Eric Erikson

Introduction:

In Classic Greek Mythology, Athens had a democracy, but had no concept of freedom. Freedom evolved three centuries after Christ. There also was no notion or concept of "person," which comes from the word "persona," - a mask used in the theatre that depicted happy and sad characters. Members of the society of Athens were one hundred percent citizens of the city-state. Even the gods of Athens were territorial (i.e. the gods of Athens were the gods of Athens). Classic philosophers believed in nature and the cosmos and further believed that the cosmos always existed as it was with no beginning and no end. Classic philosophers also envisioned human nature as cycle and the soul as immortal. Classic philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle believed that the soul came from the world of ideas and that at birth; the soul fell into the body. Upon death, the soul returned to the world of perfect truth, which is the world of ideas.
Philosophy began in the seven...