two sub-branches is value theory. The first branch that value theory is split up into is ethics which is the branch that studies and evaluates human

The project which we were assigned last class is based on the following guidelines. You must create something physical, in other words a replica, that the Ancient Greeks would have used in their daily life. Things that one could make for their project include food; Ancient Greek dishes, clothing; robes that would have been worn by the citizens, and anything else your imagination can brew up. I am working with Aiden S. and Dominic C. on the project. We plan to make replicas of gear like Poseidon's trident, and other things of the nature. We will see how it works out but for now this is the plan. Now, onto Philosophy which was the topic of class today. We watched a Crash Course video and Hank Green defined Philosophy in a few different ways. Philosophy can be what you think, why you think it, why you feel what you feel, and what you think. Philosophia is the love of wisdom. The Ancient Greek definition of Philosophy is the academic study of anything. We will probably pick up with th

Wrapping up from yesterday's post, the next philosopher covered was Plato. Plato was a student of Socrates. He was actually at the trial when Socrates was sentenced to death and he even got it all written down. In other words, Plato was a stenographer at the trial of Socrates. He is known for two books which are called Republic and Apology, sometimes written Apologie. In  Republic Plato describes Socrates' vision of an ideal state, which as Mr. Schick mentioned is one of the most influential books ever written. If you are to major in psychology in college or something related to that, you may even have to read that book for a course. Apology is Plato's description of the trial. Aristotle was a student of Plato. In other words, the succession of philosophers goes Socrates, then Plato, then Aristotle. Aristotle built a school called the Lyceum which focused on cooperative research and information. This meant that people of all trades and talents could come together and fig

Today we went back in time to visit Socrates. We learned about Socrates in the very beginning of Human Geography. Here is some of the things that were recalled about Socrates which we also learned in the beginning of the year. Socrates looked up to science and not the god like the Greek people. He stated "The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates was known for his Socratic method which fostered critical thinking. He had some serious crimes charged against him which included impiety and corruption of Athens's youth. At his trial, he stated that he is the gadfly to the lazy horse which is Athens. This meant that he was the one who stirred things up in th society of Athens just like a horsefly would when it stings a horse-it would cause it to move, run, and buck. Socrates did not deny his charges which are listed above but instead said that the government should reward him with free dinners for the rest of his life. We left off on Aristotle and will pick up with mo

Today in class we spent the majority of the time taking notes or completing the ones we had already started last class. The notes were to be taken out of the textbook and written in our notebook. No new notes from Mr. Schick were given today. As the class took notes, a few people were taking the test that they missed on Friday. This test was mentioned in the last post. Mr. Schick was waiting for the people to finish their tests prior to discussing answers but before we could do that he had to grade them. As we went along and received our tests back from Mr. Schick there were plenty A's. I scored a ninety-three percent which yields three questions wrong. These questions included one from the multiple choice section and two from the map. The map part bugged me because I like maps and I should have known what the answers were. I missed the two points on the map which were Macedonia and Persia/Asia Minor. The final question I missed was the one I said I had talked to Mr. Schick with i

Today we took the first test in our Western Civilization course! When I first received the test, the thickness of the stapled papers was not too impressive, however, I later discovered that this test was not as easy as the length may have suggested. The first section was rather simple. On one of the following sections we had to identify three reasons why Ancient Greece was a good place based off of its geography. According to my recollection, I wrote something along the lines of their mountains, sea, and farming land. There were some more multiple choice questions and a few more short answers. One of the two short answers was what is your answer to the Homeric question. I answered this along the lines of yes Homer was a real person. The final question was what is a trireme. I answered this by saying it was a ship that was rowed by three levels of men and could also function as a battering ram. As I was talking with Mr. Schick in the hall a few mods later, I realized that the answer I

Today we reviewed for our test. The test is on the section we covered so far and it will be this Friday, February 16th. In other news, we received our textbook projects from Mr. Schick. Our group of myself, Dominic C., Chase V., Ben H., and Aiden S., received an eighty-nine percent. This was due to some spelling error and other minor errors. In class we covered just some of the test material which we will be tested on, on the test. This included a word answer question which will have to do with Ancient Greece's geography. I plan to answer this along the lines of the sea which helped them trade easily, the mountainous terrain which was not suitable for farming, and the olives. Olives were a key part of Greek life. They used olives for oil and other cooking needs, and they were very desirable to be traded. There are some other slides which Mr. Schick will pull questions from but most likely not the Greek Gods and Goddesses slide due to the controversy we experienced in class. 

The Greeks were certainly a war-like people-especially the Spartans. The Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on foot on land. Spartan boys were trained from age seven. The word spartan actually means showing indifference to comfort or luxury. Basically, this definition says that spartan can describe something barren or minimal-does not need all the extras. Moving on to Athens, they had a very strong naval power: soldiers who fight from a boat on water. Athens had a great infantry too, but nothing compared to their navy. The Athenians most effective weapon was the trireme. The trireme was a technological marvel. At the time, it was the fastest ship in the world. The trireme was rowed by up to one-hundred men on three levels. The trireme could used as a battering ram as it was agile and fast. Another great war strategy of the Greeks was the phalanx. Men, close in rank, would fight in densely packed groups with long  spears protruding in all direct

Zeus is the ruler of heaven and Earth, and father of Athena. Zeus is also the god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law & order, and justice. He had a temper and hone angry was known to hurl thunderbolts. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, sill, warfare, peace, intelligence, battle strategy, and handicrafts. She was born from Zeus's head, fully formed and armored. Athena is also the patron of Athens; it was named for her. More gods include Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Demeter. Apollo is god of music, arts, knowledge and healing. Zeus was his father and Artemis was his twin sister. He is also associated with the sun; his sister the moon. Poseidon is god of the sea, rivers, floods, and earthquakes. He is also the brother of Zeus. Aphrodite's lovers include Ares, god of war, and Adonis, Demi-god of desire. Demeter is goddess of grain, harvest, agriculture, and is also Zeus's sister. 

Class was fun. 

The main focus of today's class was Greek gods and goddesses. Mr. Schick opened up a discussion on how it is difficult to prove the existence of any god. This lead to the rest of class being a discussion and us only being able to cover one slide. The one slide consisted of the following information: Gods and Goddesses-What is so unique about the Greek people's relationship with their gods is the interaction they had with them and the gods to the humans. Poseidon, who is the god of the sea, interfered with Odysseus trying to return home. We read about this in the Odyssey where Odysseus was knocked off course so many times in his attempt to return home. He even had to face the monster and other ludicrous things. Aphrodite, who is the goddess of love, had lovers of both gods and men on Earth. Dionysus, who is the god of wine, was son of Zeus, who is the god of gods, and of Semele, who was a human princess. 

More of the group project: Vladimir Chervenkov, Ben Hannan, Aiden Stine, Chase Vogel Mr. Schick Honors Western Civilization 1 February 2018 An Overview of Ancient Greece The world’s greatest civilizations have all been born near waterways, and Greece is not an exception. From the Mesopotamians, to the Egyptians, and to the Indians and Chinese, all were located on waterways. For example, the Chinese had the Huang He River, the Indians had the Indus River, and the Egyptians had the Nile. The Greeks, however had the Mediterranean Sea which was their form of trade, which kept them thriving. The Mediterranean, and nearby seas helped the Greeks to supply food as well, like fish. The Ionian, Adriatic, and Aegean Seas are all neighboring seas of the Ancient Greek land. The Aegean sea is the one where most of the thousands of the Greek islands are located. The largest island of Ancient Greece was Crete. Peloponnesus is not an island, it is actually connected to the mainland b

Today we were assigned a group/class project. The class is to divide into groups and make a section of the textbook on Ancient Greece. Later we will put all of the groups projects together. Here is what some of our project looks like so far: The world’s greatest civilizations have all been born near waterways, and Greece is not an exception. From the Mesopotamians, to the Egyptians, and to the Indians and Chinese, all were located on waterways. For example, the Chinese had the Huang He River, the Indians had the Indus River, and the Egyptians had the Nile. The Greeks, however had the Mediterranean Sea which was their form of trade, which kept them thriving. The Mediterranean, and nearby seas helped the Greeks to supply food as well, like fish. The Ionian, Adriatic, and Aegean Seas are all neighboring seas of the Ancient Greek land. The Aegean sea is the one where most of the thousand of the Greek islands are located. The largest island of Ancient Greece was Crete. Peloponnesus is