Foundations of Western Thought: Philosophy in Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece: Foundations of Western Philosophy
I. The Archaic Age (c. 800–500 B.C.)
A. Historical and Social Circumstances
- Greece was formed by poleis (city-states), small towns.
- The form of government was the aristocracy (the rule of the best).
- Religion was polytheism (worship of many gods) and anthropomorphic (the gods were conceived in human form).
- Religious minorities, such as Orphism, defended the immortality and transmigration of the soul, focusing more on ethical than aesthetic concerns.
- The transition from myth to philosophy (seeking rational causes of knowledge).
B. Archaic Thought: The Search for Physis
1. Object of Study: Physis (Nature)
The focus was on Physis (Nature), defined as:
- The set of things not dependent on man.
- The totality of reality, characterized by the Greek concepts of cyclical time (reality existing eternally) and the tragic (the inherent ambiguity or lack of fixed definition in things).
Greek philosophy wondered about the fundamental principles of Physis:
- The Archē (the origin or principle from which all things come).
- The Essence (what makes a thing what it is, and not another).
- The Substance (that which remains constant through changes).
2. Presocratic Answers: The Theme of Physis
a. Dynamic Monism
Argues that the Archē or principle is one, but constantly changing. Key proponents:
- School of Miletus: Thales (water), Anaximander (the apeiron, the indefinite), and Anaximenes (air).
- Heraclitus: His philosophy is summarized by the phrase: “The world is an ever-living fire, kindling in measures and going out in measures,” emphasizing constant flux, order, and measure.
- The Archē is fire.
- Changes occur in nature, but they are not chaotic or random.
- They are governed by a universal law, the Logos, which establishes nature as a Cosmos (ordered whole).
b. Static Monism
Argues that the principle is one, denying the possibility of change or movement.
- Parmenides: Argued that change and movement are mere appearances resulting from sensory knowledge. Change requires transition from being to non-being, but since non-being does not exist, change is logically impossible.
c. Pythagoreanism
Influenced by Orphism, they argued that the Archē is Number. They defended the immortality and transmigration of souls, viewing the human being as a composite of two principles: the material (body) and the spiritual (soul).
d. Pluralism
Argues that the Archē is multiple (many principles) to explain the plurality of things found in nature.
- Qualitative Pluralism: Principles differ in quality.
- Empedocles: Material principles are the four elements; efficient principles are Love and Strife (Hate).
- Anaxagoras: Material principles are homeomeries (seeds); the efficient principle is Nous (Mind/Reason).
- Quantitative Pluralism (Atomism): Principles differ in quantity.
- Leucippus and Democritus: Everything originates from atoms moving in the void.
II. The Classical Period (c. 6th–4th Century B.C.)
A. Historical and Social Circumstances
- Domination by two major poleis: Athens (cultural center) and Sparta (military development).
- The concept of the free and natural citizen of the polis.
- Virtue becomes attainable through education, not solely aristocratic heritage.
B. Classical Thought: The Shift to Nomos
1. Object of Study: Nomos (Culture/Law)
The focus shifts from Physis (Nature) to Nomos (Culture/Law). Key areas of inquiry:
- Ethics: What is good and what is bad?
- Socio-political Theory: What is just and what is unjust?
III. The Hellenistic Period (4th Century B.C. onwards)
A. Historical and Social Circumstances
- Empire of Alexander the Great:
- Positive effects: Greater extent of Greek language and culture, increased travel and communications (leading to cosmopolitanism).
- Negative effects: The poleis lose identity and power; the citizen loses political autonomy and becomes an isolated individual.
B. Hellenistic Thought: Individual Ethics
1. Object of Study: The Human Being as an Ethical Individual
2. Key Answers and Schools
a. Science (School of Alexandria)
- Euclid: Established five common axioms and five specific geometric postulates.
- Archimedes: Mathematician-physicist, inventor of the catapult and other devices.
- Ptolemy and Aristarchus of Samos: Astronomers, defenders of the geocentric and heliocentric models, respectively.
b. Philosophy (Ethics and Tranquility)
- Epicurus: Adopted Democritus’s atomistic physics.
- Goal: Pleasure defined as Ataraxia (tranquility) and Autarky (self-sufficiency).
- Means: Philosophical reflection and the elimination of fear (of the gods, death, and destiny).