Ancient Greek Philosophy: Early Thinkers and Their Ideas
The Milesian School
Thales of Miletus
Thales of Miletus was a mathematician, astronomer, and politician. He affirmed that the Earth rests on water, that water is the principle of all things, that all things are full of gods, and that everything is alive and vibrant.
Anaximander
Anaximander: A continuation of Thales’ thought. He claimed that the Earth is spherical and the center of the world. For him, the beginning of everything is the Apeiron (the undefined, non-empirical, immortal, indestructible, eternal, and unbegotten whole).
Anaximenes
Anaximenes: A pupil of Anaximander. He believed the beginning of things is infinite but also determined. He considered air to be the primary element and stated that the world is alive.
Pre-Socratic Philosophers
Heraclitus
Heraclitus: The beginning of everything is fire. The idea of Eternal Recurrence appears, where fire and everything returns. His Permanent Fire Theory states that everything is in harmony and movement through the struggle of opposites. Opposites are reconciled by the universal Logos.
Pythagoreans
Pythagoreans: They believed in the Eternal Return. Their mystical-religious content asserted the existence of the soul in all living things. They were dedicated to mathematics and believed they found similarities between numbers and beings. For them, numbers were the beginning of all things.
Parmenides
Parmenides: Distinguished between Being (thinkable, finite, unique, indivisible, and immobile) and Non-being (empty).
Empedocles
Empedocles: Considered that there are beings in motion and plurality. The origin is in fire, water, air, and earth. Each element is ethereal, timeless, and mingles with the others. When combined, they produce alterations in the world. This mixture is produced by a cosmic Force, which in turn is caused by the struggle of opposites (Love and Strife). Man’s destiny is eternal, as the soul pre-exists and transmigration occurs.
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras: Primarily interested in thought. Like Parmenides, he stated that Being cannot begin or perish. He accepted plurality, movement, change, and transformation of reality (a pluralistic theory). Everything is a mixture of many elements and divisions, or ‘seeds’ (infinitely divisible). The mixture of seeds and division occurs through a whirlwind produced by the Nous (Mind or Intellect), which is separated from the seeds and knows everything.
Democritus
Democritus: His theory is called atomism, contending that two elements exist: the full (solid) and the void (empty space). The world consists of atoms (indivisible, solid, full, infinite in number, and possessing inherent motion). Atoms collide with each other, rebounding or hooking together. In both cases, a swirl of atoms occurs. This is explained by chance, leading to a mechanistic theory where everything is empty matter and motion. The soul is corporeal and thus mortal.
The Socratic Period
Sophists
Sophists: Educated foreigners knowledgeable in thought. They created a movement known as the Greek Enlightenment. Unable to participate in politics, they dedicated themselves to teaching young Athenians. They were the first professional teachers, charging for their instruction. They advocated for Greek unity and peacekeeping.
Socrates
Socrates: An opponent of the Sophists. He did not charge for speaking or teaching his ideology. He sought truth by examining his own interior and that of others. His doctrine was based on:
- Reflection on himself and human life in the city.
- His philosophy as a collective search and dialogue.
- His method, consisting of two parts:
- Irony: Asking questions to make individuals aware of their ignorance and realize they know nothing.
- Maieutics (Socratic method): Asking questions to uncover the truth within oneself and through dialogue with others. This method is inductive.
- His focus on ethics, with his ethical doctrine called Intellectualism (equating knowledge with virtue).