MOST IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHERS of ANCIENT philosophy
In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about most important philosophers of ancient philosophy, a stage that includes Greek philosophy and Roman philosophy. The first covers from the birth of philosophy in Ionia in the 6th century BC until the Roman invasion in 149 BC. Its main representatives would be Thales of Miletus, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle or Protagoras, among others.
The second, takes place in ancient Rome, is characterized by the flight of theoretical speculation from the metaphysics, logic or epstemology, in favor of a more practical philosophy that deals with ethical and policies. The most important Roman philosophers of the time are Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca or Marcus Aurelius. If you want to know more about this period in the history of philosophy, as well as its most important representatives, continue reading this article by a PROFESSOR.
Index
- The most prominent philosophers of Greek philosophy
- Pre-Socratic Philosophy: The Presocratics, Socrates, and the Sophists
- Classical philosophy: Plato and Aristotle
- Hellenistic philosophy
- The most important thinkers of Roman philosophy
The most prominent philosophers of Greek philosophy.
Greek or classical philosophy is a stage of ancient philosophy that can be divided into 3 sub-stages:
- Pre-Socratic philosophy: from Thales of Miletus to Socrates and the Sophists.
- Classical philosophy: Plato and Aristotle.
- Hellenistic philosophy: Cynic, Cyrenaic, Epicurean, Skeptical, Stoic and Megaric schools.
Contact with other cultures caused Greek philosophers to start looking for other ways of explain the world and nature, apart from traditional mythology and were interested in finding the unifying principle of everything there is. Of the theories of the early philosophers, we are left with only a few fragments and mentions of later thinkers.
In this other lesson we will discover the different stages of ancient philosophyso that you understand how this time period is structured.
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The pre-Socratic philosophy: the pre-Socratics, Socrates and the sophists.
We begin this lesson with the most important philosophers of ancient philosophy to talk about the first philosopher: Thales of Miletus. For this thinker, the arche or original principle, was water. His explanation of his world is as follows: the origin was water and the earth was formed on it. Matter is dynamic and has a divine part. Hence the phrase "everything is full of gods”.
In the middle of the fourth century, the sophists placed the human being at the center of the philosophical debate and the they are going to deal with are of an ethical and political nature and the problem of the opposition between nature and culture. It is about finding out if ethics is something learned or if on the contrary, it is given to us by nature.
In order to the sophistsThere is no objective truth, this being relative, and the only criterion of truth is opinion. This is why they were criticized by the thinkers of the time, such as Socrates. Plato would dedicate one of his dialogues to the sophist Protagoras, of which he would say that he is the inventor of the role of the sophist or professor of virtue, understood as knowledge and the key to success in life. The phrase,"man is the measure of all things ”(hommo measure), sums up the thought of Protagóras and the rest of the sophists.
For its part, Socrates apply the maieutics, the art of giving birth or technique used by midwives (like her mother) to find the truth. This would be the Socratic method to get to the truth, through dialogue with other people, who made them aware of their mistakes, through a series of questions and answers. Because the truth is found inside the human soul. Knowledge comes from within, it is not something that is introduced from the outside.
Socrates did not write anything, but would be his most famous disciple, Plato, who collects his words in his works, written in the form of dialogues, which constitute a basic pillar in all Western philosophy.
Classical philosophy: Plato and Aristotle.
Plato he is one of the most important philosophers of ancient philosophy. He is the author of the Theory of Ideas, which serves to give an explanation of reality. The Greek philosopher starts from a division of the world: sensible world and intelligible world. The first is the physical world, that of the senses, and is nothing more than a mere copy of the second, the world of universal ideas, of essences. From there, he will develop his epistemology, his anthropology, his psychology, ethics and political philosophy. The purpose of Plato's work is to constitute the ideal city-state, where the individual can develop in harmony.
Plato's disciple, Aristotle, he rejects the Theory of Ideas defended by his teacher, denying the existence of more reality than that of the sensible world. Ideas are not found outside of things, but within them. His hylemorphic theory, it is fundamental in Aristotelian metaphysics. According to this, the substance, is a compound of matter and form, the latter being the pure substance. Furthermore, he was the inventor of classical logic and the philosophy of science. He was the first to make a classification of the species.
In this other lesson we will discover the differences between Plato and Aristotle so that you understand well what was the thought of each of these great philosophers.
Hellenistic philosophy.
The insecurity of the time, the decline of the Greek polis and the wars, favored the emergence of different philosophical schools, more concerned with the human soul, with its salvation, than with the questions developed in the Plato's Academy or in the Aristotle's Lyceum.
The epicureans(Epicurus of Samos) defended a philosophy based on the search for pleasure, which is defined in opposition to pain. He denies the Greek fatality in favor of chance, a condition for freedom. In his school "El Jardín" the entry of women and even slaves was allowed, which caused a huge stir at the time. The stoics (Zeno of Citio), they bet on the ataraxia, or the absence of passions to achieve peace and well-being. The skeptical, deny the possibility of any trial and defend the suspension or epoch, denying sure knowledge.
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The most important thinkers of Roman philosophy.
And we finish this lesson on the most important philosophers of ancient philosophy to talk about those belonging to Rome. It is a pragmatic and eclectic philosophy and the most important philosophers of this stage were Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca Y Marcus Aurelius.
Seneca is one of the main representatives of the late stoicism, together with Epícteto or Marco Aurelio, and in his work, he uses a rhetorical and very accessible language, without technicalities. The influence of the philosopher is clearly visible in later thought, especially during the Renaissance.
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