This is the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and Romans, which originated in the 6th century BC in Greece and lasted until the 5th century AD. Formally, the date of its completion is considered to be 529, when the Roman Emperor Justinian closed the Platonic Academy, the last philosophical school of antiquity.
The emergence and formation of ancient philosophy went in line with social life, within the framework of determining man’s relationship to the world. It was carried out through criticism of the anthropomorphism of mythology, through the creation of a categorical framework of the thought process. In search of the origin of the world and its understanding, philosophers of the ancient world reached the level of such abstract concepts as chaos and space, matter and idea, soul and mind.
If chaos was perceived as a formless, indefinite state of the world, its origin, then space meant an ordered, holistic understanding of the world. And the whole life of nature, man and society was presented as a movement from chaos to space. To describe this movement, the concepts of “matter” and “idea” were created in Greek philosophy: matter was understood as a certain potency, and the idea was perceived as a formative principle, as cosmic creativity.
Matter and idea were associated with a certain substance, which was quite normal for the ancient world with its passive and contemplative perception of reality. Knowledge of the world was limited to the external, phenomenal side of natural phenomena and facts. Matter and idea were correlated as passive and active principles and in their unity provided the diversity of the objective reality of the world as a sensory-material cosmos.
Space
The absolute object of ancient philosophy, which has always existed, independent of anyone, being the cause of itself and perceived as sensory.
Matter
The passive beginning of the cosmos, the potency of any phenomena of reality.
Idea
The active principle of the cosmos, the formative principle of existence.
Soul
This is what connects matter and idea.
Mind
The expedient determination of the world, the governing body of it.
Fate
The predetermination of events and actions, incomprehensible to man.
Periodization of the history of ancient philosophy
* Natural philosophical period - 7th - 5th centuries. BC.
* Anthropological period - 5th - 3rd centuries. BC.
* Systematic period - 3rd - 2nd centuries. BC.
* Ethical period - 3rd century. BC. - 3rd century AD
* Religious period - 3-4 centuries. AD
Natural philosophical period
Main problems
* The problem of the origin of space;
* Unity and diversity of the world.
Main directions and schools
* Ionian (Miletus) natural philosophy.
* Pythagorean Union.
* Eleatic school.
* Atomists.
* Heraclitus of Ephesus.
Ionian natural philosophy
The main thing in this philosophy
Represented by the Milesian school. The main thing in it is the doctrine of substance, which was understood as sensually perceived matter. The most famous names: Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes.
Thales
He considered water, liquid, to be the fundamental principle.
Anaximander
The substantial beginning of the cosmos is apeiron.
Anaximenes
All matter arises from the condensation and dilution of air.
Pythagorean Union
(Founded by Pythagoras (570-496 BC)
The main thing in the teachings of Pythagoras
* Form is an active principle that transforms amorphous matter into a world of tangible and knowable things.
* Number is the beginning of existence. Everything is countable.
* Mathematics is the main science.
Eleatic school
The main thing among the Eleatics
The main thing in this philosophy is the doctrine of the absoluteness of being. True existence is unchangeable, indivisible, beginningless, infinite, all-encompassing, immovable. The most famous representatives: Xenophanes, Zeno, Parmenides.
Xenophanes
(570-478)
He is the founder of the school. He argued that the integrity and indivisibility of existence is ensured by God, who possesses all possible perfections. Considered the predecessor of ancient skepticism.
Parmenides
(520-460)
He is considered a key figure in early Greek philosophy. The main thing for Parmenides is the doctrine of being as one, unchangeable, omnipotent and omnibeneficent. He contrasts being and non-being, truth and opinion, sensory and intelligible. Wrote a treatise "On Nature".
Zeno
(480-401)
He is famous for his aporias - arguments against the possibility of movement: “Dichotomy”, “Arrow”, “Moving Bodies”. Zeno did not recognize any other reality than the spatially extended one.
Atomists
The main thing in atomism
They got their name because the central concept of their philosophy is the atom. Absolute existence does not exist. There is only relative existence, characterized by emergence and destruction. At the heart of existence are many independent atoms, the combination of which forms things. Leucippus and Democritus were atomists.
Heraclitus of Ephesus
(520 - 460)
The main thing in the philosophy of Heraclitus
*Everything is in a constantly changing state.
* The beginning of all things is fire, endowed with the properties of divinity and eternity.
* The idea of orderliness and proportionality of the world is expressed in the concept of Logos.
* Considered the creator of dialectics, understood as the doctrine of the unity of opposites. He is credited with the saying: “You cannot step into the same river twice.”
* Main philosophical work: “On Nature”.
Anthropological period
(4th - 3rd centuries BC)
This period is associated with the beginning of the crisis of ancient society. Indirect evidence of this is the emergence and spread of ideas promoting relativism and subjectivism. In philosophy, the discursive, logical approach to things comes first. The possibility of universals in knowledge and practice is denied. Sophists—paid teachers of thinking and speaking—are becoming “fashionable.” They were not interested in the truth, but in the art of arguing itself, achieving victory through the use of formal logical techniques, casuistry, and misleading the opponent.
The main thing in sophistry
* A common feature of sophistry is considered to be relativism, which found expression in the statement of Protagoras: “Man is the measure of all things.”
* The Sophists opposed nature as a stable and permanent part of reality to a society living according to changing laws.
* The Sophists developed a negative form of dialectic. They were teaching, calling on people to defend any point of view, because absolute truth does not exist.
* The term “sophistry” has become a common noun. A sophist is a person who engages in empty talk and obscures the essence of the matter during a dispute.
* The main representatives of sophistry: Protagoras and Gorgias.
Systematic period
(3rd - 2nd centuries BC)
Scattered teachings about substance, knowledge, and man are being replaced by attempts at systemic analysis. The first representatives of philosophy of this period had a negative attitude towards sophistry. Knowledge and practice are coordinated through moral activity. The purpose of cognition is declared to be generally valid concepts. The main representatives of the systematic period: Socrates, Socratics, Plato, Aristotle.
Philosophy of Socrates
(470-390)
The main thing with Socrates
* He considered the main task of philosophy to be the search for universal definitions of morality;
* The best form of philosophizing is dialogue. From him came the original meaning of the term “dialectics”: to conduct a conversation, reason;
* Highly appreciated the role of cognitive activity in the general structure of human spirituality;
* He considered democracy to be the worst form of government, and sharply and sarcastically criticized it;
* After the establishment of demos power in Athens, for disbelief in the state gods and corruption of youth, he was sentenced to death and died after drinking a cup of poison by court verdict;
* On principle, he did not write down his thoughts and therefore there were no written works left after him. The ideas of Socrates have come down to us mainly as presented by Plato.
Socratic schools
Created by students and followers of Socrates. They spread and developed his philosophy and criticized the sophists. There are three main schools of Socratics: Cyrenaics, Cynics, Megarics.
The content of the article
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY- a set of philosophical teachings that arose in Ancient Greece and Rome in the period from the 6th century BC. to 6th century AD The conventional time boundaries of this period are considered to be 585 BC. (when the Greek scientist Thales predicted a solar eclipse) and 529 AD. (when the Neoplatonic school in Athens was closed by Emperor Justinian). The main language of ancient philosophy was ancient Greek, from the 2nd–1st centuries. The development of philosophical literature also began in Latin.
Study sources.
Most of the texts of Greek philosophers are represented in medieval manuscripts in Greek. In addition, valuable material is provided by medieval translations from Greek into Latin, Syriac and Arabic (especially if the Greek originals are irretrievably lost), as well as a number of manuscripts on papyri, partly preserved in the city of Herculaneum, covered with the ashes of Vesuvius - this latter the source of information about ancient philosophy represents the only opportunity to study texts written directly in the ancient period.
Periodization.
In the history of ancient philosophy, several periods of its development can be distinguished: (1) Pre-Socratics, or Early natural philosophy; (2) classical period (Sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle); (3) Hellenistic philosophy; (4) turn-of-the-millennium eclecticism; (5) Neoplatonism. The late period is characterized by the coexistence of the school philosophy of Greece with Christian theology, which was formed under the significant influence of the ancient philosophical heritage.
Pre-Socratics
(6th – mid 5th centuries BC). Initially, ancient philosophy developed in Asia Minor (Miletus school, Heraclitus), then in Italy (Pythagoreans, Eleatic school, Empedocles) and on mainland Greece (Anaxagoras, atomists). The main theme of early Greek philosophy is the principles of the universe, its origin and structure. The philosophers of this period were mainly nature researchers, astronomers, and mathematicians. Believing that the birth and death of natural things does not occur by chance or out of nothing, they looked for a beginning, or a principle that explains the natural variability of the world. The first philosophers considered the beginning to be a single primal substance: water (Thales) or air (Anaximenes), the infinite (Anaximander), the Pythagoreans considered the limit and the infinite to be the beginning, giving rise to an ordered cosmos, cognizable through number. Subsequent authors (Empedocles, Democritus) named not one, but several principles (four elements, an infinite number of atoms). Like Xenophanes, many of the early thinkers criticized traditional mythology and religion. Philosophers have wondered about the causes of order in the world. Heraclitus and Anaxagoras taught about the rational principle ruling the world (Logos, Mind). Parmenides formulated the doctrine of true being, accessible only to thought. All subsequent development of philosophy in Greece (from the pluralistic systems of Empedocles and Democritus, to Platonism) to one degree or another demonstrates a response to the problems posed by Parmenides.
Classics of Ancient Greek Thought
(late 5th–4th centuries). The period of the Pre-Socratics is replaced by sophistry. Sophists are traveling paid teachers of virtue, their focus is on the life of man and society. The sophists saw knowledge, first of all, as a means to achieve success in life; they recognized rhetoric as the most valuable - mastery of words, the art of persuasion. The sophists considered traditional customs and moral norms relative. Their criticism and skepticism in their own way contributed to the reorientation of ancient philosophy from knowledge of nature to understanding the inner world of man. A clear expression of this “turn” was the philosophy of Socrates. He believed that the main thing was knowledge of good, because evil, according to Socrates, comes from people’s ignorance of their true good. Socrates saw the path to this knowledge in self-knowledge, in caring for his immortal soul, and not about his body, in comprehending the essence of the main moral values, the conceptual definition of which was the main subject of Socrates' conversations. The philosophy of Socrates gave rise to the so-called. Socratic schools (Cynics, Megarics, Cyrenaics), differing in their understanding of Socratic philosophy. The most outstanding student of Socrates was Plato, the creator of the Academy, the teacher of another major thinker of antiquity - Aristotle, who founded the Peripatetic school (Lyceum). They created holistic philosophical teachings, in which they examined almost the entire range of traditional philosophical topics, developed philosophical terminology and a set of concepts, the basis for subsequent ancient and European philosophy. What was common in their teachings was: the distinction between a temporary, sensory-perceptible thing and its eternal, indestructible, comprehended by the mind essence; the doctrine of matter as an analogue of non-existence, the cause of the variability of things; an idea of the rational structure of the universe, where everything has its purpose; understanding of philosophy as a science about the highest principles and purpose of all existence; recognition that the first truths are not proven, but are directly comprehended by the mind. Both of them recognized the state as the most important form of human existence, designed to serve his moral improvement. At the same time, Platonism and Aristotelianism had their own characteristic features, as well as differences. The uniqueness of Platonism was the so-called theory of ideas. According to it, visible objects are only similarities of eternal essences (ideas), forming a special world of true existence, perfection and beauty. Continuing the Orphic-Pythagorean tradition, Plato recognized the soul as immortal, called to contemplate the world of ideas and life in it, for which a person should turn away from everything material and corporeal, in which the Platonists saw the source of evil. Plato put forward a doctrine atypical for Greek philosophy about the creator of the visible cosmos - the demiurge god. Aristotle criticized Plato's theory of ideas for the “doubling” of the world it produced. He himself proposed a metaphysical doctrine of the divine Mind, the primary source of the movement of the eternally existing visible cosmos. Aristotle laid the foundation for logic as a special teaching about the forms of thinking and the principles of scientific knowledge, developed a style of philosophical treatise that has become exemplary, in which first the history of the issue is considered, then the argumentation for and against the main thesis by putting forward aporia, and in conclusion, a solution to the problem is given.
Hellenistic philosophy
(late 4th century BC – 1st century BC). In the Hellenistic era, the most significant, along with the Platonists and Peripatetics, were the schools of the Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics. During this period, the main purpose of philosophy is seen in practical life wisdom. Ethics, oriented not at social life, but at the inner world of the individual, acquires paramount importance. The theories of the universe and logic serve ethical purposes: developing the correct attitude towards reality to achieve happiness. The Stoics represented the world as a divine organism, permeated and completely controlled by a fiery rational principle, the Epicureans - as various formations of atoms, skeptics called for refraining from making any statements about the world. Having different understandings of the paths to happiness, they all similarly saw human bliss in a serene state of mind, achieved by getting rid of false opinions, fears, and internal passions that lead to suffering.
Turn of the Millennium
(1st century BC – 3rd century AD). During the period of late antiquity, polemics between schools were replaced by a search for common grounds, borrowings and mutual influence. There is a developing tendency to “follow the ancients,” to systematize and study the heritage of past thinkers. Biographical, doxographic, and educational philosophical literature is becoming widespread. The genre of commentary on authoritative texts (primarily the “divine” Plato and Aristotle) is especially developing. This was largely due to new editions of Aristotle's works in the 1st century. BC. Andronicus of Rhodes and Plato in the 1st century. AD Thrasyllus. In the Roman Empire, starting from the end of the 2nd century, philosophy became the subject of official teaching, funded by the state. Stoicism (Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius) was very popular among Roman society, but Aristotelianism (the most prominent representative was the commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias) and Platonism (Plutarch of Chaeronea, Apuleius, Albinus, Atticus, Numenius) gained more and more weight.
Neoplatonism
(3rd century BC – 6th century AD). In the last centuries of its existence, the dominant school of antiquity was Platonic, which took on the influences of Pythagoreanism, Aristotelianism and partly Stoicism. The period as a whole is characterized by interest in mysticism, astrology, magic (neopythagoreanism), various syncretic religious and philosophical texts and teachings (Chaldean oracles, Gnosticism, Hermeticism). A feature of the Neoplatonic system was the doctrine of the origin of all things - the One, which is above being and thought and is understandable only in unity with it (ecstasy). As a philosophical movement, Neoplatonism was distinguished by a high level of school organization and a developed commentary and pedagogical tradition. Its centers were Rome (Plotinus, Porphyry), Apamea (Syria), where there was a school of Iamblichus, Pergamum, where Iamblichus' student Aedesius founded the school, Alexandria (main representatives - Olympiodorus, John Philoponus, Simplicius, Aelius, David), Athens (Plutarch of Athens , Syrian, Proclus, Damascus). A detailed logical development of a philosophical system describing the hierarchy of the world born from the beginning was combined in Neoplatonism with the magical practice of “communication with the gods” (theurgy), and an appeal to pagan mythology and religion.
In general, ancient philosophy was characterized by considering man primarily within the framework of the system of the universe as one of its subordinate elements, highlighting the rational principle in man as the main and most valuable, recognizing the contemplative activity of the mind as the most perfect form of true activity. The wide variety and richness of ancient philosophical thought determined its invariably high significance and enormous influence not only on medieval (Christian, Muslim), but also on all subsequent European philosophy and science.
Maria Solopova
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Ancient philosophy – a set of philosophical teachings created during the period of antiquity, that is, Greek and Greco-Roman antiquity.
The emergence and development of ancient philosophy was facilitated by the favorable socio-economic and political conditions that developed in Ancient Greece: political freedom, the development of crafts and trade, active political and civil life in city-states, etc. Ancient philosophy is closely connected with all aspects of ancient culture. Pythagoras is credited with introducing the term "philosophy".
During the existence of ancient philosophy, the foundations of all philosophical trends were laid, all the main styles and methods of philosophizing were formed. Ancient philosophy became the source of the development of all subsequent Western European culture.
In its development, ancient philosophy went through three periods:
Pre-Socratic (early Greek natural philosophy), 7th–5th centuries BC.
Classical (Socratic), mid-5th – late 4th century BC.
Roman-Hellenistic, 3rd century BC. – VI century AD
PRE-SOCRATIC PERIOD (EARLY GREEK NATURAL PHILOSOPHY)
The main representatives of this stage of ancient philosophy:
a) philosophers of the Milesian school (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes)
b) Heraclitus of Ephesus;
c) philosophers of the Eleatic school (Parmenides, Zeno of Elea);
d) school of Pythagoreans (Pythagoras);
e) mechanistic materialists (Anaxagoras, Empedocles);
f) atomists (Democritus, Leucippus);
The most characteristic feature of early Greek philosophy is its pronounced cosmocentrism, that is, the focus of the attention of the first Greek philosophers was on the problems of the universe - nature, Space, the world as a whole. The main merit of the early philosophers is that they formulated a fundamental philosophical question: what is the beginning of all things? At the heart of this question is the following philosophical discovery: there are many things, they are born and die, that is, they are transitory; but nevertheless there is a single, indestructible, eternal basis of all things, from which they arise and to which they return. This fundamental principle of all things, the universal basis of being, is called substance. All early Greek philosophers are trying to find this ontological basis of all things. Moreover, it should be noted that the fundamental principle of the world is not given to us in sensory experience, but can only be perceived by the mind. This is how it is formed natural-philosophical the method of cognition is a speculative, abstract interpretation of nature.
The most prominent pre-Socratic philosopher is Democritus- ancestor materialistic line in philosophy. According to the philosopher, all things consist of tiny, unchanging, eternally existing physical particles - atoms. They are unlimited in number and indivisible. Atoms are separated by a void in which they move. The movement of atoms in the world's emptiness, their collision and cohesion is the simplest model of causal interaction to which everything in the world is subject.
CLASSICAL (SOCRATIC PERIOD)
The Sophists, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle belong to this stage.
The main difference of this stage: pronounced anthropocentrism and it is at this time that complex philosophical systems, which cover all sections of philosophy (ontology, epistemology, anthropology, social philosophy).
Socrates(469 – 399 BC) – a bright representative of the classical period of ancient philosophy. Socrates did not leave significant philosophical works, but went down in history as an outstanding sage, philosopher-teacher, and polemicist. Socrates conducted his philosophy and educational work in the midst of the people, in squares, markets in the form of an open conversation (dialogue, dispute), the topics of which were ethical problems affecting all people: good, evil, love, happiness, honesty, etc. That is why Socrates is considered the author of the concept anthropological ethics. Socrates was not understood by the official authorities and was perceived as a person who undermined the foundations of society, confused the youth and did not honor the gods. For this he was in 399 BC. sentenced to death and took the cup of poison.
The teaching of Socrates is called ethical rationalism. Socrates believed that the essence of man is the soul (it is its presence that distinguishes man from all other creatures). By soul, Socrates understood our mind and morally oriented behavior. Hence, the goal of life according to Socrates is to become morally perfect. The source of moral and spiritual perfection is knowledge. A person who knows what good is will never commit evil. Socrates believed that any evil or vice is committed from ignorance.
The great significance of Socrates' work is that he discovered maieutics method. With the help of irony and leading questions in dialogue, Socrates led his interlocutor first to liberation from an erroneous opinion, and then to the discovery, the birth of truth in the human soul.
Plato- another major philosopher of Ancient Greece, a student of Socrates, founder of his own philosophical school - the Academy, founder idealistic direction in philosophy. Plato is the first ancient Greek philosopher who left behind a number of fundamental philosophical works.
Plato - representative objective idealism. He divides the whole world into: a) the sensory world ( "world of things") - it is temporary, changeable and does not really exist and b) the ideal world ( "world of ideas") – the real world, eternal and constant.
Plato's central concept is idea(sample, model of a thing). According to Plato, every thing has its own prototype (or idea). Moreover, Plato’s ideas are not subjective ideas of a person, they exist “by themselves,” that is, objectively. Together they form an ideal world, which is also called metaphysical, supersensible, because it is "above the heavens, above the physical cosmos."
IN person Plato distinguishes between the immortal soul and the mortal, perishable body. Plato is a supporter of the theory of transmigration of the soul. The soul moves from one body to another until it is purified, that is, freed from everything sensory and material.
In solving the problem knowledge Plato relies on the theory of transmigration of the soul and the Socratic idea of the existence of truth in the depths of the soul. Hence the main thesis of Plato’s epistemology: “knowledge is remembering.” True knowledge is knowledge of ideas. The soul, with the help of reason, must “remember” what it saw in the world of ideas before birth.
In his social philosophy Plato creates the first model in the history of philosophy ideal state.
Aristotle- the last greatest philosopher of the classical period, student of Plato, educator of Alexander the Great.
Aristotle divided philosophy into three types:
theoretical, studying the problems of existence, various spheres of existence, the origin of all things, the causes of various phenomena; practical– about human activity, the structure of the state; poetic, where aesthetic problems are considered .
Understanding being, Aristotle comes out with criticism of philosophyPlato, according to which the surrounding world was divided into the “world of things” and the “world of pure ideas”, and the “world of things” was only a material reflection of the corresponding “pure idea”, and considered “pure ideas” without any connection with the surrounding reality. Aristotle refutes this and proves the existence of only a single and specifically defined thing (individual), which is the primary essence, and the types and genera of individuals are secondary.
Aristotle gave concept of being is the essence ( substance), having the properties of quantity, quality, place, time, relationship, position, state, action, suffering, and concept matter is a limited potency shape.
Historical significance of Aristotle in the fact that he made significant adjustments to a number of provisions of Plato’s philosophy, criticizing the doctrine of “pure ideas”; gave a materialistic interpretation of the origin of the world and man; systematized and categorized philosophical knowledge; identified six types of state and gave the concept of an ideal type - polity (a combination of moderate oligarchy and moderate democracy); made a significant contribution to the development of logic.
ROMAN-HELLENISTIC PERIOD
The philosophy of ancient philosophy of this period was characterized by: the closeness of philosophy, philosophers and state institutions, the influence on ancient philosophy of the traditions and ideas of the philosophy of the conquered peoples of the East, North Africa, etc.
The philosophy of this period develops within the framework of schools, the main of which are: Epicurean, Stoics, Skeptics, Neoplatonists.
The main features characteristic of representatives of all schools: anthropocentrism, Problems personal ethics, the main one: the problem of happiness and freedom from the outside world ( ataraxia): For Epicurus this is pleasure by overcoming fears; For Stoics– following fate and gaining power over one’s own passions, for skeptics– abstention from judgments, for Neoplatonists– ascent to the One, merging with the divine essence.
KEY CONCEPTS OF THE TOPIC: cosmocentrism, anthropocentrism, natural philosophy; materialism, idealism, objective idealism; ethical rationalism, anthropological ethics; maieutics; substance.
SCHOOLS AND PERSONNEL FOR MANDATORY STUDY: Milesian school (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes), Democritus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.
Ancient philosophy - the philosophy of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome (VI century BC - V century). She made an exceptional contribution to the development of Western European culture and set the main themes of philosophizing for subsequent millennia. Philosophers of various eras drew inspiration from the ideas of Antiquity. It was Antiquity that not only proposed the term “philosophy” itself, but also determined the characteristics of this type of human spiritual activity.
In ancient philosophy, the following stages are distinguished.
Early or archaic (VI century - beginning of the 5th century BC). The main schools of this period are the Milesians (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes); Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans; Eleates (Parmenides, Zeno); atomists (Leucippus and Democritus); Heraclitus, Empedocles and Anaxagoras, standing outside certain schools. The main theme of the early stage of Greek philosophizing is space, physis, which is why the first Greek philosophers were called physicists, and philosophy - natural philosophy. During this period, the problem of the origin or beginnings of the world is formulated. In the philosophy of the Eleatics, there is a gradual liberation from natural philosophical motives, but being and its structure still remain the main topics of reflection. The central problematic of the early stage of ancient philosophy is ontological.
Classical (V century BC). The main schools of this period are the sophists (Gorgias, Hippias, Protagoras, etc.); Socrates, who at first joined the Sophists and then criticized them; Plato and his school Academy; Aristotle and his school Lyceum. The main themes of the classical period were the essence of man, the peculiarities of his knowledge, the synthesis of philosophical knowledge, and the construction of a universal philosophy. It was at this time that the idea of pure theoretical philosophy and its primacy in relation to other forms of knowledge was formulated. A way of life built on the principles of theoretical philosophy began to be considered as the most consistent with human nature. The main problems of the classical period are ontological, anthropological and epistemological.
Hellenistic (IV century BC - V century). The main schools of this period are Epicurus and the Epicureans (Lucretius Carus); Stoics (Zeno, Chrysippus, Panetius, Posidonius, etc.); neo-Stoics (Seneca, Epictetus, etc.); skeptics (Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus, etc.); Cynics (Diogenes and others); Neoplatonists (Plotinus, Iamblichus, etc.). The main themes of this period of ancient philosophy are the problems of will and freedom, morality and pleasure, happiness and the meaning of life, the structure of the cosmos, the mystical interaction of man and the world. The main problematic of Hellenism is axiological.
The main characteristic of ancient philosophy, regardless of the stage of its development, is cosmo- and logocentrism. Logos is the central concept of ancient philosophy. The Greeks think of the cosmos as orderly and harmonious, and ancient man appears to be just as orderly and harmonious. The problem of evil and the incompleteness of human nature is interpreted as a problem of a lack of genuine knowledge, which can be filled with the help of philosophy. In the Hellenistic period, the idea of harmony, the conformity of the universe and the rationality of man was reinterpreted in a relativistic spirit, but did not lose significance, defining the worldview of late Antiquity. We can say that the ancient thinkers “spoke” to the world, removing chaos and non-existence from it, and philosophy became a universal means for this.
8. Pre-Socratics: Milesians, Pythagoreans, Heraclitus, Eleatics.
1) Milesians.
Thales of Miletus (625–547 BC). A unique personality, a merchant, who traveled a lot (familiar with mathematics and the principles of astronomical observations, built the first stone water supply system, built the first observatory; sundial for public use). According to Thales, water is the root cause of all things (no water, no life). Water is the substance from which everything flows and everything returns to it. This cycle is subject to Logos (law). There was no place for gods in Thales' system. Thales proposed using the concept of water in a philosophical (abstract) sense. Even the Earth, in his opinion, floats on water, like a piece of wood. Founder of European science and philosophy; in addition, he is a mathematician, astronomer and politician who enjoyed great respect from his fellow citizens. Thales came from a noble Phoenician family. He is the author of many technical improvements and carried out measurements of monuments, pyramids and temples in Egypt.
Anaximander - successor of Thales (c. 610–540 BC) was the first to rise to the original idea of the infinity of worlds. He took apeiron as the fundamental principle of existence - an indefinite and limitless substance: its parts change, but the whole remains unchanged. This infinite beginning is characterized as a divine, creative-motive principle: it is inaccessible to sensory perception, but understandable by the mind. Since this beginning is infinite, it is inexhaustible in its possibilities for the formation of concrete realities. This is an ever-living source of new formations: everything in it is in an uncertain state, like a real possibility. Everything that exists seems to be scattered in the form of tiny pieces.
Anaximenes (c. 585–525 BC) believed that the origin of everything is air, thinking of it as infinite and seeing in it the ease of change and transformation of things. According to Anaximenes, all things arose from air and represent its modifications, formed by its condensation and rarefaction. The primary substance is air. All substances are obtained through the condensation and rarefaction of air. Air is the breath that embraces the whole world (air vapors, rising upward and discharging, turn into fiery celestial bodies, and, conversely, solid substances - earth, stones - are nothing more than condensed and frozen air). Naive, banal philosophy.
2) Pythagoreans.
Pythagoras (580-500 BC) rejected the materialism of the Milesians. The basis of the world is not the material origin, but the numbers that form the cosmic order - the prototype of the common. order. To know the world means to know the numbers that control it. The movement of celestial bodies is subject to mathematical relationships. The Pythagoreans separated numbers from things, turned them into independent beings, absolutized and deified them. The sacred monad (unit) is the mother of the gods, the universal origin and basis of all natural phenomena. The idea that everything in nature is subject to certain numerical relationships, thanks to the absolutization of numbers, led Pythagoras to the idealistic assertion that it is number, and not matter, that is the fundamental principle of everything.
3) Heraclitus.
Heraclitus (c.530–470 BC) was a great dialectician, tried to understand the essence of the world and its unity, based not on what it is made of, but on how this unity manifests itself. The main characteristic he singled out was variability (his phrase: “You cannot step into the same river twice”). An epistemological problem of knowledge has arisen: If the world is changeable, then how to know it? (The basis of everything is fire, this is also the image of perpetual motion). It turns out that there is nothing, everything just becomes. According to the views of Heraclitus, the transition of a phenomenon from one state to another occurs through the struggle of opposites, which he called the eternal universal Logos, i.e. a single law common to all existence: not to me, but to the Logos, listening, it is wise to recognize that everything is one. According to Heraclitus, fire and Logos are “equivalent”: “fire is rational and is the cause of the control of everything,” and he considers the fact that “everything is controlled through everything” to be reason. Heraclitus teaches that the world, one of all, was not created by any of the gods or by any of the people, but was, is and will be an eternally living fire, naturally igniting and naturally extinguishing.
4) Eleatics.
Xenophanes (c. 565–473 BC). His philosophical views are especially significant for us because he stood at the head of monotheists (monotheism) and at the head of skeptics (the possibility of knowing the knowledge of the world is criticized). It was from his lips that a cry of despair burst forth: nothing can be known for certain! For the first time, it was Xenophanes who carried out the separation of types of knowledge, formulating the problem of the relationship between “knowledge by opinion” and “knowledge by truth.” The evidence of the senses does not provide true knowledge, but only opinion, appearance: “opinion reigns over everything,” “not truth is available to people, but only opinion,” the thinker asserts.
Parmenides (late 7th–6th centuries BC)- philosopher and politician, central figure of the Eleatic School. At the center of his teaching is an unchanging, imperishable substance, an indivisible ball of fire. There is no movement in the world; it only seems to us. All systems of worldview are based on 3 premises: 1. There is only being, there is no non-existence. 2. There is both. 3. Being = non-being.
For him, Being truly exists, because invariably. Variability and fluidity are the lot of the imaginary. There is no empty space, everything is filled with being. Being is infinite in time (it neither arose nor was destroyed), limited in space (spherical). The diversity of the world comes down to two principles: the first (active) – Etheric fire, pure light, warmth; the second (inert) – thick darkness, night, earth, cold. From the mixture of these two principles comes the diversity of the visible world.
Zeno of Elea (c. 490–430 BC)- Favorite student and follower of Parmenides. He developed logic as dialectics. The most famous refutations of the possibility of movement are the famous aporia of Zeno, whom Aristotle called the inventor of dialectics. He denied the possibility of thinking about movement, of analyzing it, and that what cannot be thought does not exist. The internal contradictions of the concept of movement are clearly revealed in the famous aporia “Achilles”: fleet-footed Achilles can never catch up with the turtle. Why? Every time, with all the speed of his running and with all the smallness of the space separating them, as soon as he steps on the place that the turtle had previously occupied, she will move forward a little. No matter how much the space between them decreases, it is infinite in its divisibility into intervals and it is necessary to go through them all, and this requires infinite time. Both Zeno and we know perfectly well that not only Achilles is fleet-footed, but any lame-footed person will immediately catch up with the tortoise. But for the philosopher, the question was posed not in terms of the empirical existence of movement, but in terms of the conceivability of its inconsistency in the system of concepts, in the dialectics of its relationship with space and time. Aporia “Dichotomy”: an object moving towards a goal must first go halfway to it, and in order to go through this half, it must go through half of it, etc., ad infinitum. Therefore, the body will not reach the goal, because his path is endless.
Thus, the main property of the surrounding world for the Eleatics is not substance, but quality (unchanging eternity, one can think) - this is the conclusion of the Eleatics.
Ancient philosophy covers the philosophy of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and the period from the 6th century. BC. to the 6th century AD The beginning of ancient philosophy is usually associated with the name of Thales of Miletus, and the end with the decree of the Byzantine emperor Justinian on the closure of philosophical schools in Athens (529 AD).
Periodization of ancient philosophy (stages):
1) the period of formation of philosophy - philosophy of nature or natural philosophy. This stage is characterized by cosmological issues (VI-V centuries BC);
2) the period of ancient enlightenment - philosophy of a humanistic nature (5th century BC);
3) classical period (IV century BC);
4) the period of ancient philosophical systems, in which problems of ethics occupied an important position (III - I centuries BC);
5) the period of influence of other systems on Greek philosophy - Judaism, Christianity - philosophy of a religious nature (1st century BC - 5th century AD).
Basic ideas of ancient philosophy:
1) nature is the only absolute. Gods are an integral part of nature, they personify its elements;
2) hylozoism and panpsychism - the animation of nature;
3) pantheism - deification;
4) a person lives not only by nature, but also by institution, on the basis of reasonable justification;
5) nomos - law that rises above private interests; a rational establishment accepted by all residents of the city, obligatory for everyone;
6) the main subjects of consideration: physics (nature), which is the subject of physics; origins - the subject of metaphysics; the civil character of public life, the role of the personal principle in it, the justification of human virtues is the subject of ethics;
7) rejection of the mythological image of the universe, which determines the demand for searching for the impersonal basis of all things, the primary substance, which at first was identified with the elements;
8) cosmology and cosmogony are replaced by ontology, while ethical issues are not separated from the problems of the world order;
9) the goal of ancient philosophy is to substantiate the rational world order, including the reasonable order of things and human life.
Natural philosophy
All philosophical schools of this period can be divided into the following groups:
■ Milesian school (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes);
■ Ephesian school (Heraclitus);
■ school of Pythagoras;
■ Eleatic school (Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno);
■ Empedocles;
■ Atomism (Leucippus, Democritus);
■ Athenian school (Anaxagoras).
Milesian school. The Milesian school is represented by the names of Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes. The subject of thought of these philosophers was nature, so Aristotle called them physiologists, or theorists of nature (natural philosophy). The initial question they asked themselves was: what was the beginning of nature? That is, these most ancient philosophers wanted to find out what was the original type of bodies from which nature develops? In philosophy, this question is known as the question of primary matter.
According to Thales, all nature develops from water, it is primary matter. Everything is water, everything comes from water and turns into water. Thales was the first to pose precisely the philosophical problem of the beginning of the world. In mythology, there was an idea that at the beginning of the world there was water, and Thales’ predecessors also believed. But unlike the mythological way of understanding reality, the philosopher does not ask the question of who created the world and what happened before the world. These are questions, first of all, of mythological knowledge, one of the features of which is geneticism, that is, when the essence of a phenomenon is known through its origin, occurrence. Thales for the first time asks precisely the philosophical question of what was the beginning of the world, what is its essence.
The development of Thales's ideas took place in the work of another ancient philosopher Anaximander. If Thales reflected on the beginning of the world, then Anaximander began to use the term “beginning” (“arche”). He understood “arche” not only as the beginning and primary nature of things, but also as the principle of things, as their own nature.
Anaximander transformed the concept of “nature”. Etymologically, this Greek term ("physis") meant that which becomes, develops and is generated. In Anaximander, this term begins to mean that which is unchangeable, that which was, is and will be. The term, which usually denoted that which becomes, undergoes change in things, in philosophy began to mean that which is not subject to change. That is, the statement appeared that changing phenomena have a stable nature. Phenomena are accessible to the senses, but nature, in the sense in which Anaximander used this concept, is hidden and must be found; phenomena are heterogeneous, but nature is one; phenomena are random, but nature is necessary.
Therefore, for Anaximander, primary matter is not accessible to the senses. The beginning of everything that exists, from his point of view, is apeiron (“limitless”). The characteristics of apeiron are boundlessness and qualitative unlimitedness. Apeiron is the origin from which matter and everything that exists arises.
Another representative of the Milesian school, Anaximenes, retained Anaximander’s views that the world is unlimited. But infinity is not something indefinite, as in Anaximander. Primary matter is one of the types of matter - air.
Ephesus school represented by the name of Heraclitus. One of the themes of Heraclitus’s work is related to the search for the first principle - “arche”. This beginning for him is fire. Fire is the beginning of the world. The fire became sea, air, earth and returned to itself again. Fire from its upper reservoirs turned into air - air into water - water, falling to the ground, was absorbed into it - the earth soared, creating moisture, which turned into clouds - returned to its original peaks in the form of fire. The transformation of fire into something else speaks of its variability.
Identifying fire as the primary principle, Heraclitus notices another characteristic of nature, namely, its changeability, the image of which is the river. “Everything flows, everything changes,” “you cannot enter the same water twice.” There is nothing stable in nature; everything dies and is born in it. It is impossible to say that something exists because everything exists and does not exist at the same time. The only truth is that everything changes. Things seem stable to us, but this stability is a delusion. There are no things that have stable characteristics, there is only becoming. The identification of variability as a fundamental characteristic of nature and the entire universe leads Heraclitus to relativism.
The only stable characteristic of things, according to Heraclitus, is their variability. But the changes themselves are subject to a certain order, a law that rules both the world and man. This law is the Logos, the world mind, which is not only a human, but also a world ability.
SchoolPythagoras was an ethical-religious union. The moral and practical goal, namely, the purification of the human soul to save it from the cycle of rebirth, was achieved through certain practices of members of the order. “The Pythagoreans considered scientific studies, especially mathematics and music, to be one of the most important means of purification.” That is, the school of Pythagoras is not only a mystical association, but a religious order that, one might say, was engaged in scientific research.
The scientific searches undertaken in Pythagoreanism concerned, first of all, mathematics. “The Pythagoreans were the first to raise mathematics to a previously unknown rank - they began to consider numbers and numerical relationships as the key to understanding the Universe and its structure.” The philosophical concept of Pythagoreanism is associated with numbers. The beginning of the world is a number. And number is not some kind of substrate, that is, what things are made of, but what determines and shapes things. Therefore, the Pythagoreans for the first time established not a material essence, but a formal, that is, ideal, as a fundamental characteristic of the world, of all reality.
According to Pythagoras, everything in the world is a number; research in the school of Pythagoras was largely associated with the study of number, numerical relationships, including in relation to the movement of celestial bodies, and music (a connection was established between numerical proportions and musical harmony). Many researchers directly connect the doctrine of number of the Pythagoreans with the doctrine of harmony, just like Aristotle, who wrote that the Pythagoreans “saw that the properties and relationships inherent in harmony are expressible in numbers; since, therefore, it seemed to them that everything else by its nature is clearly likened to numbers and that numbers are the first in all nature, they assumed that the elements of numbers are the elements of everything that exists and that the whole sky is harmony and number.”
Eleatic school in ancient Greek philosophy it is associated with the names of Xenophanes, Parmenides and Zeno. Parmenides is famous for his doctrine of being. The initial feature of existence was its stability, and the variability of the world, in contrast to Heraclitus, was denied.
Being exists, non-being does not exist - one of the main provisions of Parmenides’ doctrine of being. At the same time, existence has no beginning. Otherwise, if it had a beginning, then it would have to begin from nothingness. But there is no non-existence. Therefore, existence has no beginning. That is why it has no end. Being is extended, since any breakthrough in extension means non-existence; still; invariably; indivisible; stable and united. Existence has no differences in itself. Parmenides' being has a definite form: it is like a ball or sphere.
Another important position of Parmenides’s doctrine of being is that the thought of being and being are one and the same. Parmenides was the first to proclaim the identity of thinking and being. Being exists because we have the thought of being, we can think of it; non-existence does not exist, because we cannot conceive it. Non-existence can neither be known nor anything can be said about it. If a thing exists, then it is conceivable. If we think of non-existence, then we will thereby make it an object of thought, and therefore, being. Therefore, there is no non-existence, argued Parmenides.
Nothingness is emptiness, empty space. But there is no non-existence, therefore there is no emptiness anywhere in the world, no space filled with nothing. From this follows the conclusion that the world is one, and there cannot be any multitude of separate things in it. Truly there is only unity, there is no plurality. In nature there are no empty spaces between things, no cracks or voids separating one thing from another, and therefore there are no separate things.
From the denial of emptiness follows an epistemological conclusion: the world is one, there is no plurality and no separate parts, therefore the multitude of things, as if certified by our senses, is in fact only a deception of the senses. The picture of the world instilled in us by our senses is not true, it is illusory.
The famous German philosopher of the 20th century Martin Heidegger noted the great merit of Parmenides in developing the doctrine of being. He argued that the question of being and its solution by Parmenides determined the fate of the Western world. This means, firstly, that, starting from antiquity, the idea of the existence of an invisible world, perfect, unchangeable, true, was introduced into culture and worldview beyond the boundaries of visible things. Secondly, Parmenides showed that knowledge other than knowledge of the visible world is possible, namely: rational knowledge, knowledge by thought, by reason. Thirdly, the solution to the problem of being by Parmenides opened up opportunities for metaphysics, that is, a doctrine in which people try to talk not only about material, but also about immaterial being, independent of either man or humanity, to look for the last ideal causes of natural entities and , in the end, - everything that exists.
One of the most important questions posed by the Eleatic school was the question of how true knowledge can be obtained. Philosophers of this school argued that true knowledge can only be obtained with the help of reason, and they understood sensory knowledge as unreliable knowledge. Zeno continued to develop this idea, putting forward his own aporia. In total, Zeno developed 45 aporia, of which 9 have come down to us. The most famous aporia are the following: “Dichotomy”, “Achilles and the Tortoise”, “Arrow”, “Stages”. These aporias prove the impossibility of movement. It turns out that the process of movement, verified by our senses, is in fact impossible. For example, in the aporia “Dichotomy” it is indicated that any moving body, in order to cover a certain distance, must first travel half of that distance; to travel this half, that is, to reach the middle of the established initial distance, the body must reach the middle of half of this distance, etc. That is, movement is reduced to endlessly overcoming many middle points, and, consequently, the body does not move anywhere.
Gaidenko P.P. states that Zeno and the Eleatic school of ancient Greek philosophy “posed a question to science that is one of the most important methodological questions to this day: how should we think of the continuum - discrete or continuous: consisting of indivisibles (units, “unities”, monads) or divisible to infinity? Denying motion, Zeno thus revealed the most important concepts of natural science - the concept of continuum and the concept of motion.
The next important step in the development of ancient Greek philosophy is the teaching of Empedocles. Its significance lies in the fact that it proposed a pluralistic concept of origin, in contrast to previous attempts by philosophers to explain the origin of the world using monistic concepts. Empedocles recognized that all things are composed of simple elements. The origin is not one element, for example, water, air or apeiron, but four qualitatively different elements - four types of matter: water, air, fire and earth. He called these elements “the roots of everything.” The primary elements of Empedocles are eternal, like the being of Parmenides, but they act as the basis of all things that are becoming and perishing, like Heraclitus.
The combination of elements into coming and changing things is facilitated by two forces: love and hatred. Thus, Empedocles separates the concepts of matter (water, air, fire, earth) and force (love, hate). Love unites elements, brings things into a state of harmony; Hatred destroys harmony and brings elements into chaos. Periods of dominance of one or another force in the world alternate.
From pluralism as a principle for explaining the essence of the world came such a direction of ancient Greek philosophy as atomism. Its main representative was Democritus. As a starting point, atomists identify atoms - indivisible particles. These particles have such a characteristic as movement and move in space, which is understood as emptiness. Atoms are unchangeable, just like being according to Parmenides. They do not have qualitative characteristics, but differ only in quantitative characteristics - shape, order and position.
It is important to note that the atomists assumed the existence of emptiness, in contrast to Parmenides, who identified emptiness with non-existence, and according to Parmenides’ doctrine of being, non-existence does not exist, therefore there is no emptiness. The recognition of the existence of emptiness by atomists means the existence of gaps between things, which means that they understood matter not as continuous, but as discrete, discontinuous.
Anaxagoras is a representative of the Athenian school in ancient Greek philosophy. As the first principle of everything, Anaxagoras shared pluralistic ideas, like Empedocles and the atomists. He called the unchanging elements of the world “germs” or “things.” Aristotle later called these elements of Anaxagoras “homeomeries,” or bodies consisting of homogeneous parts. There cannot be a limited number of “embryos”, as, for example, Empedocles has only four of them - water, air, fire, earth. There are as many primary elements as there are qualities of things, therefore “homeomerisms” have an incalculable quantity.
Like Empedocles, Anaxagoras separated matter from spirit. All primary elements come into motion due to the action of the spirit (nous). The spirit of Anaxagoras is outside and above nature. Such an idea of a spirit existing outside of nature did not exist before Anaxagoras. Even the gods of the Greeks were inhabitants of the Earth and part of nature.
Thus, the natural philosophical period of ancient philosophy is characterized by the focus of research on nature, in a broad sense - on the Cosmos, which was understood as organized on a reasonable basis, eternal, united, spiritualized, perfect. The main issue is cosmological. Firstly, this is the problem of the origin, which was water, air, fire, earth - the four elements, embryos, atoms. Secondly, the problem is how everything arises from the primary elements (connection, displacement, separation of elements). Thirdly, the problem of what contributes to the formation of reality: the forces of love and hatred or the extra-worldly spirit. Fourthly, the problem of stability and variability of the world, on which Heraclitus and Parmenides had opposing views.
Scheme 2.1.Ancient philosophy: early classics
Period of ancient enlightenment
The center of spiritual life moved to Athens. Athens became the capital of Greek culture. It was a golden age of culture, a time of peace and wealth, the flourishing of civilizations, art and science. This period is characterized by the heyday of Athens, the birth and death of Athenian democracy.
In philosophy, this period was marked by a transition from the study of nature to humanistic research.
Sophists were teachers and educators preparing for public life. They undertook to teach their students to think and speak, so they had many listeners. “Under their guidance, the students practiced debates and coherent oratory. The theme was partly fictitious isolated cases that could be presented in court or at political meetings, partly more general issues of private and public life.” One of the most prominent representatives of this period was Protagoras.
The theory of knowledge played a special role in the teachings of the sophists. If at the first stage of ancient philosophy, that is, natural philosophy, philosophers sought universality, objectivity, and truth from knowledge and believed that human knowledge meets these requirements, then the sophists expressed distrust of knowledge. Sensory perception is the basis of all knowledge, according to Protagoras. All material things are in constant change, as Heraclitus showed. Therefore, both the perceiving organ and the perceived object are constantly changing. Consequently, “every sensation is true, but true only for the perceiving subject himself, and at the very moment of its occurrence” 2. This means that every sensation is true. Truth is relative; for each individual person at each individual moment there is his own truth. Protagoras famously said: “Man is the measure of all things, the measure of what exists, that it exists, and of what does not exist, that it does not exist.” Here a person is understood as a single person. It turns out that everything is relative: illness is relative, since it is both good and evil; evil for the patient and good for the doctor.
The epistemological conclusions of the teachings of the sophists can be reduced to the following main ones:
1. We know the truth only through feelings (sensualism).
2. There is no universal truth, since the truth is different for everyone (relativism).
3. The truth of one person is higher than the truth of another, only because it has greater practical value (practicalism);
4. Truth is the result of a contract; individual truths are therefore accepted as necessarily universal (conventionalism).
Thus, firstly, the Sophists were the first to put man, his activities and the results of these activities at the center of philosophical research, which speaks of the anthropological coloring of the philosophy of this direction. Secondly, the Sophists did not engage in natural philosophy or theology. But they strived for the practical implementation of philosophical knowledge. Thirdly, Protagoras first came up with the theory of cognitive minimalism and laid the foundations of sensationalism. Fourthly, the philosophy of this direction was characterized by anti-dogmatism: the sophists undermined traditions, undermined authorities, and demanded proof of any statement.
Activities of Socrates was that he, like the sophists, was a teacher. Socrates taught people reason to lead them to virtue. He was always where he could find people to talk to: at the market, at feasts. He talked to people, encouraging his interlocutors to reflect on desires and virtue. Socrates did not leave his work. We learn about the content of his teaching from the works of his students (Plato’s dialogues, Xenophon’s “Memoirs of Socrates”).
The center of Socrates' philosophical research is man. Socrates dealt primarily with ethics, and then with logic. At the same time, he put forward a demand to abandon natural philosophy. Ethical views of Socrates:
1. virtue is an absolute good. By virtue, Socrates understood the following virtues - justice, courage, self-control. These are the moral virtues according to Socrates. The laws concerning moral virtue are unwritten, but they are more stable than any laws of people. They come from the very nature of things, therefore they are universal. In this sense, virtue was the highest good. Everything else that people are accustomed to consider good: health, wealth, fame - quite often is evil. A person must strive for the highest good, not even taking into account danger, death. Socrates was the first to highlight moral values as a subject of ethics.
2. Virtue is associated with usefulness and happiness. The benefit depends on the good. Only that which is virtuous is useful. Happiness is always associated with virtue because it always comes from virtue. Happy is the one who realizes the highest good, and the highest good is virtue.
3. Virtue is knowledge. Evil comes from ignorance. Knowledge is a sufficient condition for the achievement of virtue, or knowledge is the same as virtue. It is one and the same thing to know what justice is and to be fair. Therefore, virtue can be learned. This means that goodness is not innate. It can be acquired if it depends on ourselves whether we comprehend this good.
Socrates sought to establish the truth in knowledge. To obtain true knowledge, it is necessary to use a certain methodology. Socrates used the dialectical method to resolve ethical issues. This method was intended not just to refute the interlocutor. The Socratic method was to destroy false knowledge and acquire true, universally valid knowledge. The philosopher always takes the opinions of his interlocutors as his starting point. He checks whether these opinions are consistent with other judgments of the interlocutor, which the interlocutor himself has already recognized as true. If the interlocutor’s opinions contradict the latter, then Socrates forces the interlocutor to reject them as false. In this case, Socrates uses induction. “The introduction of induction into science is the merit of Socrates. From many individual recognized cases, he draws a conclusion to a general judgment, and from this general judgment he deduces by deductive means (syllogistically) that individual judgment, the truth of which was not recognized.” Socrates tried to find common traits, such as courage and justice, based on individual cases. Then, having identified a general principle, he deduces a judgment about a controversial individual case.
The goal of Socrates' dialectical method is to reach the concepts of moral values. “Knowledge of the latter should have led to knowledge of the duties and tasks of man. In order to direct a person to the right activity, this knowledge alone is enough.”
Another method of Socrates was called maieutics. Maieutics translated from Greek is the art of midwifery. This is a way of reasoning that would help others find the truth. Socrates began to ask simple questions, into which he first broke down the complex ones. By asking questions in this way, Socrates forced the student to answer the questions independently, reducing his answer to statements like “yes” or “no.” With the help of his interlocutor's questions and answers, Socrates led the interlocutor to the point that the latter began to doubt the truth of his statement. And thus, he realized the “knowledge of ignorance.” This method also consisted of critically discussing all points of view without joining any of them in advance. At this point, the anti-dogmatism of Socratic teaching was manifested. A striking example of the use of the maieutic method by Socrates is Plato’s dialogue “Laches”.
Classic period.
Plato born in Athens (428/427 - 348/347 BC). Plato considers the most important problems of human life. Founding scientific ethics and the doctrine of the state, he wants to provide unshakable foundations of morality for the individual and the entire people. But Plato does not limit himself only to ethical issues, but tries to found a philosophy that embraces all of reality.
It is possible to understand man and the task of the state by examining the nature of man and his position in the Universe, which is why Plato conducted research in the fields of psychology, ontology and the theory of knowledge.
Plato's works were carried out in the form of dialogues in which his contemporaries - people of science, politics, and representatives of other professions - acted.
The central place in Plato's philosophical system is occupied by the doctrine of ideas. According to Plato, the things we encounter are transitory and changeable. Concepts are stable, therefore the objects about which we have this concept must also be stable. This means that things cannot be the object of concepts. What is the object of the concept “beautiful”? There are many beautiful things: “beautiful girl” or “beautiful jug”. Therefore, beautiful things that are heterogeneous and unstable cannot be the object of the concept “beautiful”. This object is “the beautiful itself,” or the “idea of the beautiful,” which can only be comprehended by reason.
Consequently, there is something that can only be known by reason (this is the idea of “beautiful”, “perfect”, etc.) and there are separate things that are given to us in our sensations. Based on this, Plato divides all existence into two worlds: the world of ideas and the world of things. Intelligible reality was defined by Plato in the terms: idea, eidos, form. But Plato's ideas are not just thoughts, but the essence of things, that is, what makes each of them what it is. Ideas are what are not involved in the process of becoming, in the sensory world in which a person lives; they are the essence and cause of things. Plato called the habitat of ideas in the dialogue “Phaedrus” - Hyperurania.
There are many ideas, they form a certain structure - a hierarchy: from the simplest and lowest to the more general and higher, and up to the highest idea - the idea of good.
The structure of the ideal world is the following hierarchical system (from lowest to highest):
1) ideas of all things;
2) ideas of aesthetic and ethical values;
3) ideas of mathematical and geometric formulas;
4) the idea of the Good or the One.
True existence is precisely the world of ideas. The world of things is known by the senses, and the world of ideas by the mind, so they can be expressed in concepts. The world of ideas is intelligible existence.
The world of ideas is opposed to the world of non-existence, which, according to Plato, is the same as matter. Plato introduces the concept of “matter” to explain the diversity of things; he calls it “Chora”; it represents a formless, chaotic movement. The sensory world, according to Plato, is something between the realm of ideas and the realm of matter and is a generation, a combination of these worlds. The world of sensory things is the area of formation, genesis, being. Due to its position between the sphere of being and non-being, the sensory world combines the opposites of being and non-being, unchanging and changeable, motionless and moving.
The universe is harmonious, governed by reason and order. The world has a goal - perfection. The whole world is created from the combination of matter and idea by the highest principle - the Demiurge.
Cognition as remembering. The world that surrounds us, which we perceive with the help of our senses, is only a “shadow” and is produced from the world of ideas. Ideas are unchanging, immovable, eternal. The human soul is immaterial; it neither arises nor is destroyed. The human soul is eternal. Until the moment the soul connects with the body and enters the sensory world, the world of things, it remains in the world of ideas. Therefore, the knowledge of ideas is possible, since the human soul recalls the ideas with which it was together in the world of ideas, not yet being connected to the body.
The idea of knowledge is reflected in the myth of the cave. Human knowledge, this myth says, is similar to what prisoners see in a cave with their backs to a wonderful life. The shadows that pass before them are only projections of things, but they imagine that they see the things themselves. The fate of most people who adhere to the established way of life is cave knowledge of shadows. True knowledge comes only from thinking. Thinking is a higher way of cognition compared to sensory perception. Only those who can overcome the influence of sensory things on them and soar into the world of eternal ideas can possess true knowledge. Only philosophers can do this. Wisdom lies in understanding the world of ideas.
Plato's philosophy is a science that gives us knowledge about true being, it is a science about ideas. A person who engages in philosophy brings his soul closer to true existence. The practice of philosophy is defined by Plato as the highest kind of activity, as the highest form of life, which is understood as “the knowledge of life, through the correlation of all its elements with its beginning, this is the knowledge of the Beginning of being.” Philosophy cognizes ideas exclusively with the help of reason, without relying on sensory experience. It generalizes various individual cases existing in the sensory world and subordinates them to the principle (measure, or harmony). The philosopher knows that which is: “a form or species that is neither generated nor destroyed, comprehended only by the intellect”; “constantly flowing and changing objects, generated and perishing” and “matter”. In philosophy, cosmic principles are confirmed, and the philosopher himself, thanks to this, becomes closer to the beginning of all that exists. The philosopher sees the basis of being and the entire Cosmos, comprehending the various parts of all being in their integrity. Therefore, a person who studies philosophy has the highest knowledge. Only such a person can and should rule the state.
Plato's theory of state and psychology are the development of his ontological ideas and ideas about the role of philosophy in human life and society.
Philosophy plays an important role not only in the life of an individual, but also in social and public life. In his essay “The State,” Plato builds such a model of government, headed by philosophers as representatives of higher knowledge.
Plato's man is not separated from the entire Universe. Therefore, the principles of organization of the Cosmos, the human soul and the state coincide.
The human soul, according to Plato, has the following structure. The highest position is occupied by the rational soul, located in the head. Then comes the affective or impulsive soul, localized in the chest. The lowest position is occupied by the basely greedy part of the soul, called the lustful part, located in the liver. The most important part of the soul is the rational one; it is the part that is endowed with cognitive abilities. The human soul is close to ideas, therefore it is incorporeal. The soul is immortal, but exists in a mortal body, which is characterized by illnesses and various bodily needs. The soul controls the body, but the body itself has many shortcomings. After death, the soul is freed from the body and this becomes the beginning of the full existence of the soul. Outside the body, the soul achieves complete knowledge, which, however, does not reach the knowledge of the gods.
Plato has the idea of the transmigration of souls, that is, the idea of metempsychosis. The posthumous existence of the soul depends on the level of its intelligence. The soul can transmigrate into other bodies, and this is what most souls expect. A completely different fate awaits the soul of the philosopher. “The soul, having been in the body of a philosopher three times, is freed from further metempsychosis and, reaching the heavenly world, enjoys the contemplation of the idea.”
Based on the structure of the soul, Plato identifies the following virtues. The rational soul corresponds to wisdom, the affective soul corresponds to courage, and the lustful soul corresponds to self-control. The main virtue is justice, which is the harmony of wisdom, courage and self-control. In real life such harmony is very rare.
The dialogue “State” points out the similarities between the human soul and the state structure. In his philosophy, Plato emphasizes the dependence of human nature on a higher order. Therefore, both the structure of the human soul and the state structure must correspond to the general principles of the organization of the Cosmos while subordinate to the main “beginning” - reason. Both the individual and the state must organize their internal (mental and social) organization, following the principle of harmony of all “principles”. “This harmony itself is realized if the soul is led by a “reasonable principle”, and the state is led by “philosophers”.” At the same time, the dominance of any “beginning” in a person’s soul determines what type of activity he will engage in in an ideal state (philosopher, warrior, artisan).
Also in his essay “The State,” Plato builds an ideal model of government. At the top of the social structure are philosophers, whose position corresponds to the rational soul and such virtue as wisdom. Next come the guardians, or warriors, associated with the affective soul and courage. Then come the classes of artisans and farmers, comparable to the lustful soul and self-control and moderation. The harmony of three virtues and three classes ensures the existence in society of the highest virtue - justice. Achieving justice in a society guarantees the sustainability of this society, which results in its well-being and happiness.
Such a state should be ruled by philosophers as bearers of higher knowledge, warriors should protect them, and farmers and artisans should provide all the necessary material resources. The activity of the lower class consists of physical productive labor, providing for their own needs and the needs of the upper classes. Representatives of this class are endowed with private property. Only representatives of the lower class can own property in such a state, since property does not burden a person engaged in material labor activity. Philosophers are free both from physical labor and from property, which interferes with spiritual activity and reflection. In such a state, according to Plato, some institutions are absent. For example, the institution of marriage and family.
Marriage as such does not exist, people live freely, and children are raised together, at the expense of the state.
The fact of being born in one class or another does not automatically provide a person with membership in that class, since “Plato’s concept of the division of labor is entirely built on the intellectual abilities of people.” Depending on his abilities, a person, while still a child, can be sent for training either to the upper class, or, conversely, to the lower.
The estates of philosophers and guards do not have private property, since they receive everything they need from the third estate. If warriors have certain inclinations, then appropriate education and training (physical education, training in science and art) can lead them from the second class to the first, thus forming them into philosophers. Having passed difficult exams, such a warrior from the age of 35 has the right to engage in government activities, and then, having achieved success in this matter, from the age of 50 he can be included in the upper class, the class of philosophers. The desire for science and truth among philosophers must be complemented by high moral qualities - renunciation of sensual pleasures, honesty, justice, generosity, etc.
It is philosophers who can combine “beginnings” in a perfect way: under the guidance of an intelligent “beginning”. It is philosophers who are able to comprehend that which is eternally identical to itself. “This kind of knowledge, according to Plato, requires enormous effort from a person, since it is the knowledge of ideal nature, the beginning of everything that exists. Knowledge about him allows a person to become like him, discover this nature in himself and live in accordance with it.” Only a philosopher can comprehend true existence and build life in accordance with the rules of this existence. The role of the philosopher as head of state is also to rule on the basis of reason alone, relying neither on his will nor on his feelings. Only a philosopher understands that human will as such does not exist. Man and his actions are controlled by a higher divine power. Rulers, guided solely by wisdom, must create fair laws. This will strengthen the state and keep its citizens subordinate.
Since the philosopher is at the head of an ideal state, then, in addition to directing other people to the knowledge of the truth, he can also correctly, “reasonably” organize the state. It is “such knowledge that is most important in government.” Philosophy is the highest form of knowledge, which combines knowledge about a person, his soul, society and the state.
In the dialogue "State" Plato shows that a state can have a different political structure. Plato identifies the following types of government: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny. Timocracy is a type of organization of social order in which rulers are still respected, but their desire for material prosperity and wealth is already beginning to grow. Oligarchy is characterized by the power of the rich few and the oppression of the poor. In democracy, equality and rule of all free citizens of the polis are proclaimed, but at the same time, hostility and struggle between rich and poor increases. Tyranny is the power of one over many. This form of government is characterized by Plato as the most harmful and contrary to everything moral and ethical in man and society. In the model of an ideal state organization one can discern features of Plato’s mythologization of reality.
Thus, Plato's ideal state is a strictly hierarchical society governed by a limited minority, which imposes laws, rules of conduct and actions on society. Thus, an organized social order belongs, according to Plato, to the near future.
Aristotle was born in the city of Stagira, which is why Aristotle is often called Stagirite in literature. He was a student of Plato. In 335 BC. he founded a school - the Lyceum. Aristotle read his lectures while walking along the paths of the garden, hence another name for the school - peripatos (from the Greek - walk), and his students - peripatetics. Aristotle is also known for being the teacher of Alexander the Great.
Aristotle left work in the field of both the natural sciences (biology, physics) and work on logic, ethics and politics. He is called the "father" of logic because he was the first to present the concept of formal logic in a systematic way. But the name of Aristotle is also associated with the concept of metaphysics, or first philosophy, which studies the first principles and first causes. The term “metaphysics” itself owes its appearance not to Aristotle, but to his publisher Andronikos of Rhodes, who, systematizing the works of Aristotle, placed the actual philosophical works of Stagirites after the works on physics. Andronicus of Rhodes did not know what to call Aristotle’s philosophical works, so he gave them the name “that which is after physics” (in ancient Greek it sounds like “that meta that physics”), from where, by dropping the article and merging, the word “metaphysics” was obtained.
Aristotle is the founder of logic - the science of thinking and its laws. Logic should teach how to use concepts, judgments and inferences. Aristotle's logic is an “organon” for all sciences, that is, an instrument, a tool used by all sciences. The definition of concepts and evidence, rules of thinking, and the theory of syllogism were the main problems of Aristotle's logic.
In his doctrine of judgment, Aristotle proves that in judgment two concepts are put in relation to each other: the concept of subject and predicate. Judgments can be affirmative or negative. “For the truth of a judgment it is necessary that the relation of concepts in the judgment correspond to the same relation of things in reality.” If two propositions are in a contradictory relationship, then one of them is true, the other is false. Aristotle formulates the principle of non-contradiction (the law of contradiction) as the most important law of thinking: “It is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be inherent in the same thing and in the same sense.”
Aristotle developed the theory of syllogism. A syllogism, as defined by Aristotle, is “an order of thoughts in which, from given judgments, precisely because they are given, a judgment different from them necessarily arises.” One of the concepts for both premises must be common.
Example of a syllogism:
First premise: “Socrates is a man”;
Second premise: “Man is mortal”;
A corollary derived from two premises: “Socrates is mortal.”
The subject of metaphysics, or first philosophy, is being as such, as well as that which exists beyond nature, that is, supersensible being, immaterial causes, unchanging and eternal essences.
Unlike Plato, Aristotle recognized that real things exist in themselves, and not because their idea exists outside the sensory world. Real things are reality. There is no independent existence outside of real things. Therefore, first philosophy must consider being in itself, that is, real things, and establish their universal characteristics and attributes.
The subject of metaphysics is also that which exists beyond nature, that is, that which exists outside the empirical world. Therefore, metaphysics, according to Aristotle, is a science that is divine in two senses:
1) God rather than man is capable of owning it;
2) its subject is divine objects. Therefore, Aristotle also calls his philosophy theology, the doctrine of God. It was Aristotle who first introduced this word into circulation.
Philosophy for Aristotle is the most speculative of all sciences, which explores what is most worthy of knowledge: principles and causes. “But the science that explores causes is also more capable of teaching, for those who teach are the ones who indicate the causes for every thing. And knowledge and understanding for the sake of knowledge and understanding itself are most inherent in the science of what is most worthy of knowledge... And what is most worthy of knowledge is the first principle and the cause, for through them and on their basis everything else is known, and not through what is subordinate to them. And the science that is most dominant and more important than auxiliary is that which recognizes the goal for which it is necessary to act in each individual case; this goal is in each individual case one or another good, and in all of nature in general it is the best, for through them and on their basis everything else is known.” Only this type of cognitive activity brings a person closer to happiness and bliss. Therefore, it is philosophy that is the highest kind of cognitive activity, the main of all sciences.
Philosophy, as the most important among the sciences, “cognizes the goal for which one should act in each individual case,” 2 therefore philosophy determines a person’s place in the world and the direction of his activity. Despite the fact that philosophy is a theoretical, contemplative activity, it does not contradict practical activity (morality, political activity, etc.), but directs and orients it.
In his metaphysics, Aristotle considers, for example, questions of being and non-being, essence, the relationship between form and matter, the first cause, etc. The relationship between form and matter is revealed as follows. If we take a single thing, for example, a person, then we can see that each person has the same characteristics as all people who are included in the concept of “person”. Any person has other characteristics that are not included in the concept of “human” (for example, that he is short). Thus, Aristotle distinguished in a thing what belongs to the definition of this thing and what does not belong to its definition.
Aristotle called the conceptually generalized, general specific qualities of a thing “form”, the rest - “matter”. The combination of matter and form gives us real things. Matter does not exist independently, just as Plato’s idea does not exist independently - all these are abstractions. In reality, only concrete combinations of matter and form are real.
But Aristotle’s form turns out to be more important, since it corresponds to the concept. The essential thing in a thing, its essence, is that there is a form.
Associated with the concept of form is the idea of the root cause. The universe is arranged intelligently and expediently. Every thing has its own reason. What is the cause of all causes, the very first cause? The root cause must have qualities other than those of the things we know. Things are the result of the action of causes, and the first cause does not have its own cause and exists on its own. Things are dependent being, and the first cause is independent. Therefore, Aristotle identifies the following characteristics of the first cause:
■ immobility and immutability;
■ the root cause is immaterial, for matter is the source of all changes, it is pure form;
■ spiritual essence;
■ is the mind;
■ is uniform;
■ is perfect;
■ being motionless, it sets the world in motion. The Absolute, God, corresponds to these characteristics.
Thus, through the concepts of form of forms, the first cause, Aristotle comes to justify the existence of God and to determine his nature.
In his psychology, Aristotle builds a “ladder of living beings,” which presents a hierarchy of types of soul, starting with the lowest and ending with the highest:
1) the plant soul, which is associated with reproduction and nutrition. Plants have only a plant soul;
2) the animal soul, which is possessed primarily by animals. Animals also have a plant soul;
3) a rational soul, the peculiarity of which is the ability of reasoning and reflection. Only man has this type of soul, while man has both plant and animal souls.
Ethics and politics (the doctrine of the essence and objectives of the state) occupy an important place in the teachings of Aristotle. Man is a socio-political being: “man is by nature a social being.” Ethics is understood by the ancient philosopher as “the doctrine of morality, of instilling in a person the active-volitional, spiritual qualities necessary for him, first of all, in public life, and then in personal life; it teaches (and accustoms) the practical rules of behavior and lifestyle of an individual.” The goal of a person’s moral activity is the achievement of a person’s highest good, his realization of the meaning of his life, which means that a person must contribute to the development of his internal abilities, spiritual inclinations and qualities.
Man is a unity of soul and body. Reason and feelings are properties of the human soul. Reason must prevail over feelings if a person strives for self-improvement. A person must subordinate sensual attractions to the dominance of reason for an expedient lifestyle and right actions. It is cognitive activity, that is, the activity of the rational part of the soul, according to Aristotle, that is capable of developing in a person the correct direction of life and moral actions.
Unlike Plato, Aristotle points out that there is no good in itself, with the exception of pure thinking and God. Good refers to different categories (quality, quantity, relationship, etc.). In the category of quality, good is a virtue, in the category of quantity it is a measure, in the category of relationship it is useful, in the category of time it is a convenient opportunity, in the category of space (place) it is a pleasant location, etc. There is no science about the good as such, but there are separate sciences that study the good in relation to one or another field of activity: if we are talking about war, then strategy studies the good, if about illness, then the good is studied through healing, etc. Plato's idea of good is understood by Aristotle as useless for an individual, since knowledge of it cannot make people's actions more moral: “having knowledge of good and evil and using it are not the same thing.” Aristotle contrasted the idea of good as an abstraction with real good - “this is good achievable by man, i.e. carried out in his actions and deeds."
To live virtuously, it is not enough just to know what good is. The activity of the mind must be supplemented by such qualities of the soul as desire and will, which are associated with the mind. Both the virtues of reason (diagnostic or intellectual) and ethical (moral or volitional) virtues are not given to a person initially, but can be acquired. An important role in this is played by education and teaching of one or another virtue. It is impossible to become virtuous, for example, courageous, without having the skill of this virtue, that is, without having the habit, the practice of courage. At the same time, diagnostic virtues (reasonableness or wisdom, and prudence or practical wisdom) are developed in the process of learning, and ethical virtues, that is, virtues of character (courage, moderation, generosity, truthfulness, etc.) - in the process of cultivating habits. A person should strive to develop and develop various virtues, but Aristotle considers diagnostic virtues to be the highest. It is this type of virtue that can lead a person to the beautiful and divine. Hence, Stagirite considers philosophy as the most valuable and useful type of occupation and science. Philosophy studies bring true pleasure and true bliss. It is contemplative activity that Aristotle recognizes as the most pleasant and more independent than socio-political activity.
In man, as in every thing, there is an internal striving for a good goal and the highest good as the ultimate goal. The goal of man is happiness, which is why it is declared by Aristotle to be the highest good. Man himself is the creator of his own destiny and it depends only on him (and not on God, Fate or Fate) how close he can come to this ultimate goal, that is, to the highest good. Human life is always a rational activity, that is, an activity consistent with virtue, aimed at good. “Human good is the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue...”
According to Aristotle, acquiring moral character is a long process requiring experience, training, education and time.
Although Aristotle speaks of the unity of human nature for all humanity, people are different: in character, in temperament, in abilities, in needs, in physique, etc. This variety of characteristics of people is complemented by the dependence of human manifestations in their integrity on society and the social moral norms accepted in it. “The state belongs to what exists by nature, and that man by nature is a political being, and the one who, by virtue of his nature, and not due to random circumstances, lives outside the state is either a being underdeveloped in a moral sense or a superman.” .
Aristotle's philosophical system covers almost all types of knowledge. Ideas dedicated to the state and society are discussed by him in his work “Politics”. The main goal of this work is the theoretical development of ideas about the perfect polis. To do this, Aristotle has to study the polis in the form in which it existed in his time, because any theoretical constructions, according to Aristotle, must be correlated with reality: “... you can make assumptions at will, but there should not be anything that is obviously unfulfillable " It is impossible to talk about an ideal state structure without reference to a specific state. Theoretical views in the sphere of the state should not be divorced from the diverse social and political reality.
The polis is the highest form of social organization of people, so it should contribute to a happy life for people, by which Aristotle means living in accordance with virtue. “Since, as we see, every state is a kind of communication, and every communication is organized for the sake of some good (after all, every activity has an intended good in mind), then, obviously, all communication strives for one or another good, and more others and the highest of all goods strives for that communication that is the most important of all and embraces all other communication. This communication is called state or political communication.”
Aristotle emphasizes the natural nature of the origin of the state. The state as a form of social structure is historically preceded by the family and the “village”. But teleologically, the state “in relation to them acts as their ultimate goal, that is, the possibility of the state was inherent in man from the very beginning, because man is “by nature a political being.” The state turns out to be more important than the individual and the family, since it corresponds to the whole, and the individual and the family are parts, and the part cannot precede the whole.
Aristotle presents a typology, or classification, of the fort of government, which includes six types: royal power (monarchy), aristocracy, polity, tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. Aristotle sees a relationship between the ruler’s virtue and the type of government.
The first three are judged by the Greek philosopher to be right because they exhibit proper virtue, the others as wrong because they lack virtue. Monarchy is defined as the rule of one with the common good in mind; aristocracy - the rule of the best few, carried out in the interests of all citizens; polity - the rule of the majority, selected on the basis of a certain qualification and caring for the common good; tyranny - the rule of one, guided by his own benefit; oligarchy - the rule of a few wealthy citizens who think only about their own benefit; democracy is the rule of the majority of the have-nots, based only on the interests of those have-nots. Due to a number of conditions, the degeneration of the monarchy leads to the establishment of tyranny. An aristocracy turns into an oligarchy when the richest, concerned about their own well-being, become rulers. In the same way, polity is related to democracy. “The general driving principle of aristocracy is virtue, oligarchies are wealth, and democracies are freedom. Its negativity is expressed in the instability of this system of orders and laws of the state. But democracy and oligarchy are the most common forms of polis structure (although there are many of all kinds of transitional ones).”
Aristotle does not separate these types of government from reality. But they are, in a certain sense, abstractions, since in the real historical process Aristotle sees a mixture of different types of government within one state, as well as the existence of intermediate forms between royal and tyrannical power - an aristocracy with a bias towards oligarchy, a polity close to democracy, etc. .
The last two books of “Politics” contain the doctrine of an ideal state, which, according to Aristotle, should not be divorced from real political reality and which would have the possibility of real implementation in reality. A perfect state structure is close to the type that Aristotle called aristocracy. This type of state must ensure a happy life for the state, and therefore must correspond to virtue, and therefore it should be inhabited by such categories of citizens whose lifestyle contributes to the development of virtue. Such citizens include those who were warriors in their youth, and in later life became rulers, judges and priests. Artisans, farmers and traders are excluded from the number of such citizens. Farmers can become, on the one hand, slaves who do not belong to the same tribe and are not distinguished by a hot temperament, on the other hand, barbarians, that is, people living outside of Europe. In addition, the state, with the help of laws, must perform a moral and educational function (this is the main goal of politics): to attract citizens to virtue and encourage the beautiful. Good public education requires laws.
A perfect state must have a certain number of population, a certain size and a convenient position relative to the sea. Citizens must be provided with food. All land should be divided into public and private land. A normally and properly functioning state can only be created through knowledge and conscious planning.
The state, according to Aristotle, consists of many parts. First of all, this is the population of the state, that is, people different in abilities, internal qualities, social position occupied in society, level of income, private property and type of activity. Aristotle defines a citizen as a person who participates in court and government, as well as a person who performs military service and serves the gods. But depending on the type of government in different states, different segments of the population can be considered citizens. Farmers, artisans, traders, and especially slaves, are not full citizens of the state. This idea is due to the important role of intellectual activity in ancient society, as well as Aristotle’s provisions on diagnostic virtue as the highest in the moral development of a person. Thus, productive activity is contrasted with mental activity, as the highest type of human activity.
An important function of the state is economic. The form of government is the educational and moral functions it performs, while the substance is economic relations. Aristotle not only does not deny private property, but considers the presence of it in a person to be an expression of self-love inherent in him initially, given by nature. Also, for the acquisition of consumer goods, Aristotle advocates the use of money, which “is used economically, for running the household (this is the immediate meaning of this Greek-language term).” The distribution of various benefits in society is focused on the quality of merit, dignity, and position of a particular individual.
Scheme 2.2.Ancient philosophy: the period of high classics
Hellenistic period of ancient philosophy
This period begins in the 3rd century. BC. This is the time of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, which entailed the influence of foreign cultures on Greek philosophy. The main ideas of this period were developed in Athens at the turn of the 4th and 3rd centuries. BC. But starting from the 2nd century. BC, the Athenian philosophical society began to lose its influence, and new centers appeared in Rome and Alexandria.
Philosophy ceased to be the only science; it was divided into three parts: logic (theory of knowledge), physics (theory of being) and ethics (theory of the good). Moreover, priority during this period was given to ethics. This stage of ancient philosophy is represented by the teachings of the Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics.
The main representatives of this trend in ancient philosophy are Zeno of Kition and Marcus Aurelius (Rome). The ontological ideas of the Stoics are that the world has a holistic structure and is material, but at the same time divine and living. The basis of ontological ideas is materialistic monism, imbued with the ideas of hylozoism and pantheism.
Stoicism- This is, first of all, an ethical teaching in which the concept of a sage is developed. Only a wise man can be happy. The Stoics adhered to eudaimonism in their ethics. What does happiness mean to the Stoics? The starting point of Stoicism in justifying its ethical positions is that it is impossible to be sure of happiness while there is dependence on external circumstances. In order to become happy, you can follow one of two paths: either master external circumstances, or be independent of them. A person is unable to master external circumstances, so the second path remains - to become independent. If it is not possible to rule over the world, you need to learn to rule over yourself.
A sage must take care of his inner world in order to learn to dominate himself. He must strive for internal good, which is understood as virtue. Valuing virtue and only virtue, the sage is independent of any circumstances that may arise; thereby he ensures his happiness. Virtue was identified with happiness, and the only true good was seen in virtue.
The virtuous life of a sage is also a harmonious life in accordance with nature, because nature is harmonious, reasonable, divine. Living in accordance with nature provides a person with freedom and independence from external circumstances, despite the fact that necessity dominates the world.
A virtuous, harmonious with nature and free life is understood by the Stoics in the same way as a rational life. The nature of the whole world and the nature of man is based on a rational principle, therefore it is not emotions and passions that should control a person, but reason, which also controls the Universe. Emotions and feelings do not allow you to achieve good, you need to get rid of them. The sage is characterized by apathy and impartiality.
Based on these ideas, a Stoic sage is a reasonable, virtuous, free, happy, rich person, because he has what is most valuable. The opposite of a sage is a madman - an angry and unhappy person, a slave and a poor man.
Epicureanism. This movement of ancient philosophy received its name from the name of its founder, Epicurus. Epicureanism, like Stoicism, is largely an ethical teaching that deals with problems of happiness, goodness, pleasure, etc.
The original thesis of Epicureanism is that happiness is the highest good (eudaimonism). Happiness is based on pleasure, and unhappiness is based on suffering. This position is called hedonism - a moral principle according to which good is defined as that which brings pleasure and relief from suffering, and evil as that which entails suffering. For happiness you need the absence of suffering; this is enough to feel pleasure. The natural state of a person is that he does not encounter anything good or bad on his life path, and this is already a pleasant state, since the very process of life, life itself is joy. Life is a good, the only one that is given to us as our property. This is an innate joy that we don’t need to worry about, we carry it within ourselves. Let only the body be healthy and the soul calm, then life will be wonderful.
But human life is limited by time. Therefore, in our present life we should receive as much good and pleasure as possible, according to Epicurus. To receive pleasure (physical and spiritual), two conditions must be met: you must have needs and you must have them satisfied. Therefore, the one who has the least needs receives the most pleasure. A person should develop the art of moderation in pleasures and choose those that do not entail suffering.
Epicurus did not deny the importance of both physical and spiritual pleasures. Physical pleasures are more significant because spiritual pleasures cannot exist without them. But spiritual pleasures are comparable to the highest good, since they give more pleasure.
Virtue and intelligence are two conditions for a person to be happy. Reason is necessary for happiness, in order to successfully choose between pleasures, and also in order to control thoughts. Thoughts are often erroneous and cause delusions and fears that disturb a person’s peace and make his happiness impossible. There is no worse fear than that caused by the thought of omnipotent gods and inevitable death. You can get rid of this fear by exploring nature.
For the Epicureans, nature appears as a collection of material bodies consisting of atoms. Nothing exists except bodies and empty space. The movement of bodies is carried out due to the influence of material bodies on each other, therefore in the material world there are no gods who would ensure the movement of bodies, the first push, the existence of all nature. The gods of Epicurus live in the other world - in good and inviolable peace, they do not interfere in the fate of the world. Since the gods do not take part in the fate of the world, this frees man from the need to fear them. Man has no reason to fear the gods.
But a person has no reason to fear death. The human soul, like the body, is a material structure. A person experiences fears and emotions only where there are sensory sensations; good and evil exist only where there are sensory sensations. Death brings an end to sensory experiences. Therefore, the fear of death is absent among those who are convinced that there is no suffering after death. Only earthly life matters, therefore, while living it, you should get as much pleasure and happiness as possible. While we exist, there is no death, and when there is death, we do not exist.
Skepticism. The main representatives of skepticism: Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus. The time of development of this trend in ancient philosophy was the 4th-3rd centuries. BC.
Skeptics called themselves "suspenseers." Only such a skeptical position will ensure happiness, give peace, and happiness lies in peace.
Pyrrho posed three fundamental questions:
1) What are the qualities of things?
2) How should we behave towards things?
3) What are the consequences of our behavior towards them?
And he gave these answers:
1) We do not know what the qualities of things are.
2) Because of this, we must refrain from judging them.
3) This abstinence gives peace and happiness.
We cannot know the things themselves. We can only experience the effects of these things on our senses, so we can only know our sensations. We cannot know the causes of phenomena, therefore all judgments about them are not true. We also cannot know anything about the deity; our knowledge about the gods is contradictory: some consider the deity to be corporeal, some to be incorporeal, some to be immanent, some to be transcendental. If the deity is perfect, then it is unlimited; if unlimited, then it is motionless; if motionless, then it is soulless; and if it is soulless, then it is imperfect. If a deity is perfect, then it must have all the virtues. And some virtues (for example, patience in suffering) are a manifestation of imperfection, since only imperfection can be questioned.
In ethics there are also no clear opinions regarding what is good. Ultimately, good, like evil, like God, like nature, is unknowable: everyone has their own idea about them. Based on all this, the only acceptable and reasonable position is to refrain from judgment.
The last period of ancient philosophy (I-IV centuries AD)
The philosophy of this period of Antiquity is defined as philosophy based on religion. The most important direction of this period is Neoplatonism; its main representative is Plotinus. Neoplatonism is often called the last great philosophical system of Antiquity.
People began to look for the meaning and purpose of life in another world. The thirst for eternal life and liberation from slavery and earthly mortality took possession of their thoughts. Satisfaction with one's own strength has disappeared, and the expectation of help from supernatural beings and deities has become widespread. This was influenced by both social factors and the influence of a different religious culture from the East.
According to the ideas of Neoplatonists, the earthly world comes from the ideal divine world. Being is a process of constant becoming. There is a single stable being that develops and in the process of its development acquires various forms. The distinguished types of being are outflows of being, or emanations. The world is the outflow of more and more new states of being. Each new type of being has less perfection and comes only from another, more perfect state.
By perfect being we mean the Absolute, the pure One, which is neither spirit, nor thought, nor freedom, since spirit, thought, freedom have contradictions. The Absolute stands above any perfection; he is an expression of the beautiful, the good, the truth, the one. It is the Absolute that is the source of such types of being as spirit, soul and matter.
Scheme 2.3.Ancient philosophy: late classics
The human soul has two parts: a lower part (performs plant and animal functions, this part includes all imperfections and sins) and a higher part. The higher part must be completely free from bodily fetters and any imperfections. There are two paths of the soul: down and up. Down as an ordinary emanation, that is, lowering it to the bodily part of the soul. This is the usual way of reducing the perfection of being. The soul can go upward in different ways - knowledge, art or virtue.
Cognition as an approach to the Absolute is not cognition with the help of feelings or reason. Plotinus refers to a special ability of the mind - intuition. Intuition here is not a cognitive act, but a moral action. Intuition is understood as ecstasy, “delight”; only in this way is a connection with the Absolute possible. The path of the soul through art is possible in the work of the artist, which is a divine reflection and a way of becoming like the Divine. In Neoplatonism, the theory of art and beauty becomes an essential element of the philosophical system.
Questions and tasks:
1. Which of the philosophers of the Milesian school was considered one of the “seven wise men” and for what knowledge? What could you tell us about him?
2. What is monism? What philosophical teachings of antiquity would you classify as monism and why?
3. What is pantheism? Name the philosophers whose teachings were pantheistic and why?
4. Which ancient thinker was the first dialectician and why?
5. Which philosopher founded atomism? What was the essence of his teaching? Was it materialism?
6. “Everything flows and nothing remains.” “You can’t step into the same river twice.” Who is the author of these judgments? What is the name of the philosophical doctrine founded by this thinker?
7. Which ancient thinker called his teaching method maieutics? What is the essence of this method?
8. Explain the concept of metaphysics according to Aristotle.
9. Why in ancient times was there (and could not have been) a clear division between philosophy and other sciences, and why were philosophers at the same time mathematicians, astronomers, mechanics, etc.?
10. The process of development of scientific knowledge led to the separation of private sciences from philosophy. Does this mean that the scope of the subject of philosophy has narrowed?
11. Heraclitus argued that this cosmos, the same for everyone, was not created by any of the gods, none of the people, but it always was, is and will be an eternally living fire, flaring up in measures and extinguishing in measures. What direction in philosophy did he belong to?
12. The ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles (c. 490-430 BC) said that the world alternately arises and is destroyed and, having arisen again, is destroyed again... that Love and Enmity alternately prevail, and the first brings everything into unity , destroys the world of Enmity, and Enmity again divides the elements. The beginnings of what dialectical ideas can be found in these words?
13. According to Aristotle, Democritus and Leucippus said that everything else consists of indivisible bodies, the latter being infinite in number and infinitely varied in shape; things differ from each other by the indivisible bodies of which they consist, their position and order. The foundations of what concept were laid by Democritus and Leucippus?
