Ancient philosophy refers to the directions, schools and teachings that developed in ancient Greek and ancient Roman societies. The ancient Greek philosophers, depending on what they preached, formed many currents, and the totality of these philosophical teachings, which developed in the ancient Greek and ancient Roman slave-owning societies, constituted ancient philosophy. ancient philosophy - a single and unique phenomenon in the development of the philosophical consciousness of mankind.
Ancient (ancient) philosophy, that is, the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans, originated in the 7th century. BC e. in Greece and lasted until the VI century. n. e. In this millennium, two main trends in European philosophy were formed - materialism and idealism, dialectics arose, all the main questions of philosophy were put in the bud (and even in a fairly developed form), dozens of thinkers created, whose names are well known even to those who did not specifically study philosophy - Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Socrates, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius Carus, Marcus Aurelius, Cicero, Seneca, Philo.
Ancient philosophy, which was a holistic phenomenon in the history of philosophy, can be divided into a number of periods.
First period ancient philosophy - the period of its origin from the mythological worldview - refers to the 7th century. BC e. This period includes the first philosophical anti-mythological teachings, which are still full of mythological images and names. The philosophers of the Milesian school were the creators of these teachings. (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes), founder of the Eleatic school Xenophanes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus and his contemporary and philosophical antipode Parmenides - chief representative of the Eleatic school.
Second period in the history of ancient philosophy - the period of its maturity - is the main and most difficult. These include the Teachings of the great natural philosophers - Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus and Democritus, as well as the Pythagorean Philolaus, the movement of sophists who first turned to ethical and social topics, and Socrates, in whose views the problem of philosophical methodology arises. IN IV in. BC e. Plato introduces the concept of "idea" into philosophy precisely as "ideal".
This includes the beginning of the activities of the so-called Socratic schools (cynics, cyrenaics, etc.). Aristotle's teaching ends this period.
Third period in the history of ancient philosophy there is an epoch of the spread of Greek culture both to the East and to the West - to Rome. This period covers III-I centuries. BC e. In these centuries continue to function as the old philosophical schools Plato and Aristotle, and new ones. These are the schools of Epicurus, Zeno. Their teachings penetrate the Roman Republic, giving rise to Roman epicureanism (Lucretius Carus), skepticism and stoicism (Seneca, Marcus Aurelius) .
The last period in the history of ancient philosophy - the philosophy of the Roman Empire - is influenced first by Stoicism, and then by Neoplatonism and the emerging Christian ideas, a philosophical support, which was the same Neoplatonism. Dispersal by the emperor Justinian in 529, the philosophical schools in Athens, and above all the Academy of Plato, marks the end of ancient philosophy.
It is assumed that the term "philosophy" itself was introduced by Pythagoras and meant love, the desire for wisdom, but not wisdom itself, which remained the divine prerogative. It was in ancient Greek philosophy that the main points of Western European philosophizing were formed and explicated:
* problems;
* methodology;
* motivation.
Ancient Greek philosophers for the first time defined, clearly and distinctly, the core of philosophical problems in the questions: “What is reality? How do we know this? Of course, "reality" central concept philosophical interest, undergoes a certain evolution in the code of development of ancient Greek philosophy, associated with the formation of philosophical reflection.
Initially, "reality" was identified with nature, the cosmos. Therefore, cosmological problems are important for early Greek philosophy: “How did the cosmos arise? What are the phases of its development? What is the beginning of all things? Parmenides and Plato will discover another "reality", which, in their opinion, is more important and truer than the sensually perceived and is an intelligible reality, an ideal reality (thoughts), knowledge. Addressing it is a sign of true philosophy. Sophists and Socrates will point to the "reality" of human existence: after all, the meanings of natural-cosmological and intelligible being are presented to man in his human form. He is the "scale", the "measure" by which being is measured.
Also in ancient Greek philosophy, the formation of the methodological arsenal of philosophizing is taking place: the dialectical way of discussing problems (Heraclitus, Plato), formal logical standards (Aristotle), the method of paradoxes (Zeno's aporias, the paths of skeptics), intellectual intuition (Plato). On the whole, all the listed methods of comprehension are united by one quality inherent in philosophy - a rational explanation of the universal. By "rational" we mean an explanation that is oriented to expect and seek the regular, recurring both in the meanings of empirical experience and in the meanings of thought.
Ancient Greek philosophy is also notable for the fact that for the first time philosophers realized in it the specifics of their studies, the goals of their activities. They are as follows.
♦ Professional Realization human need for philosophy. All people, as Aristotle argued, by nature strive to know the general structure of the world. Philosophers are those people who can present the results of knowledge in a generally valid form.
♦ In addition to the functional task of presenting general considerations about the world, philosophers also have, so to speak, an internal goal of analyzing their consciousness and their "I" (know thyself).
Ancient philosophizing covers more than a thousand-year period: starting from the 6th century. BC e. and until 529 AD. e., when Emperor Justinian closed the last pagan school in Athens (Plato's Academy), dispersing their followers. Geographical coverage: Mediterranean, this includes ancient Greek, Hellenistic, ancient Roman and Near Eastern philosophies. Let us turn to the characteristics of the main stages in the development of ancient philosophy.
Early Greek philosophy (between the 6th and 5th centuries BC)
Early Greek philosophy (between the 6th and 5th centuries BC), with its problems of "physis" (nature) and the cosmos. The most significant representatives of Ionian philosophy here are the Eleatics and Atomists.
Ionian philosophy refers to the teachings of philosophers from the Greek colonial states on the coast of Asia Minor (today's Lebanon and Israel). Here appear the first great Greek philosophers from the cities of Miletus and Ephesus. Three philosophers belong to the Milesian school: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes. The Greek philosophers begin where the ancient Indian sages left off. The Greeks adopted the idea that the senses cannot give us an adequate picture of the world, they are not able to penetrate into the esoteric (hidden) level of the universe. There is the primordial basis of the world (primary substance). It is that from which everything springs, and that into which everything becomes. Thales introduced the term "physis" or nature to designate this primordial basis. Therefore, the first Greek philosophers are also called physicists, or naturalists, given their increased attention to the problems of the beginning.
Thales considered water as a “physis”, Anaximander considered as such an infinite, qualityless fundamental principle or apeiron, while Anaximenes spoke of air. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that these fundamental principles are by no means identical to physical water and air, but are rather conceptual metaphors, where certain qualities real water and air serve to rationally explain and visualize the properties of the primordial basis: omnipresence, mobility, permeability, variability and transformability.
Another early Greek philosopher is Heraclitus. He was a philosopher who discovered the idea of change. Until that time, Greek philosophers, under the influence of Eastern ideas, viewed the world as a huge structure, for which physical entities served as building material. A natural attitude, even for many of our contemporaries, was overturned by the genius of Heraclitus. With him came a new view of the world: there is no structure, no stable structure, no cosmos. “A beautiful cosmos is like an ingot cast at random,” one of his aphorisms says. He considered the world not a structure, but a colossal process, not the sum of all things, but the integrity of all events and changes. All material things, whether solid, liquid or gaseous, are processes and not objects, being all transformed by fire. The “fiery” universe of Heraclitus, however, is quite rationally comprehensible, for every process in the world, especially fire itself, develops according to a certain law, which is its “measure”. The world is thus chronically unstable, but there are patterns to this instability. This will thereby explain the apparent stability of the world (natural periods: the change of day and night, the lunar month, the change of seasons, "great cycles"). The content of the universal change is the identity of opposites, which is another important position of the Heraclitean philosophy, which at one time made a strong impression on contemporaries and subsequent philosophizing.
An even more serious and radical innovation in philosophy is associated with the Eleatics, philosophers whose professional activities are connected with the city of Elea, already located in Greece itself. They also represented an intergenerational community of thinkers who developed a certain characteristic worldview. We are talking about Xenophanes, Parmenides, Melissa and Zeno.
The famous Parmenidean proposition "it is the same to think and to be." means the comprehension of the fact that "being" is the unconditional presupposition of all possible philosophical assumptions. Thought is identical with being: in order to assert external existence, we must think it, realize our impressions as “existing”. The identity of thought and being acquires metaphorical features from him: sphericity, immobility, self-identity and wholeness. To comprehend the absolute of "thought-being", of course, is possible only with the mind - intellect. This is the ultimate truth, the beginning and essence of being. Other philosophers of the Eleatic school, rather, carried out work to improve and detail the system of argumentation of the main thesis of Parmenides. Particular attention should be paid to the aporias of Zeno, one of the most observant and witty philosophers in the history of philosophy.
Finally, another great philosophical system of the early period of antiquity, which had a strong influence on the development of the experimental direction in the development of knowledge, was the atomistic teaching of Leucippus-Democritus. The very idea of the smallest and indivisible particles that make up the body was gleaned by the Greeks from reflections on practical everyday life (erasing steps, coins, moistening and drying).
The basic ideas of atomism are as follows.
-" Being is eternal and unchanging. Nothing arises from the non-existent, and nothing is destroyed into the non-existent.
-> What appears to us as the world is actually the appearance of unstable combinations of the unchanging first principles of the universe: atoms and emptiness. Atoms are infinite in size and number.
-> Everything arises by inevitability. Everything in the world is determined, rigidly linked by unambiguous cause-and-effect relationships.
-> Cognition is sensual and direct: small, we would say microscopic, material “structures-copies” of things penetrate through the pores of our body and carry information about things. Therefore, qualities (smell, color, taste) exist only by establishment, while by nature only atoms and emptiness exist.
-> The ultimate goal of human life and philosophy is mental well-being; and it is not identical with enjoyment. This is a state in which the soul is in peace and balance, not disturbed by fear, superstition, or any other passion.
Classical ancient Greek philosophy (late 5th-4th centuries BC)
This period is the first classic in the history of Western European philosophy, the second took place almost 2.5 thousand years later, at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 19th centuries. in the form of classical German philosophy. The main figures of this period connected their lives and philosophical fame mainly with Athens.
The Sophists are now considered the initiators of the humanistic period in ancient philosophy, a kind of cultural treadmill of their time, figures of the "Greek Enlightenment". By their activities and their views, they expressed some of the significant turbulences that took place at that time (5th century BC) in ancient Greek society. We are talking about the progressive disintegration of traditional community-clan structures and the individualization of society. The collectivist consciousness, which demanded the absoluteness and inviolability of the ideological standards established since ancient times, and the personalizing individuality, actively seeking a spiritual justification for its independence, collided.
The greatness of the sophists (Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, etc.) lies in the fact that for the first time in the history of philosophy they brought to the fore and substantiated anthropological problems. To the question: “What is reality?”, they answered: “It coincides with the meanings of human existence, which in principle depend on the positing subject.” This, in fact, is the essence of the famous thesis of Protagoras that "man is the measure of all things that exist in that they exist, non-existent in that they do not exist." How many people, so many truths, and everything depends on the goals that we set for ourselves.
Socrates, in essence, continued the development of the anthropological problems proposed by the sophists, and was in solidarity with them in some essential premises (the autonomy of the individual and his right to self-determination as the highest value of human existence), yet his point of view is significantly different from the sophist one. So, if for the Sophists the “dimension” of man in relation to the existing has an arbitrarily pluralistic character, i.e., the “objective” exists only thanks to the relation to us, then Socrates, accepting this thesis in principle, at the same time looks for the necessary in man. This necessary is what unites all people, is the essence of man. Socrates agrees that a person himself determines the meanings of things in the objective world, but he does this not arbitrarily-subjectively, depending on individual features, but based on the necessary and sustainable or the nature of his thinking.
Thus, for the first time in the history of philosophy, Socrates speaks of man as a self-sufficient being, having its own foundations. These foundations, self-organizing human life, are reason, goodness and freedom.
Knowledge of this is, in principle, the same for all people, but each person must achieve it himself. It is impossible to teach a person goodness, it is in him, and in order to know it, he must deduce it from himself, explicate it, make his goodness clear to himself. Socrates proposed an understanding of philosophy as the "art of life", this is not abstract knowledge, but normative and practical. The task of philosophy or maieutics is to help the birth of the soul, which is "pregnant" with freedom.
The Socratic method of teaching is the most complex intellectual game procedure, which was later called Socratic irony (irony means simulation). Socrates, with the help of a certain purposeful methodology of questions and answers, leads the interlocutor to the formulation of a reflexive attitude to the content of his consciousness, which is expressed in the independent comprehension by the interlocutor of the basic concepts that organize human existence. The ideas of Socrates served as one of the sources of Plato's philosophy.
The discovery by Plato of an intelligible dimension of reality, which he ontologically deduces as a special "world of ideas", parallel to the material, apparently, physical. The immaterial reality of Plato is organized according to the ethical principle and is headed by the idea of "good". The structure of the world of ideas is hierarchical, ideas are subordinated by kind and kind. The relationship between ideas and formations of the phenomenal world (everyday life) is a relationship of coexisting dependence: imitation, likening, striving for perfection, incorporating things of the material world into “ideas”.
What are "ideas"? Plato's "ideas" or "forms" are not mere concepts, i.e., purely mental determinations. In Plato's philosophy, they are structural elements of supersensible, intelligible reality and, at the same time, models for the corresponding elements of parallel material reality.
Aristotle was a student of Plato, one of the most versatile minds of mankind, along with two other great encyclopedic philosophers: Thomas Aquinas and Hegel. He synthesized the various knowledge then available into a grandiose system, which until modern times was a model of scientific research and a compendium of human knowledge. Aristotle gave ontology a rational form adequate for philosophical reflection. Philosophical thinking for the first time in the history of philosophy acquired a strict and logical form.
He divided the sciences into three major sections:
♦ theoretical sciences, ie those that search for knowledge for its own sake;
♦ practical sciences, which seek knowledge for the sake of achieving moral perfection;
♦ productive sciences, the purpose of which is to produce certain objects.
According to the criterion of value and dignity, the theoretical sciences, formed from metaphysics, physics (including psychology) and mathematics, are higher than others.
What is metaphysics? It is known that the term "metaphysics" (literally: that which is after physics) is not Aristotelian. It was introduced either by the Peripatetics, or in connection with the publication of the works of Aristotle by Andronicus of Rhodes in the 1st century BC. Aristotle himself used the expression "first philosophy" or "theology" in contrast to the second philosophy as physics. The first philosophy is the science of reality beyond the physical. The proper Aristotelian meaning of this concept means any attempt of human thought to go beyond the limits of the empirical world in order to reach an immaterial, true reality.
Four definitions are given by Aristotle to metaphysics:
- the study of causes, first, or higher principles;
- knowledge of "being, inasmuch as it is being";
- knowledge about the substance;
- knowledge about God and supersensible substance.
But the question is: why is metaphysics needed? Metaphysics is the most exalted of sciences, says Aristotle; and simply because it is not related to material needs, it does not serve empirical or practical purposes. Other sciences are subordinated to these goals, and therefore none of them is valuable in itself and is significant only insofar as it is justified by the effects to which it leads. Metaphysics has its own goal in itself, and therefore this science is in the highest degree free, for it is valuable in itself. All this means that metaphysics, not connected with material needs, nevertheless responds to spiritual needs, that is, those that appear when physical needs are satisfied. It is a pure thirst for knowledge, a passion for the truth that keeps from lying. It is a radical need to answer any "why" and in a special way to the "last why".
Therefore, Aristotle concludes, all other sciences are more necessary for people, but none of them will surpass metaphysics.
Metaphysics is the study of first causes. Since they refer to the world of becoming, they can be reduced to four:
* the reason is formal,
* material reason,
* the reason is valid,
* final reason.
The first two causes are nothing but form and matter, which form all things. Reason, according to Aristotle, is a condition and a basis. Matter and form are sufficient conditions for the explanation of reality, if considered statically. A given person, from this point of view, is his matter (meat and bones) and his form (soul). But if we consider it from the point of view of becoming, dynamically, then we will ask: “How was he born?”, “Who gave birth to him?”, “Why does he develop and grow?” This means that two more reasons are necessary: the motor (i.e., the parents who gave life to the person) and the final (i.e., the goal in the direction of which the person develops).
The philosophy of Plato and Aristotle is called classical because it determined the subsequent, before Descartes, development of both ancient and medieval philosophies: by categories, initial attitudes, and problems. Aristotle deserved the title "Teacher", Plato - "Divine". These two paradigms of philosophizing, when subsequent philosophers qualified for the most part either as "Platonists" or as "Aristocrats", existed until modern European philosophy.
Hellenistic-Roman philosophy (III century BC - III century AD)
It is represented by the main currents of thought of these centuries: Epicureanism, Stoicism and Skepticism. At this time, there was a fundamental change in the priorities of philosophical attention, ethics, the problems of personal self-determination and salvation from the hardships of the material and social world, took the place of ontology and epistemology. This is associated with a radical change in the socio-spiritual situation, when democracy and the free self-awareness of a citizen of the policy were replaced by the worldview of a subject of despotic state structures, a helpless toy immensely superior to natural and social forces.
Epicurus was a materialist philosopher and introduced a number of innovations into the atomistic philosophy of his predecessor Democritus. Thus, he formulated an important proposition that atoms have the ability to spontaneously deviate from a straight fall in a vacuum. Thus, it was argued that even at the level of matter there is a fundamental spontaneity, which means that a person also has real free will. In the spirit of changing the emphasis of philosophical attention, he brought the ethical part of the doctrine to the fore. The only positive thing that a person has and can count on in life is pleasure, which is a natural positive state that all people strive for. Epicurus especially emphasized the leading role of the mind in determining the measure and the very necessity of certain pleasures for a person. Therefore, according to Epicurus, many pleasures should be abandoned, because they must be paid an exorbitantly high price - dangerous emotional unrest. The flow is about enjoying fame, power, luxury. It is also harmful to participate in political and public life: “Hide and hide,” advises Epicurus.
A slightly different way to achieve equanimity of spirit, which has other grounds, was proposed by skeptics. The emergence of skepticism is associated with the names of Pyrrho (4th-early 3rd centuries BC), Timon (4th-3rd centuries BC) and later Aenesidemus (1st century BC), the latter generalizing the argument skeptics against attributing truth status to knowledge in 10 tropes (arguments). However, much more fundamental is late skepticism in the person of Agrippa (I-II centuries AD), who added 5 more tropes to the critical arsenal of skeptics, and Sextus Empiricus (second half of the 2nd century - beginning of the 3rd century AD) who systematized the views of his predecessors.
Skepticism here is not ordinary everyday doubt or throwing, swinging back and forth between different positions, opinions, when there is no certainty and there is internal fragmentation and anxiety. On the contrary, among the skeptics, doubt expresses firmness of spirit, confidence in self-consciousness, and a resolute abstention from one-sidedly definite statements and judgments. It should be expressed "it seems to me", "most likely".
Ancient skeptics (Pyrrho, Timon, Aenesidemus) proceeded from the fact that although facts exist on their own, opinions about them depend on our states (age, sensual, mental, etc.), and therefore they cannot be considered definitely and unambiguously -true. Thus, the doubt concerns not the phenomenon, but what is said about the phenomenon. The 10 tropes of Aenesidemus were a systematization of critical observations regarding sensory knowledge and everyday practice. They talk about the relativity of our interpretations of our own perceptions. They talk about the difference in the sense organs of different living beings, also about the differences between people, between the feelings of the same person, about differences in perceptions depending on distances and the frequency of phenomena.
Late skepticism (in the person of Agrippa and Sextus Empiricus) turned its critical eye on the forms of organization of mental activity, finding here many statements that they rightly questioned. The paths of Agrippa reveal the fact that the untruth of knowledge is due not only to the limitations and inconstancy of our perception, not only to the prevailing opinions, but also to the fact that the very organization of mental activity is limited and conditional in nature. Unlike the Epicureans, the ethics of the skeptics themselves are rather unpretentious and conformal, striving for conformity with existing experience and the prevailing behavioral prescriptions. This is because the goal of the skeptic is equanimity and moderation.
Another influential trend of this period is Stoicism. In historical and philosophical research, there are three stages in the development of Stoicism.
-> Ancient Stand (Zeno, Cleanthes, Chrysippus, late 4th century - 3rd century BC);
- "Middle Stand (Panetius, Posidonius, II-I centuries BC);
- "New Stand (Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, I-II centuries AD).
The basic concepts of ontology (or "physics" in the terminology of that time) of the Stoics can be qualified as eclectic, because they combine very different ideas into one whole: Heraclitean formation, the duality of Aristotle's principles, Parmenides' holism. Their ontology has a pronounced pantheistic character, asserts the connection of everything with everything and continuous change. Everything that is in the world is included in God, and in a holistic and organic way, God is the most perfect mind and absolutely everything is subject to His Providence. The world is ruled by an inevitable Necessity, which is natural in nature. General Order rigidly interconnected causal plexus. Everything that is done is done with an inevitable necessity.
What should a person do in the world of universal development, how to preserve his “I”, find the agreement of his spirit with himself? The Stoics developed an ethical doctrine that was in harmony with their ontology. It comes from the rationalistically interpreted nature of the world and man, who is required to live properly.
If the Epicureans believed that the desire for pleasure is dominant in a person, then the Stoics rightfully objected, calling pleasure, rather, a consequence of the natural inclinations of a person. The integral beginning of all natural inclinations of a person is self-preservation, because nature itself tells him to protect and love himself, "for nature is originally dear to itself." In this sense, man is similar to all living things. However, there is a very important difference. Man is a rational being, reason is his nature, essence. Living by nature means living by reason. Virtuous, therefore, is everything that is reasonable, and reasonable is that which is reasonable by nature, since it is determined by a common law, the Logos. They further defined the criterion of life "by nature", i.e. virtuous behaviour. This is the notion of "should" or "proper", which then becomes one of the cornerstones of the spiritual culture of the West. The proper is such a thing that has a reasonable justification. This is an action that is characteristic of the dispensations of nature, therefore, the proper actions will be those to which the mind pushes us: for example, to honor parents, brothers, fatherland, love friends.
If the mind rules the world, just as the human mind controls human actions, then all passions and emotions are obstacles or are an undesirable side effect in human communication. Therefore, only the one who not only limits, restrains his passions, but radically eradicates them from himself, does not even allow them to be born in his heart, comes closest to the ideal of natural virtue or reason. Hence "apathy" as the ideal of a sage, who must be alienated from any manifestations of human emotionality. He is a stranger among his own, performing social, family or personal functions: he must carry them out dispassionately, evenly and correctly. Only this can be an antidote against social alienation and possible cataclysms of fate (death of loved ones, illness, failure, etc.), as well as an approach to the logically correct perfection of the world Logos.
The religious period of ancient pagan thought (III-V centuries AD). Completing ancient philosophy is such a majestic spiritual phenomenon as Neoplatonism. First of all, this is a radical development of the Platonic view of the world, which asserted the existence of a true, intelligible world, on which the world of material things depends. The Neoplatonists not only reproduced these views, but also went further, creating the first system of pure or absolute idealism in the history of philosophy. They abandoned the dualism of their great predecessor, declaring the "one hundred percent" ideal nature of the universe, where matter is only a shadow of thought, or a weakened ideal.
Neoplatonism is associated with the names of Ammonius Sax, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus and Proclus, who came from the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and whose philosophical activity began in Egyptian Alexandria. Plotinus (204/205-270) formulated the postulates of this philosophical trend.
The foundation of this philosopher: being is a total thought, which is in the constancy of its meaningful self-change. At the heart of the development of the world lies the development of world thinking. The sensible world is only a distant imitation of it. The absolute beginning of everything and everything is the One that produces itself. It is a self-producing activity of thought that creates freedom, the cause of itself, that which exists in and for itself. It is incomprehensible and inexpressible.
Plotinus calls the second ontological hypostasis of the universe, which arises through internal distinction, self-doubling through self-opposition, as a result of which the “I” arises, Nous or Spirit. This is an active principle, an active center, which is a subject or a formalized intellect that thinks the totality of the intelligible world.
The third hypostasis of the world is the Soul. The Soul represents the activity of the Spirit, which is no longer directed to pure thinking, but to the transformation (emanation) of thought-objects into material objects or the creation of the physical cosmos. In other words, matter is not an eternal beginning of the spirit, but proceeds from it; it is the final stage of the process, when the producing power of the Spirit is depleted to the point of exhaustion. Thus, matter becomes a general weakening of the potency of the One, which at the same time is good, its profanation, or Evil (a small fraction of good, weakened good).
Accordingly, for Plotinus, thought and thinking states of a person are the most authentic and true manifestations of the highest principles in him. The more time a person spends in reflection and the deeper he sinks into thought, the closer he becomes to the world basis and authenticity, he returns at this time to his true homeland. The peaks of these mental penetrations Plotinus called "intellectual ecstasy", moments of the highest possible human happiness. This departure of the soul from the body is accomplished through pure thought. Ecstasy is not only the ecstasy of feeling and fantasy, but rather, going beyond the content of sensory consciousness. It is pure thinking, which is by itself and has its own object. Plotinus often speaks in sensuous terms of this state; so, for example, he says in one place: “Often when I go beyond the body, I wake up to myself and am outside the other” - the external world, “when I am inwardly with myself, I have admirable contemplation and live the divine life."
On this day:
- Birthdays
- 1825 The Count is born Alexey Sergeevich Uvarov- Russian archaeologist, corresponding member (1856), honorary member (1857) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. One of the founders of the Moscow Archaeological Society, the Historical Museum in Moscow, the initiator of archaeological congresses.
- 1959 Was born Herman Parzinger- German archaeologist and specialist in Scythian culture.
- Days of death
- 2001 Died Vasily Ivanovich Abaev- an outstanding Soviet and Russian scholar-philologist, Iranian linguist, local historian and etymologist, teacher, professor.
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
Department of Philosophy
TEST
Course: "Philosophy"
1. Ancient philosophy
2. Cosmocentrism
3. Philosophy of Heraclitus
4. Philosophy of Zeno of Elea
5. Pythagorean Union
6. Atomistic philosophy
7. Sophists
9. The teachings of Plato
10. Philosophy of Aristotle
11. Skepticism of Pyrrho
12. Philosophy of Epicurus
13. Philosophy of Stoicism
14. Neoplatonism
Conclusion
5th century BC e. in the life of ancient Greece is full of many philosophical discoveries. In addition to the teachings of the sages - the Milesians, Heraclitus and the Eleatics, Pythagoreanism is gaining sufficient fame. About Pythagoras himself - the founder of the Pythagorean Union - we know from later sources. Plato calls his name only once, Aristotle twice. Most Greek authors call the island of Samos the birthplace of Pythagoras (580-500 BC), which he was forced to leave due to the tyranny of Polycrates. On the advice of supposedly Thales, Pythagoras went to Egypt, where he studied with the priests, then as a prisoner (in 525 BC Egypt was captured by the Persians) ended up in Babylonia, where he also studied with the Indian sages. After 34 years of study, Pythagoras returned to Great Hellas, to the city of Croton, where he founded the Pythagorean Union - a scientific-philosophical and ethical-political community of like-minded people. The Pythagorean Union is a closed organization, and its teachings are secret. The way of life of the Pythagoreans fully corresponded to the hierarchy of values: in the first place - beautiful and decent (which science was referred to), in the second - profitable and useful, in the third - pleasant. The Pythagoreans got up before sunrise, did mnemonic (related to the development and strengthening of memory) exercises, then went to the seashore to meet the sunrise. We thought about the upcoming business, worked. At the end of the day, after the bath, they all dined together and made libations to the gods, followed by a general reading. Before going to bed, each Pythagorean gave a report on what had been done during the day.
antique archaic culture
In the development of ancient Greek culture, the following stages are distinguished:
- - Crete-Mycenaean or Aegean (by the name of the Aegean Sea) - III millennium BC. e. - XII century. BC.;
- - Homeric period - XI-IX centuries. BC.;
- - Archaic period - VIII-VI centuries. BC.;
- - Classical period - from the end of the VI century. until the last third of the 4th c. BC.;
- - Hellenistic period - from the last third of the 4th century. - until the middle of the II century. BC.
The Aegean (Crete-Mycenaean) culture is the direct predecessor of Greek antiquity. It developed on the islands of the Aegean Sea (the most striking monuments are preserved on the island of Crete) and in mainland Greece (the monuments in Mycenae and Tiryns are the most studied). Archaeologists are exploring the palaces at Knossos (Cyprus), Mycenae and Tiryns, where wonderful wall paintings, the richest burial inventory in the royal tombs, various utensils, sculpture, etc. have been found. Written monuments have survived, some of which have not been deciphered so far (in particular, the so-called Phaistos disc). The memory of the Aegean culture has been preserved in Greek mythology. Thus, the legendary king Minos is considered the owner of the Palace of Knossos; the dungeons of this palace are the famous labyrinth where the terrible Minotaur lived. The labyrinth was built at the request of Minos by the great inventor, builder, master Daedalus. The Minotaur was killed by a hero named Theseus, who was helped by the daughter of Minos Ariadne ("Ariadne's thread"). This culture withered in the XIII-XII centuries. BC. in connection with the invasion of the Dorians and natural disasters(volcanic eruptions, tsunamis).
Back in the 21st century BC. conquerors from the steppes of Eurasia, the Hellenes, who brought the Greek language here, fell upon the land of Greece. The country received the self-name Hellas.
The Hellenes were nomads, bred horses, sheep and goats. Their clothes - women's (peplos) and men's (chiton) - were made from undyed wool, dishes - from gray clay. The Achaeans, who were part of the Hellenic tribes, were the first to adopt the local high agriculture, began to grow grapes and olive trees. They mastered stone construction, bronze casting, adopted pottery and navigation skills from the pre-Hellenic natives. The Achaeans began to master the political and economic achievements of the local population.
It was the Achaeans in the 19th century. BC. founded Mycenae, the first Greek protopolis, where the king ruled. In the XVI century. BC. Achaeans occupied about. Crete. And in the XV century. BC. in Greece there are already several hundred protopolises, including Thebes and Athens. All of them were protected by powerful fortifications, they had palace complexes and necropolises, and the royal power, the basileia, also acted.
In the XII century. BC. Hellas was again conquered by newcomers from the North - the Dorians. The Dorians were nomads, their culture was much lower than that of the Hellenes, they were very warlike and extremely cruel. Mycenae, Athens, Tiryns, Pylos - all the Hellenic protopolises were destroyed. Cities were deserted, artisans, artists and scientists fled. Hellenic culture suffered severe damage: literacy almost disappeared, it even began to be persecuted as an occupation. black magic. Maritime communications ceased, roads and bridges fell into disrepair, houses began to be built of wood and unbaked bricks. Pottery became simpler, painting on pottery vessels gave way to archaic geometric ornaments. Royal power disappeared, there was no priesthood. The culture of Hellas was thrown back for centuries.
The only thing in which the Dorians were clearly ahead of the Hellenes was military affairs. The Dorians used iron weapons, came up with a special battle formation, later called the phalanx, they had cavalry.
The ensuing period is usually called the Homeric (pre-polis, it is also mythological), after the name of the legendary poet-singer Homer. In it, as in ancient times, an oral epic tradition was again established and heroes performed feats. Homer described many events of these centuries. The Iliad and the Odyssey contain the richest information about the Greek culture of this era.
The economic culture was based on the technology of the Bronze Age. Developed agriculture included cattle breeding (large cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats...) and agriculture (cereal crops, viticulture, horticulture, horticulture). From the Aegean (Crete-Mycenaean) culture, high pottery skills (amphoras and other vessels with geometric ornaments) were inherited. They built in the Homeric period from raw bricks, the columns were made of wood: the art of stone architecture was lost.
People lived in tribal communities, which again passed into the early (archaic) forms of the policy (prepolises). Each such policy was a small state, completely independent. This determined the political culture. The early policies (pre-polises) were ruled either by the king or by the people's assembly, together with the council of elders and several basilei - aristocrats, like kings, and the real power belonged to the latter. There were also slaves in the early policies, who were used mainly as domestic workers and servants. Slaves were captives (as a result of military clashes, robbery, piracy). Slaves were considered members of the family, the attitude towards them was patriarchal.
During the Homeric period, the system of Greek myths, the famous mythology, was basically formed. There was a hierarchy of Olympian (who lived on Mount Olympus) gods. Zeus began to be considered the supreme god, his wife Hera was revered as the patroness of marriage and the goddess of the sky. Poseidon became the god of the sea, Demeter became the goddess of fertility. The children of Zeus were also highly honored: Athena - the goddess of wisdom, Apollo - the god of light and art, Hephaestus - a blacksmith and inventor, the god of craftsmanship. The memory of the ancient gods was preserved in the figures of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty (the hypostasis of the Great Mother), and Dionysus, the god of viticulture and winemaking.
At the same time, the most important features of the mentality of the ancient Hellenes were completely determined: a sense of inner freedom and competitiveness (agonism, from the Greek. agon - competition). Competitiveness was accompanied by the highest sensitivity to the praises and censures of fellow citizens, to fame and shame. The desire to be ahead of others, to be the first, was manifested by the Greeks in everything; they organized competitions in plowing, in crafts, in versification, in drinking wine, and so on. Competitions were held in male beauty. The rivalry had to be noble, honest. Competitions were organized even by the Olympic gods: in the famous myth about the origins of the Trojan War, they did not consider it shameful to compete for the title of the most beautiful three goddesses - Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The most obvious manifestations of competitiveness are known from numerous sports games, without which the ancient Greek holidays are inconceivable. The most important were the Olympic, held every four years in honor of Zeus. At the time of the pan-Greek games, wars ceased throughout Hellas.
In the same era, around the 11th century BC, the Greek alphabet arose. The Greeks based it on the Phoenician writing system, adding letters for vowels; it underlies all European alphabets, including Russian.
The archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC) in ancient Greece is characterized by the rapid flourishing of all spheres of life. In these centuries, in fact, the “Greek miracle” arose, the main directions of a cultural breakthrough were outlined. Even the term "archaic revolution" has been proposed.
One of the most important results of this breakthrough was the dominance of private property relations. This ensured high growth rates of market-oriented production of all types of handicrafts. Rapid population growth began, patriarchal slavery was replaced by classical. In conjunction with the energy and inner freedom of the Hellenes, all this led to the growth of foreign trade and to great colonization: numerous Greek cities began to appear on the shores of the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, and Black Seas. The coasts of southern Italy and Sicily were completely inhabited by Greeks, they began to be called Great Greece. Many rich Greek cities appeared on the coast of Asia Minor. On the Black Sea, almost all cities today are located on the site of former Greek colonies.
Cities in the archaic period become classical policies; this is one of the most important achievements of ancient political culture. Such a policy is a state, often a small one, the center of which is a well-fortified city. Agriculture is carried out on the adjacent lands. Politicians carried on a lively trade. Policies were administered in different ways; it is noted that they have been tested in practice all conceivable forms of government, organization of public life. Highest value we have democracy, worked out in detail in many policies, primarily in Athens. The most important feature of life in the policy can be considered an orientation towards justice in relations between citizens. All citizens were considered equal before the law, but the individual had to obey the decisions of the majority. The most important role in the life of the policy was played by the agora - the market square, in fact a public center, where all the townspeople met regularly and general meetings of the citizens of the policy were held. Athens became the most famous and influential policy for a long time, around which the policies of Attica (central Greece) united.
The most important, fundamental changes in the era of the archaic occurred in the spiritual life. The principles of freedom and competitiveness continued to operate. An important place in the ideas about the world, "space", was occupied by man. Protagoras formulated the famous thesis "Man is the measure of all things that exist, that they exist, and not existing, that they do not exist." Valor, glory, beauty of body and soul were considered the main virtues. The concept of kalokagatiya was born - the perfection of the soul and body. In the policies appeared people who spent a lot of time thinking, including on abstract topics. These were the wise men. Somehow they began to think using reflection, that is, by observing the very process of thinking. Therefore, the Greek sages learned to prove their theses, mastered the art of inference, especially in mathematics.
The mathematical texts of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are collections of solutions to individual problems, and each problem is unique, and the study of mathematics was reduced to memorizing ready-made solutions. The Greek sages began to formulate decision rules, look for general patterns of calculations, prove theorems, draw conclusions, and so on.
The sages thought about everything, including the cosmos, the structure of the world, the origin of all things. The fame of the insight of this or that sage dispersed throughout Greece, there are lists of the seven sages of that time. In the 7th century BC. the sages began to think more and more about the essence of the world, and philosophers appeared, the first of which is usually called Thales from Miletus. Philosophy has become an independent occupation. Pythagoras was a philosopher who studied mathematics intensively and tried to explain the world on the basis of mathematical constructions (“the world is a number”). At the same time, the theater appeared, the first playwright was Aeschylus. In architecture, famous architectural orders arose - Doric and Ionian. Around the 8th century BC. Homer created his poems, and in the 7th century. BC. created the second great epic poet, Hesiod, author of the poems Theogony and Works and Days. The authors of works of art in the eyes of the Hellenes did not differ from artisans, some kind of potters or shoemakers. Poetry, sculpture, architecture, music, rhetoric were even designated by the same word as the craft - "techne".
The achievements of the culture of the archaic period became the basis for the rise in the next era, the classical one.
The classical period (5th century BC - three quarters of the 4th century BC) is so named because in these centuries the culture of Greek antiquity reached its highest level. The policy system played a major role in this. Works of art were created that are considered unsurpassed examples; the system of sciences existing today was formed in general terms; a number of philosophical schools have developed; philosophers explored democracy and other forms of government. Athens remained the largest cultural, economic and political center of ancient Greece.
In the classical era, Hippocrates, considered the founder of medicine, worked. Herodotus and Thucydides were the first historians. Amazing are the achievements of philosophers - Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Aristotle, moreover, became the founder of physics, psychology, ethics; his authority among European philosophers of the Middle Ages was so high that in books he was often not called by name, but simply written "Philosopher".
The most famous masterpieces of artistic culture.
Greek sculptors of the classical period achieved remarkable skill in conveying the beauty of the human body, movements, and mental states. For sculptors and architects, the most important criteria were harmony, proportionality, and naturalness. Everyone knows, for example, Miron's sculpture "Discobolus", depicting an athlete at the moment of throwing. The works of Polikleitos, Phidias, Praxiteles, Lysippus and Praxiteles have been preserved. On the initiative of Phidias in Athens on a rocky hill - the Acropolis - a complex of temples was erected, the most famous of which was dedicated to Athena and was called the Parthenon. Even today, its remains amaze with their harmony and beauty, being, along with the statues of ancient gods and heroes, a kind of symbol of ancient art.
Sophocles and Euripides (Euripides), who wrote tragedies, and Aristophanes, the first comedian, became famous in drama. The lyrical poems of Sappho and Pindar have been preserved; the name of Anacreon is known.
The period of Hellenism (IV-I centuries BC) is associated with the name of Alexander the Great and his conquests. Greece at this time was actually subordinate to Macedonia. The eastern campaign of Alexander (334-325 BC) led to the creation of a gigantic empire from the Adriatic to India. Alexander's empire after his sudden early death(323 BC) was divided between his fellow commanders, companions in conquest (Diadochi). In particular, Ptolemy became the king of Egypt, Seleucus - of Syria. A situation arose when numerous kingdoms in Africa, Asia Minor, and the Middle East were ruled by Greek dynasties, although the population was local. The boundaries of the policies expanded to the limits of the entire Middle Eastern ecumene (inhabited lands).
This created the conditions for the synthesis of the Hellenic culture, brought by the Greek rulers, with the achievements of local cultures. Sculptors, architects, highly educated scientists and other cultural bearers began to increasingly follow the invitations of the Hellenistic monarchs and move from country to country. There were people who owned not only the culture of their people, but also Greek. In Judea they began to call themselves Hellenists.
The results of the Hellenistic cultural synthesis were impressive. In III - II centuries BC. e. natural science, philology, mathematics, and technology developed rapidly. Scientific centers arose in many cities (Pergamon, Antioch).
Athens, although Greece had lost its wealth and political influence, was famous for its high culture and especially for its philosophical schools.
There, at the turn of the IV-III centuries. BC e. Two new schools of philosophy arose: the Stoic and the Epicurean. The Stoics held the idea of the equality of all people in the socio-ethical plan. They believed in the possibility of creating an ideal "world state", governed on a reasonable basis. The Epicureans saw the essence of happiness in the absence of suffering, calling it pleasure. Therefore, needs must be limited: "he who has fewer needs, he has more pleasure." At the same time, one should not renounce spiritual pleasures, and especially the highest of them - love. The third school is skeptical, founded by Pyrrho in Elis. Skeptics considered things completely unknowable. They recommended abstaining from judgment altogether.
The most famous was the scientific center Museyon in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Its heart was a gigantic library. There is evidence that more than 700 thousand books were stored in it. The library had a real scientific town, where scientists were invited to work. For example, Archimedes studied there, Euclid and Heron of Alexandria worked for a long time, and the astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy created his own system there. Hellenistic monarchs organized expeditions to unknown lands, encouraged the creation of more advanced geographical maps. Eratosthenes, who at one time headed the Library of Alexandria, compiled his own detailed description of the then ecumene. He for the first time quite accurately determined the length of the meridian, introduced the division into North and South, parallels and meridians. He is the founder of geography. Astronomical observations carried out at the Alexandria Observatory made it possible to refine the calendar. At the same time, the old Babylonian division of day and night into hours, hours into 60 minutes, minutes into 60 seconds came into general use. Aristarchus put forward a hypothesis about the rotation of the Earth and other planets around the Sun (1800 years before Copernicus!).
Techniques developed, especially military ones. Siege weapons were built (for example, catapults that threw cannonballs, stones and huge beams at the besieged). Archimedes invented various efficient machines to protect his native Syracuse from the Romans besieging the city. Hero of Alexandria described all the achievements of ancient mechanics, he himself built a prototype of a steam turbine, rangefinders, levels. Various kinds of pumps, a hydraulic organ, and the first water turbine were invented.
Discovered in medicine nervous system, its role and significance are described. True, many of the medical discoveries were forgotten, so that in the New Age they had to be made anew.
The achievements of the artistic culture of the Hellenistic period are high. In 334 BC By order of Alexander the Great, a temple of Athena was erected in Priene, comparable to the Parthenon. On the site of the Temple of Artemis burned by Herostratus in Ephesus, a new, no less beautiful, was built. The Mausoleum in Halicarnassus was also built, the decoration of which was attended by the best sculptors of that time - Skopas, Praxiteles, Lysippus. Their work differed markedly from the work of their predecessors. Scopas tried to convey not only the movement of the body, but also violent feelings. His sculpture of a maenad - a participant in the Dionysian mystery - is unusually dynamic. Praxiteles also sought to portray the feelings, moods of a person. He owns, for example, Aphrodite of Knidos and a statue of Hermes with the infant Dionysus, where the god is depicted as an ordinary earthly person. The most famous works of Lysippus include "Apoxiomen" - an athlete, after the competition, cleansing the body of sweat and dust, and "Hercules' fight with the Nemean lion." In the same era, sculptures of Nike of Samothrace, Venus of Melos (Milos) were created.
In painting, the encaustic technique is being developed - the burning of wax paints. It made it possible to obtain bright, rich colors and was very durable.
An idea was formed about the "seven wonders of the world", and some of them (the colossus of Rhodes, the lighthouse of Alexandria) were created precisely in these centuries.
At the same time, the Romans came into close contact with Greek culture.
One of the most important accomplishments of Hellenistic culture was the emergence of Christianity in Judea.
philosophy cosmocentrism Milesian antique
Ancient (Ancient Greek) philosophy arises in the 7th-6th centuries BC. It is formed in certain historical conditions: economic, social, cultural. By that time in Ancient Greece there was a fairly developed slave-owning society, with a complex social class structure and forms of division of labor, which were already of a specialized nature. The role of intellectual and spiritual activity is also growing, acquiring the features of professionalism. Developed spiritual culture, art created a fertile ground for the formation of philosophy and philosophical thinking. So, Homer and his work, suffice it to mention his "Iliad" and "Odyssey", had a huge impact on many aspects of the spiritual life of Greek society of that period. It can be figuratively said that all "ancient philosophers and thinkers" came out of Homer ". And later, many of them turned to Homer and his works as an argument and proof.
At first, philosophy appears in the form of philosophizing. So, the “seven wise men”: 1) Thales of Miletus, 2) Pitton of Mytilene, 3) Biant from Prysna; 4) Solon from Asia; 5) Cleobulus of Lyons; 6) Mison Henei; 7) Chilo from Lacedaemonia tried to comprehend in an aphoristic form the essential aspects of the existence of the world and man, which have a stable, universal and generally significant character and determine the actions of people. In the form of aphorisms, they developed rules and recommendations for the actions of people, which people should follow in order to avoid mistakes: “Honor your father” (Cleobulus), “Know your time” (Pytton); “Hide the bad in your house” (Thales). They were more in the nature of useful advice than philosophical statements. Their limited but rational meaning is expressed in utility. As a result, they are generally applicable. But already with Thales, statements acquire a proper philosophical character, since they fix the universal properties of nature that eternally exist. For example, “space is the most, because it contains everything in itself”, “Necessity is the strongest, because it has power.” They only hint at philosophical problems, but do not consciously pose them.
But already within the framework of the “Miletian School of Philosophers” a proper philosophical approach to understanding the world is being formed, because they consciously pose and try to answer such fundamental questions: Is the world one and in what way is its unity expressed? Does the world (in this case, nature) have its fundamental principle and the primary cause of its existence? The answer to such questions cannot be obtained on the basis of one's life experience, but only through thinking in abstract, generalized concepts.
The "Miletian philosophers" designate objectively existing nature with the special concept of "cosmos", (in Greek- universe, world). This is where one of the first theoretical ways of knowing the world appears - cosmologism (cosmos + logos, knowledge). Cosmologism considers the world, the universe as an integral system, which is characterized by unity, stability, integrity and eternity of existence. And philosophy developed in the form of natural philosophy, a philosophical understanding of nature as a rational form of its description, explanation and understanding. Since actually scientific knowledge did not yet exist, then philosophy assumed the function of knowing the specific properties of nature and its physical laws (phisis - in Greek nature, physics), and at the same time tried to solve purely philosophical problems - what is the primordial essence, the beginning of nature and in what is the essence of her being.
Within the framework of the Milesian School of Philosophers, individual objects and phenomena were taken for the primordial essence, the beginning, the “primary substance”, the properties of which were given a universal character. The properties of the individual, the separate, were taken as the basis of everything that exists. So, Thales from Miletus (late 7th - first half of the 6th century BC) takes water as the fundamental principle of the existing, as the most important primary substance. She is the source of everything. Undoubtedly, the empirical fact was taken into account - where there is water, there is life. Anaximander (610 - c. 540 BC), a student of Thales, as the primary substance, initially takes apeiron (translated into Greek - unlimited), which is eternal and is present everywhere and has no boundaries. That is why the Cosmos is eternal and boundless. And the cosmos seems to be a living, breathing "organism", where the collision of warm and cold air acts as breathing. Anaximenes (6th century BC) believed that the first principle is air, from which all objects and things of the objective world arise. It is also the foundation of the cosmos. The "breath of air" (liquefaction and condensation) holds everything and generates everything. Thus, within the framework of the already Milesian school, a certain principle of philosophizing is expressed - to consider the existence of the world from the world itself. This principle is called materialism. It is sometimes called naturalism. This is how the materialistic tradition was born in ancient philosophy, which had a huge impact on the development of philosophical thought throughout antiquity, but also on European philosophy as a whole. It should be noted that materialism is already a rational way of knowing the world, although still in an undeveloped, naive form.
A special role in the development of ancient philosophy was played by Heraclitus of Ephesus (from the city of Ephesus) from 544-480. BC) Based on the already established tradition, he also takes a separate phenomenon - fire - as a single foundation of the world, and the cosmos is a "fire-breathing ball" that exists on its own, has not been created by anyone and has always been and will be "eternally living fire ”, which has its own rhythms of being (“flashing measures and fading measures”).
To emphasize the unity of the world with all its diversity, Heraclitus introduces the concept of the Logos, which also has a cosmic character. Under the Logos, he understands the cosmic mind (mind), which, through the word, gives the Cosmos a certain meaning of being. Logos, as it were, embraces everything that exists and gives it the quality of unity. Within this unity, all things, bodies, objects flow into each other. Thanks to movement it (the cosmos) is dynamic, and thanks to the Logos it retains its stability, certainty and harmony. Heraclitus was one of the first to create the doctrine of the movement and development of the material world, the source and cause of development and movement are in the world itself. In fact, this is historically the first form of ancient dialectics as a doctrine of the movement and self-movement of the world. And she was materialistic. In his opinion, motion is the universal mode of existence of matter. Without movement and outside movement, the objects of the material world do not manifest their properties. He puts forward an aphoristic formula: "Everything flows and everything changes", emphasizing the universal nature of movement, understanding the fluidity and variability of properties, and not just mechanical movement. The objectivity and naturalness of movement as an attribute of matter (nature) are supported by a comparison - it flows like water in a river. But the most important thing in the teachings of Heraclitus is the characterization of the source, the root cause of movement. Such a source is the struggle of opposites, which sets everything in motion. In fact, he was the first to form the law of unity and struggle of opposites, which is universal and universal. And for that time, Heraclitus gives a detailed description of the content and operation of this law. So, by unity, he understands the identity of opposites, that is, the belonging of various mutually exclusive properties to the same essence, to one object. For example, "day and night, winter and summer" - there are properties of nature. He considers the struggle of opposites not just as a collision and destruction of mutually exclusive properties, but as a transition from one to another, as a mutual transition: "Cold becomes warm, warm becomes cold, wet - dry, dry - wet." The opposites seem to be in a triune relationship at the same time: 1) they mutually determine each other; 2) they complement each other (harmony of the world) and 3) they mutually exclude each other (struggle). The development of the world as a cosmos presupposes an eternal cycle of phenomena, due to which it remains an eternally living fire. Here it is worth emphasizing that all subsequent philosophers and thinkers appealed to Heraclitus' dialectics and his doctrine of development.
Heraclitus subjects the essence to philosophical analysis cognitive activity man and puts forward the doctrine of truth. Thus, the universal basis of knowledge is the ability of people to think. (“Thinking is common to all”), the tool of which is the word (“logos”), and the purpose of knowledge is the achievement of true knowledge, i.e. one that does not distort the objective properties of things. He distinguishes two levels of knowledge:
sensory knowledge, which he calls "dark", since feelings often distort the real picture and fix only individual external properties. "Bad witnesses are the eyes and ears of people." True, he makes a reservation that only those who "have coarse souls."
theoretical knowledge, which gives thinking, through which a person achieves true knowledge and becomes a true sage.
The most prominent representative of the materialistic tradition in ancient philosophy was Democritus of Abdera (460-350 BC). He is the most consistent conductor of materialism as the principle of explaining and understanding the world. He believed that atoms, the smallest, indivisible particles, are the primary substance, the “first brick” of everything that exists. They are smaller than dust, and therefore are not visually perceived. He becomes the creator of the atomic picture of the world.
Democritus also resolves such a complex and difficult question: If everything consists of atoms, then why is the world of objects so diverse in its properties? That is, he faced a fundamental philosophical problem - the unity and diversity of the world. And within the framework of philosophy and natural philosophy of that period, he gives its rational solution. Atoms are infinite in number, but differ in 1) size; 2) severity (heavy and light); 3) geometric shapes(flat, round, hooked, etc.). The infinite inexhaustibility of the forms of atoms. Hence, the infinite variety of properties of objects is connected with what atoms they consist of. In addition, the change in properties depends on the change in the order of the bond, the relationship between different atoms. The combinations of atoms are endless in their diversity. Therefore, the Universe, the cosmos is a moving matter, consisting of atoms. By matter, he understands everything that consists of atoms. And by movement, he understands both the movement of atoms (they are worn like mad), and their connection and separation. And the movement itself has rhythm, repetition and stability. Therefore, he tends to recognize the existence in the world of necessity, i.e. the obligatoriness and objectivity of what is happening, the stable ordering of events, and the denial of theology. In this regard, the philosophy of Democritus can be characterized as atheistic. But there are no accidents in the world, and rigid necessity prevails. Therefore, the existence of the world is existence in necessity. And non-existence is emptiness, when connections and relationships are destroyed, and objects lose their properties.
Democritus consistently applies the principle of materialism to explaining the essence of knowledge, obtaining true knowledge about something. By truth in this case we understand the coincidence, the adequacy of our ideas, images, concepts to the real properties of things. We can say that Democritus was one of the first to create a fairly coherent theory of knowledge, which is based on the principle of reflection, reproduction of the world and its properties in thinking. Usually the theory of knowledge of Democritus is characterized as the "theory of expiration", the essence of which is as follows. Atoms are covered with the thinnest film, "eidola" - images. They break off, "leak" from the surface of atoms, affect our senses, imprint in them, are stored and fixed in memory. This is a sensory level of knowledge, which has a sign of reliability. True, he calls sensory knowledge "dark", due to its incompleteness, fragmentation and superficiality. Although true knowledge is a continuation of sensory knowledge, it is already the result of the activity of the mind, which, through concepts, generalizes individual facts, gives complete and undistorted knowledge of the true essence of things hidden from the senses. And this is the result of the activity of thinking, the activity of the mind through concepts. Cognition, as it were, passes from sensory, empirical knowledge, to theoretical, rational, rational knowledge, in which the true nature of things is revealed to us.
From the point of view of his atheistic concept, Democritus explains the existence of the spiritual world and the human soul. All living things have a soul, consisting of special atoms. The human soul consists of very light and spherical atoms. And since the human body also consists of atoms, we can talk about the unity of the Soul and the Body. Therefore, when the body dies, the soul leaves the body, dispersing into space. Of course, this is a naive dialectic of soul and body, but still an attempt to explain their relationship.
Democritus also touches on the complex moral problems of human existence. In his special work “On the even mood of the spirit” (about “euthymia”), he presents the goal of human life as the pursuit of happiness and goodness, achieved by calmness and balance in the soul, a state of serene wisdom. Serenity - mental condition when feelings do not revolt against the mind. And happiness is understood not as a desire for pleasure, but for justice. From this he concludes that only a moral person is truly happy. He achieves this by following the dictates of conscience and shame, which he characterizes in the form of aphorisms: “Do not say or do evil, even if you are alone; learn to be ashamed of yourself far more than of others” (conscience). “Not out of fear, but out of a sense of duty, one must refrain from actions” (shame). Not only actions can be immoral, but also intentions. Of course, these postulates are advisory in nature, but they can be generally applicable. They still do not lose their significance, attractiveness and inspiring power.
A prominent place in the ancient philosophy of this period is occupied by Pythagoras (570 - 406/97 BC) and the "Pythagorean school" formed by him. He was not only a famous mathematician and geometer, but also an outstanding philosopher. He offers an original solution to the fundamental philosophical problem - what is the basis of the unity of the world and whether there are single, common patterns in this world, and whether we can cognize and rationally express them. Based on the already generally accepted idea of the world, the cosmos as a living, fiery and breathing spherical body and from astronomical observations, Pythagoras notes in the movement of celestial bodies the geometric correctness of the movement of celestial bodies, rhythm and harmony in the correlation of celestial bodies, which are inherent in constant numerical ratios. The so-called harmony of the heavenly spheres. He comes to the conclusion that the basis of the unity and harmony of the world, as if its universal fundamental principle, is the number. "The Pythagoreans considered numbers to be sensuously contemplated spatial figures." Introducing such a principle of understanding and explaining the world, Pythagoras draws attention to the presence of interconnection, the dialectics of the finite and the infinite, the spatial coordinates of the world's existence. And since numbers “rule the world and permeate everything,” then both the soul and the body have numerical expressions, and numerical proportions are also inherent in moral qualities, and beauty, and art, especially music. From here he puts forward the idea of the transmigration of the human soul after bodily death into the bodies of other beings. In this form, which now seems naive, Pythagoras asserts the existence of universal laws of the existence of the world, its unity, infinity and infinity, and hence eternity.
A special trend in the philosophy of antiquity of this period was sophistry (from the Greek. sophistry - the ability to witty debate). Based on the postulate “Man is the measure of all things”, put forward by Protagoras (481 - 413 BC), they direct their efforts not to achieve true knowledge, but to prove through eloquence the correctness of any subjective opinion that meets the principle of utility . This is a kind of "utilitarian philosophy", which puts forward the ideas of relativity and the impermanence of everything that exists, deny the truth as a generally valid knowledge. That is what is useful and beneficial to an individual. Therefore, they pursued a purely pragmatic and largely selfish goal - to prove the truth of any opinion, if it is beneficial. Hence the extreme relativism - there is nothing universally significant, stable and permanent in the world. And for this, they narrowly used logic as a system of proof for narrow speculative purposes. Everything is only relative: both good, and good, and evil, and beautiful, and, therefore, there is nothing truly true. Here is an example of the reception of the sophists: "Illness is an evil for the sick, but good for doctors." “Death is evil for the dying, but for the sellers of things needed for funerals, and for the funeral directors, it is good.” On the basis of such judgments it is impossible to understand what the true good is and whether it has general validity, it is impossible to prove whether death is evil. In fact, sophistry and sophism entered the history of both philosophical thought and culture as a conscious substitution of concepts about something in order to derive benefit and benefit. Sophistry has become synonymous with non-science, dishonesty both in thinking and in people's actions. Sophism and sophistry become a sign of untruth in actions, and in thinking, and in worldview. Sophism and sophistry is a deliberate justification of evil and self-interest. It should be noted that sophism and sophists were especially popular among the politicians of that time. Modern politicians also sin with this.
3. Now we begin to characterize the most fruitful and positive period in the development of ancient philosophy, which received the designation of ancient classics, the period of a perfect model of philosophizing, pursuing the only goal - comprehending the truth and creating methods of knowledge that lead us to truly true reliable knowledge. This was the period of creation of the historically first universal philosophical systems that grasped the world as a whole and gave it a rational interpretation. We can say that this was a period of a kind of "creative competition" of thinkers-philosophers, although holding different positions, but pursuing one goal - the search for universal truth and the rise of philosophy as a rational form of describing, explaining and understanding the world.
In socio-economic and political terms, it was the heyday of the ancient slave society, democracy and political life, art and science of that period. In economic terms, it was an era of prosperity, and in spiritual terms, the rise of the principles of high ethics and morality. It seemed to have become a model for civilized and cultural development, a model of humanism for all subsequent stages of European and not only European culture and history. Although the Greek society of this period had its own internal contradictions, as well as for any other. But still, it can be said that it was more agreement, unity rather than disagreement and disunity that prevailed in it.
It can be said that Socrates (469 - 399 BC) is the ancestor, the "father" of classical ancient philosophy. This was in all respects an outstanding personality: he was not only a great philosopher and thinker, but an outstanding person and citizen. It surprisingly combined in harmonious unity his philosophical position and practical actions and deeds. His integrity as a philosopher and as a person has such a high charm and authority that he had a huge influence not only on all subsequent stages of philosophy, both European and world, but became a symbol, a model of a genuine, true person for all time. "Socratic man" is the ideal of man, not as God, but as "an earthly being close to all people." We can say that the life of Socrates is an example of demonstrative service to the truth and humanity.
Socrates, first of all, draws attention to the peculiarity of philosophy and philosophizing, to the specifics of philosophical knowledge. It lies in the fact that philosophy, through general concepts of the subject, is trying to discover a single basis, such an essence, which is generally significant for a number of phenomena or all phenomena, which is the law of the existence of things. The subject of philosophy, according to Socrates, cannot be nature, since we are not able to change natural phenomena, nor create them. Therefore, the subject of philosophy is a person and his actions, and self-knowledge, knowledge of oneself is the most important task. Socrates raises the question of the goals and practical purpose of philosophical knowledge for a person. Thus, philosophy is given an anthropological character. Socratic philosophy is one of the first forms of anthropological philosophy. After Socrates in philosophy, the problem of man acquired the significance of a fundamental problem. What is the goal of philosophy according to Socrates? The purpose and task of philosophy is to teach a person the art of life and be happy in this life. He gives a very simple definition of happiness, which is essentially universal - happiness is such a state of a person when he experiences neither mental nor bodily suffering. Eudlaimon is a happy person. The basis of happiness, according to Socrates, can be the true knowledge of the good and the good, that is, which no one doubts, and which does not lead to errors and delusions, which are the cause of unhappiness. On this basis, Socrates believes that true knowledge is a true good, which is based not so much on benefit as on goodness. By good, Socrates understands bringing good to another, without pursuing any selfish gain. But how to achieve and is it achievable knowledge about the true good and the good, is true knowledge about anything achievable? Indeed, true knowledge has a special attribute. It is universally significant and obvious to everyone, and because of this, no one doubts it. Therefore, Truth reveals the universal, essential foundations of the existence of phenomena in a certain quality.
The only way to achieve true knowledge is the method of dialogue, during which the truth is revealed to the participants in the dialogue. According to Socrates, dialogue is a mutual and voluntary search for true knowledge about something, clothed in a system of general concepts, under which we bring specific phenomena. Dialogue is a creative process of searching for truth. Addressing the interlocutor, Socrates says: “And yet I want to think with you and look for what it is” (true virtue). (See Plato. Menon. Selected Dialogues and True Good). In the dialogue Laches, Socrates asks the question: "What does it mean to define what virtue is?" and answers: “It means to find out what is the same in everything, to find in the virtue under consideration that one that covers all cases of its manifestation.” This means that truth, and even more so philosophical truth, is the correct knowledge of the essence, which has a generally valid character. In this regard, Socrates emphasizes the rationalistic nature of philosophy, capable of resisting mysticism, prejudice and ignorance. Therefore, Socrates insists on the assertion that philosophy is the only impartial form of self-knowledge by a person of his true essence. Hence his motto-aphorism: "Know thyself."
In dialogue there is always a dialectic of opinion and knowledge, opinion and truth. Opinion, i.e. a statement about something turns into a true judgment only when it turns into a system of concepts that fix the universally valid. And the dialectic of thinking lies in the transition from one type of concept to another, from particular to general, more general content, from simpler knowledge to more complex.
According to Socrates, the goal of philosophy is also the acquisition of true freedom by a person, the content of which should be the clarification of what depends on a person and what does not depend on a person, and within these boundaries; relying on true knowledge, a person acts faultlessly and without delusions. Therefore, a person is free only to the extent that he knows himself. But according to Socrates, true and genuine freedom also includes a moral and ethical component. Freedom, freethinking is the path to self-improvement, to the perfect ideal of a person, to a kalokagat person (ie, a person who is perfect in spiritual and moral terms). Socrates insists: “After all, I only do what I go and convince each of you, both young and old, to take care first and foremost not about the body and not about money, but about the soul, so that it is as good as possible.”
This is the humanistic and educational nature of Socratic philosophy. Socrates is a model not only of true philosophizing, but also of a true combination of philosophy and practice of action, responsibility as a thinker and as a person. In essence, Socrates conducts a “social experiment” on himself, in which he tests the possibility and achievability of the connection and indissolubility of philosophical truths and principles with direct manifestation of life. Which always requires a thinker and a person of extraordinary courage, demonstrated by Socrates at his trial. Let's finish the characterization of Socrates' philosophy with Michel Montaigne's statement about him: “It is truly easier to speak like Aristotle and live like Caesar than to talk and live like Socrates. Here is precisely the limit of difficulty and perfection: no art will add anything here.
