2.2 KiB
2.2 KiB
Greek Philosophy
Overview
Greek philosophy (~600 BCE – ~500 CE) laid the foundations of Western intellectual tradition, encompassing metaphysics, ethics, logic, political theory, and natural science.
Key Facts
- Period: ~600 BCE (Thales) – ~529 CE (closure of Plato's Academy by Justinian)
- Region: Greek world (Ionia, Athens, Alexandria, Rome)
- Major schools: Pre-Socratics, Pythagoreanism, Platonism, Aristotelianism, Cynicism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, Neoplatonism
Major Figures
- Thales of Miletus (~624–546 BCE): First philosopher, proposed water as the fundamental substance 1
- Pythagoras (~570–495 BCE): Founded Pythagoreanism; blended mathematics, mysticism, and ethics; taught metempsychosis (transmigration of souls); influenced Plato 2
- Heraclitus (~535–475 BCE): "Everything flows" (panta rhei)
- Pyrrho of Elis (~360–270 BCE): Founded Pyrrhonism (radical skepticism); advocated suspension of judgment (epoché) to achieve tranquility (ataraxia) 2
- Diogenes of Sinope (~412–323 BCE): Leading Cynic philosopher; rejected social conventions and material wealth in favor of virtue and self-sufficiency 2
- Socrates (~470–399 BCE): Socratic method, executed for impiety
- Plato (~428–348 BCE): Theory of Forms, founded the Academy
- Aristotle (384–322 BCE): Logic, natural science, ethics, politics; founded the Lyceum
- Epicurus (341–270 BCE): Atomism, pleasure as the highest good
- Zeno of Citium (~334–262 BCE): Founded Stoicism 3
- Plotinus (204/5–270 CE): Founded Neoplatonism; posited emanation from "the One" as the source of all reality; among the most influential philosophers of late antiquity 2
Legacy
- Shaped Western philosophy, science, and political thought
- Transmitted to the Islamic world and medieval Europe
- Aristotle's works dominated European thought for ~2,000 years
- Neoplatonism profoundly influenced early Christian theology and the Renaissance