Major Philosophical Schools: From Antiquity to Modernity
Epicureanism: A Hellenistic school from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD, whose main representative was Epicurus. It aimed for happiness, which is accessed through ataraxia. It divides philosophy into logic, physics, and ethics. Ethics provides the road to happiness. Physics is needed to banish the terrors that disrupt the mood and prevent one from achieving inner peace. Logic is needed to ensure that our knowledge is secure. Representatives include Zeno of Sidon and Lucretius. Epicureanism ended in the 3rd century due to the rise of Christianity and Neoplatonism. It reemerged during the Renaissance and modernity.
Materialism: A set of theories from the 19th century that asserted that only matter exists in the world. Classical materialism, found in the atomism of Leucippus and Democritus, states that only atoms and the void exist, and everything can be explained by their collisions. Epicureanism and Stoicism continued with atomistic materialism. In modern times, Hobbes’ empiricism was the initiator of English materialism. In the 18th century, d’Holbach influenced materialism. Marx applied materialism to the development of history. Engels stated that matter moves by itself. The advances of the 20th century led to the conclusion that materialism is a positive and scientific attitude that addresses problems such as the body-mind relationship.
Idealism: A philosophy that prioritizes thinking over “being.” A small but persistent period. We have seen the emergence of Plato’s idealism, rationalism of Descartes, Kant’s transcendental idealism, and the absolute idealism of Hegel. Current thinking developed in Germany in the mid-19th century. Representatives include Hegel, who developed it during the time of Romanticism. They wanted to find a way to eliminate the distinction between subject and object, between the world and the self. Idealism can be summarized as: a) a new conception of reason: infinite, absolute, and creative, b) historical reason, c) dialectical reason that is performed through the dialectical moment, “thesis-antithesis-synthesis.”
Stoicism: A Hellenistic school that ran from the time of Zeno of Citium (3rd century BC) to Marcus Aurelius (180 AD). It divides philosophy into logic, physics, and ethics. In theory, they are empiricists (through the senses). They developed a corporate theory in physics (empty). Bodies are made of an active principle and a passive one. In ethics, the virtue of man is to live according to nature, which is the same as living according to reason. It differs in its evolution: Ancient Stoicism (3rd-1st century BC): Zeno, Chrysippus, dogmatic philosophy; Middle Stoicism (2nd-1st century BC) defends eclecticism: Panaetius and Posidonius; New Stoicism (1st-2nd century AD): reflections on ethics and theology: Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius.
Nihilism: A 19th-century term referring to doctrines that defend no real convictions and values. It is associated with pessimistic philosophies like that of Schopenhauer. a) Negative: Initiation is Socratic, followed by Judeo-Platonism and Christianity. This decline is the result of an inversion of values. b) Positive: It unmasks false values and proclaims that “God is dead.” 1. Radical disorientation and loss of sense. 2. Reflection. 3. Inflection towards a new perspective of being and of man. It announces the death of God, and that we must destroy the ancient figures and accelerate the decline. The experience of the divine is limited, and the God imposed to frighten man reduces his possibilities.
Phenomenology: “Study of the phenomenon,” 20th century (Husserl). A phenomenon is shown as it is. More than a conception, it is a form of philosophical analysis that is applied to diverse fields. It arises as a reaction to positivism and skepticism. It seeks to recover what is called “the world of life.” Characteristics: 1. Things as phenomena of consciousness. 2. Reach out “to the things themselves.” 3. Conscience is something. 4. Ideal of rigorous knowledge. 5. Describes things exactly as they appear to consciousness. 6. Called phenomenon to see the world with new eyes, free of prejudice. 7. It is done through reductions. Representatives: Heidegger, Sartre, Gadamer, and Levinas.
Positivism: Arises as a reaction to Hegel’s idealism and Romanticism in the 20th century. It draws on science and technology. Its initiator was Bacon, influenced by empiricism. Philosophy becomes a general science that will have to coordinate and monitor the contents offered by empirical science. Features: 1. The only legitimate way of knowledge is scientific knowledge. 2. Describe the phenomena of nature. 3. Antimetaphysical attitude. 4. Dominate nature. 5. Refinement. 6. Morally perfect man. The goal is the greater good. Its initiator was Comte, the founder of “sociology.” There may be sociological positivism and empiricism.