Ancient Greece's Impact On Math And Science
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Many of the roots of modern intellectual ideas and philosophies have stemmed from the ideas and philosophies of the ancient Greeks. While many other cultures had some impact, the Greeks most definitely had the most influence on modern math and science. Most notably, “the three Athenians that would come to dominate philosophy for the next 2000 years: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle”(p8). These three philosophers, along with many others from in or around ancient Greece set the foundation for Western intellect today. The communication abilities and location of ancient Greece allowed them to not only gather information about the ideas of diverse cultures around the world but also to have skepticism about the information and determine what was true. This in turn allowed them to record their ideas and spread it to others as well. Ancient Greeks had the most impact on math, science, and philosophy because of their ability to read, write, and communicate. Besides the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, the Greeks were the first to invent and use the alphabet. However, even with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, the use of written language was typically limited to the merchant class. It was mostly just used for keeping track of government records. However, in many Greek city-states, reading and writing was open to all upper class males. This allowed them to record their ideas, therefore making them stick around much longer than the ideas and philosophies of other cultures who did not use