Hellenistic and Christian Views of Humanity
Hellenistic Period: A Shift in Perspective
The Hellenistic period, the final stage of the great Greek civilization, began with Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia. He formed a vast empire that lasted until Rome took full control of the Mediterranean. During this era, the Greek model merged with other forms of thought. Alexander the Great’s aim was a world state, a cosmopolis.
Previously, the political ideal was the polis, a city ruled by its citizens. Ruling a vast empire presented new implications.
The new individual, distanced from politics, developed an attitude of disinterest, which is reflected in the new philosophies. Man, once considered a social being, was now seen as an individual. This view of human individuality led to conflict between their role in society, public and intimate personality, and their private life.
New philosophical movements emerged, such as Stoicism and Epicureanism. Their values emphasized:
- Individual Freedom
- Absence of anxiety and pain
- Self-sufficiency and self-control over mind and body
A human ideal of the philanthropist, who devotes their life to others, also surged.
Man in Medieval Christian Thought
From the first century, Christianity emerged. While Greek philosophy was based on rational explanation, Christian philosophy relied on religious explanation, explaining all religious dogma from faith.
To explain and justify natural reality, Christian thinkers used Greek philosophical theories and terms, giving rise to Christian philosophy.
Key Features:
- Truth is revealed by God: Monotheism and omnipotence.
- Faith: The word of God as the ultimate tool.
- Creation: The universe was created from nothing.
- The Bible: It tells the essence of the world and of man, the Christian moral and political ideal, and so on.
This formed a theocentric thought, where God, not man, is the absolute axis.
Christian Vision of Man
It is based on:
- God created man in His image. The human being is the center of creation but must live by and for God.
- The human soul is immortal. The soul is the link with the Creator, granting access to resurrection, while the material body can encourage it to sin.
- At the end of time, man will rise in body and soul. The ancient Greeks believed that when an individual died, the soul reincarnated, a concept known as the doctrine of eternal recurrence.
Christianity proposes the idea of resurrection, where men will rise in another dimension. It opposes a linear view of life and provides a new human morality.
In Christianity, human morality:
- Depends on reason, but also on God’s laws. Man must respect these laws; otherwise, he falls into sin, evil, not ignorance.
- Is free: Man chooses between good and evil. Human freedom, being unique, also determines whether they are saved or condemned.
One of the prominent Christian authors is St. Thomas Aquinas, a follower of Aristotle. For him, human nature is composed of soul and body. The soul is the main part, the principle that animates the body, and it does not need the body to exist. The union of body and soul is beneficial because the human soul can only feel sensations through the body.
Moreover, reason (soul) derives its ideas from the experience that comes from the senses, i.e., the body.
Aquinas adopts the Aristotelian definition of man as a rational animal. Because reason can know its nature, it can set standards of behavior, such as:
- Conservation of Life
- Obligation to care for and educate children
- Finding the truth
- Respect for justice and the public good