Ancient Greek Philosophy:
– Early Greek Philosophy (or pre-Socratic philosophy)
– Term ‘pre-Socratics’ coined in 1903 by Hermann Diels
– Current scholarship transitioned to ‘Early Greek Philosophy’ since 2016
– Early Greek philosophers focused on cosmology, ontology, and mathematics
– Rejecting mythological explanations in favor of reasoned discourse
– Socrates contemporaneous with some traditionally pre-Socratic philosophers
– Philosophers before Socrates are referred to as pre-Socratic
– Influence of Greek Philosophy
– Greek philosophy influenced Western culture significantly
– Found in various aspects of public education
– Western philosophical tradition traces back to ancient Greek philosophers
– Lines of influence extend to Roman philosophy and beyond
– Greek philosophy a creation of reason and liberated imagination
– Classical Greek Philosophy
– Socrates
– Known for the Socratic method of questioning
– Taught that virtue is knowledge and all virtue is knowledge
– Pericles was closely associated with this new learning
– Plato
– Ascribed with thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters
– Plato’s dialogues explore political doctrines and metaphysical themes
– Aristotle
– Studied philosophy under Plato at the Academy
– Works cover logic, physics, ethics, politics, and more
– Influence on Medieval philosophers
– Re-introduction of Greek philosophies had a significant impact on scholars like Thomas Aquinas
– New Arabic commentaries accompanied the re-introduction of Greek philosophies
– Medieval philosophers integrated Greek ideas into their own works
– The fusion of Arabic and Greek philosophies enriched intellectual discourse
– Greek philosophy contributed to the development of Medieval thought
– Impact on Western intellectual history
– The reintroduction of Greek philosophy sparked a revival of intellectual inquiry in the West
– Greek philosophy influenced various fields such as theology, science, and ethics
– The fusion of Greek and Arabic philosophies enriched European intellectual traditions
– The transmission of Greek philosophy to the West marked a pivotal moment in intellectual history
Philosophers and Philosophical Schools:
– Milesian school
– Thales of Miletus considered the first philosopher by Aristotle
– Thales postulated water as the fundamental substance
– Anaximander suggested an indefinite substratum called ‘apeiron’
– Anaximenes proposed air as the fundamental substance
– Milesian school sought an unchanging natural substance
– Pythagoreanism
– Pythagoras founded a school reconciling religion and reason
– Little reliable information exists about Pythagoras
– Pythagoreanism incorporated ascetic ideals and metempsychosis
– Emphasized the harmony between mathematics and the cosmos
– Believed in the permanence behind the appearance of things
– Sophism
– Originated from the contrast between nature and law
– Protagoras claimed man as the measure of all things
– Sophists like Prodicus and Gorgias taught rhetoric
– Nature was considered constant, while laws could vary
– Sophists questioned ethical guidance from nature and laws
– Cynicism
– Founded by Antisthenes and Diogenes
– Aimed to live according to nature and against convention
– Antisthenes accused Plato of pride and conceit
– Diogenes lived in extreme poverty and engaged in anti-social behavior
– Crates of Thebes was inspired by Diogenes to give away his fortune and live on the streets of Athens
– Cyrenaicism
– Founded by Aristippus of Cyrene
– Held pleasure as the supreme good in life
– Pleasure was considered more intense and desirable than mental pleasures
– Virtue was denied intrinsic value
– Pleasure was made the sole final goal of life
Philosophical Concepts and Contributions:
– Heraclitus
– Taught ‘panta rhei’ (everything flows) with fire as closest element
– Stressed that all things happen in accordance with ‘Logos’
– Posited unity of opposites expressed through dialectic
– Eleatic philosophy
– Parmenides argued for a single, unchanging principle of being
– Denied sense phenomena as revealing the world’s true nature
– Eleatics rejected pluralism and believed only thought had being
– Pluralism and atomism
– Empedocles and Anaxagoras proposed multiple irreducible elements
– Leucippus proposed ontological pluralism with vacuum and atoms
– Denied coming into being or passing away, stating elements assemble and disassemble
– Megarians
– Founded by Euclides of Megara, a pupil of Socrates
– Ethical teachings derived from Socrates
– Work on modal logic, logical conditionals, and propositional logic
– Hellenistic philosophy
– Developed in the Hellenistic and Roman periods
– Contributions from Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Syrians, and Arabs
– Influence of Persian and Indian philosophy
– Pyrrhonism
– Founded by Pyrrho of Elis
– Influenced by Buddhist teachings
– Taught that opinions prevent attaining eudaimonia
Contributions and Transmissions:
– Contributions of Arab transmission
– Arab scholars played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting Greek philosophy
– The gathering of Greek manuscripts by caliphs facilitated the dissemination of Greek ideas
– Hiring translators to convert Greek works into Arabic expanded access to Greek philosophy
– Legacy of Greek philosophy
– Greek philosophy continues to shape modern philosophical thought
– The works of ancient Greek philosophers remain influential in academia.
This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Too much reliance on 19th century sources. (February 2023) |
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, logic, biology, rhetoric and aesthetics. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and later evolved into Roman philosophy.
Greek philosophy has influenced much of Western culture since its inception, and can be found in many aspects of public education. Alfred North Whitehead once noted: "The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato". Clear, unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers to Roman philosophy, Early Islamic philosophy, Medieval Scholasticism, the European Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.
Greek philosophy was influenced to some extent by the older wisdom literature and mythological cosmogonies of the ancient Near East, though the extent of this influence is widely debated. The classicist Martin Litchfield West states, "contact with oriental cosmology and theology helped to liberate the early Greek philosophers' imagination; it certainly gave them many suggestive ideas. But they taught themselves to reason. Philosophy as we understand it is a Greek creation".
Subsequent philosophic tradition was so influenced by Socrates as presented by Plato that it is conventional to refer to philosophy developed prior to Socrates as pre-Socratic philosophy. The periods following this, up to and after the wars of Alexander the Great, are those of "Classical Greek" and "Hellenistic philosophy", respectively.
