Alexander CekalaA history of Western Philosophy: 1
I am going to try to do a fairly detailed history of philosophy. I will focus on western philosophy first, which I will deal with over three weeks. This week I am dealing with ancient western philosophy.
Ancient philosophy
Ancient philosophy is seen as the birthing of western philosophy because it moved away from explanation in terms of mythological beings and began to give naturalistic answers.
At this time philosophy was seen as seeking all truths about the world, including the truths of what would now be called physics, maths and astronomy, as well as dealing with what we mean by the word philosophy today.
Many philosophers at this time wrote about epistemology (study of knowledge), logics, ethics and metaphysics.
The following is a list of some important ancient philosophers.
Thales
Thales is often regarded as the first Greek philosopher. He was considered to be an important contributor to philosophy because he looked for naturalistic, rather than supernatural explanations for the world. Famously, he believed that everything came from water (that earth was water solidified and so on).
The tradition of Greek philosophy grew from here.
Democritus
Democritus is one of the most famous member of the atomists, who believed that everything is made of tiny, indestructible and undividable particles. Democritus said that everything was made up of atoms and the voice, where the void was the thing that provided the space in which the atoms existed.
The atomist position would later be attacked by aristotle.
Zeno
Zeno is an ancient Greek philosopher who is best known for the paradoxes he created. One of these says that a fast runner can never catch a slower runner who has had a head start, for by the time he reaches the slow runners previous position the slow runner will have moved further, even if only be a small amount. This is used as an argument against motion. Zeno is also credited, at times, with creating the reductio ad absurdum (proof by contraditicion)
The Sophists
The sophists were a group of philosophers who taught others how to argue. However, due to this they gained a reputation for believing that truth was relative and for arguing cases that were false.
Socrates
Socrates was one of the most famous Greek philosophers and one of his major additions to philosophy was the Socratic method, where beliefs were questions and, in theory, those which were unsuitable were shown to be false by contradictions. Socrates believed that wisdom was realising that one was ignorant.
It also seems that Socrates believed people should focus on personal development, not material wealth. Some of Socrates's opinions are hard to separate from the of Plato, through whom we know most of Socrates's teachings. Some of these controversial beliefs involve whether Socrates discussed mysticism and whether he believed that the perfect political system was one in which philosophers ruled.
Plato
Plato was a student of Socrates, who developed many important philosophical views. He believed that the world was divided into the world of forms and the perceptible world. The world we perceive is an imperfect copy of the unchanging world of forms, which can only be perceived through the intellect.
Plato also believed that knowledge was innate and that learning was simply the process of discovering that which was within us. Plato believed philosophers should rule cities. Plato founded the academy in Athens, where Aristotle was taught.
Aristotle
Aristotle is probably the most famous ancient philosopher in the western world. He wrote on a huge number of subjects, including:
- Established a system of logic, which stood supreme for hundreds of years, until the arrival of mathematical logic.
- He established the ideas of causality, which are the basis for today's views.
- Believed the world was made up of 5 fundamental substances (earth, air, water, fire and aether). This sent the atomists view out of favour for some time.
- Produced much work on ethics: he believed that ethics was practical as well as theoretical (meaning it involved being good, not just knowing what good was). He believed that virtue was achieved by working towards ones purpose and that the purpose of human beings was to reason.
Aristotle taught Alexander the great.
Onwards
In the next post in which I deal with philosophy I will aim to deal with western medieval philosophy and show how this grew out of ancient (and specifically Aristotelian philosophy).
If you have any questions about specific philosophers or philosophies then please feel free to ask.
Adam
Ancient philosophy
Ancient philosophy is seen as the birthing of western philosophy because it moved away from explanation in terms of mythological beings and began to give naturalistic answers.
At this time philosophy was seen as seeking all truths about the world, including the truths of what would now be called physics, maths and astronomy, as well as dealing with what we mean by the word philosophy today.
Many philosophers at this time wrote about epistemology (study of knowledge), logics, ethics and metaphysics.
The following is a list of some important ancient philosophers.
Thales
Thales is often regarded as the first Greek philosopher. He was considered to be an important contributor to philosophy because he looked for naturalistic, rather than supernatural explanations for the world. Famously, he believed that everything came from water (that earth was water solidified and so on).
The tradition of Greek philosophy grew from here.
Democritus
Democritus is one of the most famous member of the atomists, who believed that everything is made of tiny, indestructible and undividable particles. Democritus said that everything was made up of atoms and the voice, where the void was the thing that provided the space in which the atoms existed.
The atomist position would later be attacked by aristotle.
Zeno
Zeno is an ancient Greek philosopher who is best known for the paradoxes he created. One of these says that a fast runner can never catch a slower runner who has had a head start, for by the time he reaches the slow runners previous position the slow runner will have moved further, even if only be a small amount. This is used as an argument against motion. Zeno is also credited, at times, with creating the reductio ad absurdum (proof by contraditicion)
The Sophists
The sophists were a group of philosophers who taught others how to argue. However, due to this they gained a reputation for believing that truth was relative and for arguing cases that were false.
Socrates
Socrates was one of the most famous Greek philosophers and one of his major additions to philosophy was the Socratic method, where beliefs were questions and, in theory, those which were unsuitable were shown to be false by contradictions. Socrates believed that wisdom was realising that one was ignorant.
It also seems that Socrates believed people should focus on personal development, not material wealth. Some of Socrates's opinions are hard to separate from the of Plato, through whom we know most of Socrates's teachings. Some of these controversial beliefs involve whether Socrates discussed mysticism and whether he believed that the perfect political system was one in which philosophers ruled.
Plato
Plato was a student of Socrates, who developed many important philosophical views. He believed that the world was divided into the world of forms and the perceptible world. The world we perceive is an imperfect copy of the unchanging world of forms, which can only be perceived through the intellect.
Plato also believed that knowledge was innate and that learning was simply the process of discovering that which was within us. Plato believed philosophers should rule cities. Plato founded the academy in Athens, where Aristotle was taught.
Aristotle
Aristotle is probably the most famous ancient philosopher in the western world. He wrote on a huge number of subjects, including:
- Established a system of logic, which stood supreme for hundreds of years, until the arrival of mathematical logic.
- He established the ideas of causality, which are the basis for today's views.
- Believed the world was made up of 5 fundamental substances (earth, air, water, fire and aether). This sent the atomists view out of favour for some time.
- Produced much work on ethics: he believed that ethics was practical as well as theoretical (meaning it involved being good, not just knowing what good was). He believed that virtue was achieved by working towards ones purpose and that the purpose of human beings was to reason.
Aristotle taught Alexander the great.
Onwards
In the next post in which I deal with philosophy I will aim to deal with western medieval philosophy and show how this grew out of ancient (and specifically Aristotelian philosophy).
If you have any questions about specific philosophers or philosophies then please feel free to ask.
Adam
