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Ancient Philosophy

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‘Ancient philosophy’ is the conventional title, in Europe and the English-speaking academy, for the philosophical activities of the thinkers of the Graeco-Roman world. It includes a succession of philosophers who operated over a 1,000-year period from the middle of the first millennium bc to the middle of the first millennium ad—from Thales and the earliest Pre-Socratics to late Neoplatonists and Aristotelian commentators, such as Simplicius and Philoponus . Later thinkers in Europe (e.g. Scotus Eriugena) are normally assigned to the category ‘ medieval ’, as are Arabic philosophers such as Avicenna and Averroës , and also Jewish philosophers such as Gabriol and Maimonides . Contemporary philosophers from other cultures (e.g. Confucius, Buddha) are also not included.

Traditionally ancient philosophy is divided into four main periods: the Pre-Socratic philosophers , Plato , Aristotle , the post-Aristotelian philosophers. Recently there has been a tendency to divide the last by adding a fifth phase of Christian and Neo-platonist philosophers. The most important of the ancient philosophers are Plato and Aristotle; and even though there has been a considerable shift of interest in the past thirty years in favour of the post-Aristotelians, it remains the case that the two fourth-century bc philosophers are the primary focus of interest, both to specialists and to students and the wider philosophical community. This is partly because their writings survive in extensive and accessible form, so that they can be studied and assessed for the quality of their argumentation as well as for their conclusions; it is also a recognition of the superior nature of their philosophical work.

In their different ways Plato and Aristotle look both backwards and forwards in philosophy. Each constructs his theorizing so as to encapsulate leading elements in the earlier tradition: Plato does this with impressionistic flair, Aristotle perhaps with more precision and historical accuracy. This retrospective work is intended to supersede the insights of preceding philosophers; and it largely succeeds in this. Thus the available options in ontology are summarized in Plato's Sophist as monism, dualism, or pluralism, and a commitment to the primacy either of perceptible body or of intelligible ideas. Aristotle discovers in earlier thought confused but recoverable traces of four distinct kinds of explanation, which correspond to his four kinds of cause—material, formal, efficient, and final. In these and many other ways Plato and Aristotle absorb what is philosophically valuable in Pre-Socratic thought, and they transmute it into something which has endured with greater vitality in the later philosophical tradition.

None the less, there are certain Pre-Socratic themes which Plato and Aristotle undervalue and which have been emphasized by contemporary philosophers. Heraclitus and Parmenides , in particular, were clearly very much concerned with the relations between language and thought and the world. Philosophers in the contemporary hermeneutical tradition (but also many others before them) have been interested in Parmenides' comments on the limits of the expressible; and Marxists and paraconsistent logicians have sought to develop Heraclitus' aphorisms on the contradictoriness of truth. Empedocles and Anaxagoras are scrutinized to see how they connected chemical analysis with mental causation.

While the concerns of Plato and Aristotle also exert great influence on the work of post-Aristotelian philosophers, these latter also develop a number of new themes. For example, there were substantial advances in propositional and modal logic, in speculation about the natural basis of epistemology, and in the philosophies of physics and of law. They also supplied important clarification of the philosophical issues involved in the debate over determinism and freedom. In ethics they were concerned with appropriate attitudes to animal suffering and to human death, in ways which anticipate recent themes in applied philosophy.

What are the main features of ancient philosophy? This 1,000-year period of Graeco-Roman philosophy has bequeathed certain central themes for later thinkers. It is incumbent on all philosophers to be aware of the precise way in which these problems were introduced into the subject, even though the later course of debate may have injected new directions or emphases. The key themes are these: the ontological specification of non-perceptible items (e.g. numbers, gods, universal kinds); the isolation of objective causes in the non-animate sphere of nature; the analysis and evaluation of patterns of reasoning and argument; the importance of understanding in the pursuit of the good life; the need to analyse the nature of the human person; the importance of the concept of justice in defining the nature of a political system; critical self-awareness regarding the content and manner of philosophical utterance; and many more.

The ancient philosophers created and laid much of the groundwork for later philosophical debate in the fields of ontology, epistemology, logic, hermeneutics, ethics, and political philosophy. They also established the crucial features of philosophical method—open-mindedness as to the agenda of problems, and rational progress through argument and debate.

While much of ancient philosophy runs with common sense, it also contains paradoxes and eccentricities. Among these are to be counted Plato's theory of Forms, according to which universal kinds or properties are actually separate from their instances, Aristotle's conception of God as concerned only with his own essence, and the Stoics' absolutist distinctions between good and bad.

Some themes are prominent in ancient philosophy which have become less so in the more recent history of the subject, while in the case of others it has been claimed that they were unknown or ignored by the ancient thinkers and only came to the fore in philosophy in the period since Descartes . Examples of the former are the significance of form in relation to the stuff of which a thing is made, and the idea that the most effective strategy for explaining natural change is through end-results (teleology). On the other hand, the modern philosophical themes of personal identity, the distinction between mind and body, and the contrast between first and second-order questions—in ethics and elsewhere—seem to be missing from the agenda of ancient philosophy. But these idiosyncrasies can be exaggerated. It would be prudent to assume that on these, as on other, topics there will be further research which reopens debate between ancient philosophers and their successors.

One of the most fertile fields of ancient philosophy was ethics. Here a central figure is Socrates , whose intellectually profound and persistent interest in the nature of the good life led him to penetrating comment on human knowledge and rationality. The constructive scepticism of Socrates has been a major determinant of subsequent philosophical method. Socrates has always been an emblem of the true philosopher; and this iconic tendency has become more pronounced in recent years. (It is sometimes reinforced by the fact that Socrates, who published nothing, could not have been ‘assessed’ by current league table methods). Aristotle's ethical work was strongly influenced by Socrates. He reacted against Socrates by emphasizing the importance of character and, as such, has inspired a recent revival of what is now called ‘virtue ethics’. His theory of the ethical mean is particularly interesting to value-pluralists, who strive to avoid oversimplification in moral theory. Ancient moral philosophy reinforces the contemporary philosophical interest in applying ethical analysis to real life problems. The ancient philosophers always saw their theoretical interest as directed on practical matters. Their ethics is, therefore, applied as well as being theoretical.

A further way in which the habits of ancient philosophical thought connect with modern interests comes from the concept of dialectic. Contemporary philosophers are rediscovering the connection between analytical and dialectical philosophical styles. The roots of both lie in ancient philosophy, whose leading thinkers placed high value both on the pursuit of philosophical dialogue and on the analysis of complex and potentially ambiguous concepts. Philosophers who are concerned with hermeneutics have recently rediscovered the literary complexity of Plato's compositions; they have found philosophical significance in the ways in which different characters are portrayed as presenting the truth. This method has been applied to some of the most ‘analytical’ of his works, such as Sophist. Attention to the works of the major ancient thinkers is an excellent antidote to the division of philosophy into sectarian factions which is still urged in some quarters.

The study of ancient philosophy is an important element in philosophy, which needs to be sustained at a level of suitable scholarly rigour. But there is a declining complement of qualified specialist academic staff, and a personnel crisis.

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Ancient philosophy

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Part of "School of Athens" by Raphael (Raffaelo Sanzio, 1483-1520)
History of
Western philosophy
Western philosophy
Pre-Socratic · Ancient
Medieval · Renaissance · Modern
Contemporary
16th · 17th · 18th · 19th · 20th Century
See also
Western culture · Western world

This page lists some links to ancient philosophy. In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire marked the ending of Hellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of Medieval philosophy, whereas in Eastern philosophy, the spread of Islam through the Arab Empire marked the end of Old Iranian philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of early Islamic philosophy.

Contents

Ancient Chinese philosophy

Main article: Chinese philosophy

Chinese philosophy is the dominant philosophical thought in China and other countries within the sinosphere, including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Schools of thought

Hundred Schools of Thought

Main article: Hundred Schools of Thought

The Hundred Schools of Thought were philosophers and schools that flourished from 770 to 221 BC, an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China. Even though this period - known in its earlier part as the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period - in its latter part was fraught with chaos and bloody battles, it is also known as the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy because a broad range of thoughts and ideas were developed and discussed freely. The thoughts and ideas discussed and refined during this period have profoundly influenced lifestyles and social consciousness up to the present day in East Asian countries. The intellectual society of this era was characterized by itinerant scholars, who were often employed by various state rulers as advisers on the methods of government, war, and diplomacy. This period ended with the rise of the Qin Dynasty and the subsequent purge of dissent. The Book of Han lists ten major schools, they are:

  • Confucianism, which teaches that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. A main idea of Confucianism is the cultivation of virtue and the development of moral perfection. Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.[1]
  • Legalism, which maintained that human nature was incorrigibly selfish; accordingly, the only way to preserve the social order was to impose discipline from above, and to see to a strict enforcement of laws. The Legalists exalted the state above all, seeking its prosperity and martial prowess over the welfare of the common people.
  • Taoism, a philosophy which emphasizes the Three Jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility, while Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos; health and longevity; and wu wei (action through inaction). Harmony with the Universe, or the source thereof (Tao), is the intended result of many Taoist rules and practices.
  • Mohism, which advocated the idea of universal love: Mozi believed that "everyone is equal before heaven", and that people should seek to imitate heaven by engaging in the practice of collective love. His epistemology can be regarded as primitive materialist empiricism; he believed that human cognition ought to be based on one's perceptions – one's sensory experiences, such as sight and hearing – instead of imagination or internal logic, elements founded on the human capacity for abstraction. Mozi advocated frugality, condemning the Confucian emphasis on ritual and music, which he denounced as extravagant.
  • Naturalism, the School of Naturalists or the Yin-yang school, which synthesized the concepts of yin-yang and the Five Elements; Zou Yan is considered the founder of this school.[2]
  • Agrarianism, or the School of Agrarianism, which advocated peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism.[3] The Agrarians believed that Chinese society should be modeled around that of the early sage king Shen Nong, a folk hero which was portrayed in Chinese literature as "working in the fields, along with everyone else, and consulting with everyone else when any decision had to be reached."[3]
  • The Logicians or the School of Names, which focused on definition and logic. It is said to have parallels with that of the Ancient Greek sophists or dialecticians. The most notable Logician was Gongsun Longzi.
  • The School of Diplomacy or School of Vertical and Horizontal [Alliances], which focused on practical matters instead of any moral principle, so it stressed political and diplomatic tactics, and debate and lobbying skill. Scholars from this school were good orators, debaters and tacticians.
  • The Miscellaneous School, which integrated teachings from different schools; for instance, Lü Buwei found scholars from different schools to write a book called Lüshi Chunqiu cooperatively. This school tried to integrate the merits of various schools and avoid their perceived flaws.
  • The School of "Minor-talks", which was not a unique school of thought, but a philosophy constructed of all the thoughts which were discussed by and originated from normal people on the street.
  • Another group is the School of the Military that studied strategy and the philosophy of war; Sunzi and Sun Bin were influential leaders. However, this school was not one of the "Ten Schools" defined by Hanshu.

Early Imperial China

The founder of the Qin Dynasty, who implemented Legalism as the official philosophy, quashed Mohist and Confucianist schools. Legalism remained influential until the emperors of the Han Dynasty adopted Daoism and later Confucianism as official doctrine. These latter two became the determining forces of Chinese thought until the introduction of Buddhism.

Confucianism was particularly strong during the Han Dynasty, whose greatest thinker was Dong Zhongshu, who integrated Confucianism with the thoughts of the Zhongshu School and the theory of the Five Elements. He also was a promoter of the New Text school, which considered Confucius as a divine figure and a spiritual ruler of China, who foresaw and started the evolution of the world towards the Universal Peace. In contrast, there was an Old Text school that advocated the use of Confucian works written in ancient language (from this comes the denomination Old Text) that were so much more reliable. In particular, they refuted the assumption of Confucius as a godlike figure and considered him as the greatest sage, but simply a human and mortal

The 3rd and 4th centuries saw the rise of the Xuanxue (mysterious learning), also called Neo-Taoism. The most important philosophers of this movement were Wang Bi, Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang. The main question of this school was whether Being came before Not-Being (in Chinese, ming and wuming). A peculiar feature of these Taoist thinkers, like the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, was the concept of feng liu (lit. wind and flow), a sort of romantic spirit which encouraged following the natural and instinctive impulse.

Buddhism arrived in China around the 1st century AD, but it was not until the Northern and Southern, Sui and Tang Dynasties that it gained considerable influence and acknowledgement. At the beginning, it was considered a sort of Taoist sect, and there was even a theory about Laozi, founder of Taoism, who went to India and taught his philosophy to Buddha. Mahayana Buddhism was far more successful in China than its rival Hinayana, and both Indian schools and local Chinese sects arose from the 5th century. Two chiefly important monk philosophers were Sengzhao and Daosheng. But probably the most influential and original of these schools was the Chan sect, which had an even stronger impact in Japan as the Zen sect.

Philosophers

Ancient Greek philosophy

Main article: Ancient Greek philosophy
Graphical relationship among the various pre-socratic philosophers and thinkers; red arrows indicate a relationship of opposition.
Raphael's School of Athens, depicting an array of ancient Greek philosophers engaged in discussion.

Philosophers

Presocratic philosophers

Thales (624 BC–ca. 546 BC)
Anaximander (610-546 BC)
Anaximenes of Miletus (c. 585-c. 525 BC)
Pythagoras (582-496 BC)
Philolaus (470-380 BC)
Alcmaeon of Croton
Archytas (428-347 BC)
Xenophanes (570-470 BC)
Parmenides (510-440 BC)
Zeno of Elea (490-430 BC)
Melissus of Samos (c 470 BC–unknown)
Empedocles (490-430 BC)
Anaxagoras (500-428 BC)
Leucippus (first half of 5th century BC)
Democritus (460-370 BC)
Metrodorus of Chios (4th century BC)
Protagoras (490-420 BC)
Gorgias (487-376 BC)
Antiphon (480-411 BC)
Prodicus (465/450-after 399 BC)
Hippias (middle of the 5th century BC)
Thrasymachus (459-400 BC)
Callicles
Critias
Lycophron

Classical Greek philosophers

Hellenistic philosophy

Hellenistic schools of thought

Ancient Indian philosophy

Main article: Indian philosophy

The ancient Indian philosophy is a fusion of two ancient traditions : Sramana tradition and Vedic tradition.

Vedic philosophy

Veda Vyasa (contemporary painting) attributed to have compiled the Vedas

Indian philosophy begins with the Vedas where questions related to laws of nature, the origin of the universe and the place of man in it are asked. In the famous Rigvedic Hymn of Creation (Nasadiya Sukta) the poet says:

"Whence all creation had its origin, he, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not, he, who surveys it all from highest heaven, he knows--or maybe even he does not know."

In the Vedic view, creation is ascribed to the self-consciousness of the primeval being (Purusha). This leads to the inquiry into the one being that underlies the diversity of empirical phenomena and the origin of all things. Cosmic order is termed rta and causal law by karma. Nature (prakriti) is taken to have three qualities (sattva, rajas, and tamas).

Sramana Philosophy

Main articles: Jain philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, and Sramana

Jainism and Buddhism are continuation of the Sramana school of thought. The Sramanas cultivated a pessimistic worldview of the samsara as full of suffering and advocated renunciation and austerities. They laid stress on philosophical concepts like Ahimsa, Karma, Jnana, Samsara and Moksa.

Classical Indian philosophy

In classical times, these inquiries were systematized in six schools of philosophy. Some of the questions asked were:

  • What is the ontological nature of consciousness?
  • How is cognition itself experienced?
  • Is mind (chit) intentional or not?
  • Does cognition have its own structure?

The Six schools of Indian philosophy are:

Other traditions of Indian philosophy include:

Buddha
  • Jain philosophy
  • Cārvāka (Sanskrit: चार्वाक) (atheist) philosophy. Also known as Lokāyata, it is a system of Hindu philosophy that assumes various forms of philosophical skepticism and religious indifference.It is named after its founder, Cārvāka, author of the Bārhaspatya-sūtras.

Ancient Indian philosophers

Main article: Timeline of Eastern philosophers#Indian philosophers

Philosophers of Vedic Age (2000-600 BCE)

Philosophers of Axial Age (600-185 BCE)

Philosophers of Golden Age (184 BCE-600 CE)

Ancient Iranian philosophy

Zarathustra as depicted in Raffael's The School of Athens beside Raffael who appears as the ancient painter Apelles of Kos (Ἀπελλῆς).
Main article: Iranian philosophy

See also: Dualism, Dualism (philosophy of mind)

While there are ancient relations between the Indian Vedas and the Iranian Avesta, the two main families of the Indo-Iranian philosophical traditions were characterized by fundamental differences in their implications for the human being's position in society and their view on the role of man in the universe. The first charter of human rights by Cyrus the Great as understood in the Cyrus cylinder is often seen as a reflection of the questions and thoughts expressed by Zarathustra and developed in Zoroastrian schools of thought of the Achaemenid Era of Iranian history.[6][7]

Schools of thought

Ideas and tenets of Zoroastrian schools of the Early Persian philosophy are part of many works written in Middle Persian and of the extant scriptures of the zoroastrian religion in Avestan language. Among these are treatises such as the Shikand-gumanic Vichar by Mardan-Farrux Ohrmazddadan, selections of Denkard, Wizidagīhā-ī Zātspram ("Selections of Zātspram") as well as older passages of the book Avesta, the Gathas which are attributed to Zarathustra himself and regarded as his "direct teachings".[8]

Philosophy and the Empire

Literature

Early Roman and Christian philosophy

See also: Jewish philosophy, Christian philosophy

Philosophers during Roman times

Plotinus

References

  1. ^ Lo, Ping-cheung (1999), Confucian Ethic of Death with Dignity and Its Contemporary Relevance, Society of Christian Ethics, http://arts.hkbu.edu.hk/~pclo/e5.pdf 
  2. ^ "Zou Yan". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607826/Zou-Yan. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Deutsch, Eliot; Ronald Bontekoei (1999). A companion to world philosophies. Wiley Blackwell. p. 183. 
  4. ^ The significance of Purusha Sukta in Daily Invocations by Swami Krishnananda
  5. ^ P. 285 Indian sociology through Ghurye, a dictionary By S. Devadas Pillai
  6. ^ Philip G. Kreyenbroek: "Morals and Society in Zoroastrian Philosophy" in "Persian Philosophy". Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy: Brian Carr and Indira Mahalingam. Routledge, 2009.
  7. ^ Mary Boyce: "The Origins of Zoroastrian Philosophy" in "Persian Philosophy". Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy: Brian Carr and Indira Mahalingam. Routledge, 2009.
  8. ^ An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia. From Zoroaster to 'Umar Khayyam. S. H. Nasr & M. Aminrazavi. I. B. Tauris Publishers, London & New York, 2008. ISBN 978-1845115418.
  9. ^ Zurvan. A Zoroastrian Dilemma. Robert Charles Zaehner. Biblo and Tannen, 1972. ISBN 0-8196-0280-9.
  10. ^ Sasanian Iran - intellectual life. A. Tafazzoli and A. L. Khromov in: History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Crossroads of Civilization. B. A. Litvinsky, Zhang Guand-Da, R. Shabani Samghabadi. Unesco, 1996. ISBN-10: 9231032119.
  11. ^ Sasanian Iran - intellectual life. A. Tafazzoli and A. L. Khromov in: History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Crossroads of Civilization. B. A. Litvinsky, Zhang Guand-Da, R. Shabani Samghabadi. Unesco, 1996. ISBN-10: 9231032119.
  12. ^ Yarshater, Ehsan. 1983. The Cambridge history of Iran, volume 2. p.995-997

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