Anaximander (610-546 BC) - a student and follower of Thales, was also a versatile educated person. He was interested in mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, studied the origin of life, etc.
Without essentially denying the teachings of Thales, his basic view of the world,
Anaximander, at the same time, believed that water, being intermediate only between solid and vapor states, could not serve as the basis of all things, since each thing comes “from its own beginnings.” For example, hot and cold - from warm, white and black - from gray, etc. So each state, each pair of opposites must have its own special beginning, a special intermediate. But in this case there had to be a beginning of all beginnings - a beginning that gives rise to the world as a whole. And it cannot be either water or any other element (earth, air, fire), but it must be some other infinite nature, which is equally inherent in all elements. Anaximander calls this endless, active environment containing opposites “apeiron“ (apeiron). It is in this, according to the philosopher, that the cause of universal emergence and destruction lies.
It can be assumed that Anaximander imagined a certain material environment changing from point to point, like the transition from white to black. This allowed the philosopher to look at it from an intermediate position and see opposites as excess and deficiency. By looking at each of the opposite sides separately from the position of their intermediate, Anaximander could see new opposites, and so on endlessly. Apparently, this view allowed Anaximander to suggest that apeiron includes all types of opposites that give rise to all bodies “through differences in the density and rarefaction of the primary element,” which in turn is the basis for the birth and death of the firmament worlds, which has been repeated from time immemorial circle.
Anaximander wrote several works: “Map of the Earth”, “Globe”, “On Nature”. From their names one can judge that the philosopher mainly studied nature. From the last work, in the testimonies of Simplicius, one of the doxographers, who lived a thousand years later than Anaximander, one small fragment has been preserved: “And from what (beginnings) things are born, at the same time death is accomplished according to a fatal debt, for they pay each other the legal compensation for untruth (damage) within the appointed period of time.” This passage indicates that the relationship between things arising from the infinite material environment, which Anaximander calls apeiron, is the same as the relationship between “debtor” and “creditor,” which indicates the relationship of Anaximander’s worldview with the mythological worldview and, above all, with the idea compensation - Dicke, as the idea of cosmic justice (Truth). Moreover, despite the mythological terminology, Anaximander no longer has these supernatural guardians of measure, since everything space processes are performed according to their own immanent laws, determined by the activity of the material environment itself - the apeiron.
Therefore, the meaning embedded in the concept of “compensation for untruth” should be sought in mythology and, above all, in the Greek idea of compensation - Dick, as the idea of cosmic justice (Truth), while the concept of “debt” is associated with the idea of decompensation (Discord).
Here the connection between mythological and philosophical thinking is most clearly manifested, which at first go side by side, having as their sources elements of initial empirical knowledge. Based on the objective laws of existence, the mythological worldview was already capable of presenting the ideas of injustice and retribution, Discord and Truth, decompensation and compensation in the form of a physical phenomenon, i.e. in the form of scales in the hands of the goddess of justice, the bowls of which in one case come out of balance, in another they tend towards it. In this image it found its specific reflection characteristic Antiquity - thinking by opposites. The latter are understood here exclusively as “excess” and “lack” of one or another substrate relative to the equilibrium position - that intermediate state from which opposites arise and to which, being destroyed, they tend. Therefore, the main question of Milesian natural philosophy was to identify the essence of the “intermediate”, the condensation and rarefaction of which would determine the entire diversity of the sensory world. This indicates that mythological thinking, operating not only with ideas, but also with comparative concepts, is not only not arbitrary, but, on the contrary, has a very strict logic. Only this logic differs from the logic of our science today. Therefore, mythology is not only a product of imagination, but also the result of strict logical-theoretical thinking. However, this can only be seen as a result of a thorough study of those mythological ideas that reflect the relationship of opposites in the process of their compensation and decompensation. It is no coincidence that in the first part of the fragment Anaximander draws our attention to that from which all things arise and into which, of necessity, they are destroyed. And if the words “compensation for untruth” are understood as compensation, and the word “debt” is understood as decompensation, then everything becomes extremely clear. It becomes possible to determine the “source of universal emergence and destruction.” All this suggests that the processes of “compensation” and “decompensation” are connected by a time frame for Anaximander and, in general, represent a kind of cyclical process.
Obviously, such a view of nature presupposes understanding it not from the standpoint of the correlated, i.e. not from the point of view of one of the poles of the gradation. Here, as in Thales, the starting point from which the world is comprehended is the middle, the intermediate, which divides the continuous environment into active, opposite parts.
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Thales
Thales is considered to be the first ancient Greek philosopher(c. 625 - 547 BC), founder of the Milesian school. According to Thales, all the diversity of nature, things and phenomena can be reduced to one basis (primary element or first principle), which he considered “wet nature”, or water. Thales believed that everything arises from water and returns to it. He endows the beginning, and in a broader sense, the whole world with animation and divinity, which is confirmed in his saying: “the world is animated and full of gods.” At the same time, Thales essentially identifies the divine with the first principle - water, i.e. material. Thales, according to Aristotle, explained the stability of the earth by the fact that it is above the water and has, like a piece of wood, calmness and buoyancy. This thinker wrote numerous sayings in which interesting thoughts were expressed. Among them is the well-known: “know yourself.”
Anaximander
After the death of Thales, the head of the Milesian school became Anaximander(c. 610 - 546 BC). Almost no information has been preserved about his life. It is believed that he owned the work “On Nature,” the content of which is known from the works of subsequent ancient Greek thinkers, among them Aristotle, Cicero, and Plutarch. Anaximander's views can be classified as spontaneously materialistic. Anaximander considers apeiron (the infinite) to be the origin of all things. In his interpretation, apeiron is neither water, nor air, nor fire. “Apeiron is nothing more than matter,” which is in eternal motion and gives rise to an infinite multitude and diversity of everything that exists. It can apparently be considered that Anaximander, to a certain extent, departs from the natural philosophical justification of the first principle and gives a deeper interpretation of it, considering as the first principle not any specific element (for example, water), but recognizing as such apeiron - matter considered as a generalized abstract principle, approaching in its essence the concept and including the essential properties of natural elements. Anaximander's naive materialistic ideas about the origin of life on Earth and the origin of man are of interest. In his opinion, the first living beings arose in a damp place. They were covered with scales and thorns. Having come to earth, they changed their way of life and acquired a different appearance. Man evolved from animals, in particular from fish. Man has survived because from the very beginning he was not the same as he is now.
Anaximenes
The last known representative of the Milesian school was Anaximenes(c. 588 - c. 525 BC). His life and work also became known thanks to the testimonies of later thinkers. Like his predecessors, Anaximenes attached great importance clarifying the nature of the beginning. This, in his opinion, is the air from which everything arises and into which everything returns. Anaximenes chooses air as the first principle due to the fact that it has properties that water does not have (and if it does, it is not enough). First of all, unlike water, air has unlimited distribution. The second argument boils down to the fact that the world, as a living being that is born and dies, requires air for its existence. These ideas are confirmed in the following statement of the Greek thinker: “Our soul, being air, is for each of us the principle of unification. In the same way, breath and air embrace the entire universe.” The originality of Anaximenes is not in a more convincing justification for the unity of matter, but in the fact that the emergence of new things and phenomena, their diversity, is explained by him as different degrees of condensation of air, due to which water, earth, stones, etc. are formed, and because of its rarefaction For example, fire is formed.
Like his predecessors, Anaximenes recognized the innumerability of worlds, believing that they all originated from the air. Anaximenes can be considered the founder of ancient astronomy, or the study of the sky and stars. He believed that all heavenly bodies - the Sun, Moon, stars, and other bodies originate from the Earth. Thus, he explains the formation of stars by the increasing rarefaction of the air and the degree of its distance from the Earth. Nearby stars produce heat that falls to the earth. Distant stars do not produce heat and are stationary. Anaximenes has a hypothesis explaining the eclipse of the Sun and Moon. To summarize, it should be said that philosophers of the Milesian school laid a good foundation for the further development of ancient philosophy. This is evidenced by both their ideas and the fact that all or almost all subsequent ancient Greek thinkers turned to their work to a greater or lesser extent. It will also be significant that, despite the presence of mythological elements in their thinking, it should be qualified as philosophical. They took confident steps to overcome mythology and laid serious preconditions for new thinking. The development of philosophy ultimately followed an ascending line, which created the necessary conditions for expanding philosophical problems and deepening philosophical thinking.
The subject of philosophy is existence.
Being is an extremely abstractly empty and meaningful concept; there are no specifications or differences in it.
Ontology is the doctrine of being. Being is the basis of what exists. Being = existing. Ontological - existential. Man is an existent; he is different from objects. Why does thinking occur in humans? The existence of man cannot be reduced to existence. Being is nothing. Nothing allows humanity to be realized. the subject of science is positive and positive. spirituality is not a subject of research for scientists.
Metaphysics is what goes beyond physics and surpasses naturalness. the doctrine of the supernatural, the thought of super-being, if being is interpreted in the material plane. The term was introduced by a commentator on Aristotle.
Philosophy claims to have a holistic understanding of life.
human dignity is humanity.
Philosophy-science, affirmation in European rationality, the emergence of reason, logosity, the awakening of humanity from sleep, which was within the framework of mythological perception, in which it manifests itself: the problem of truth
Philosophy is a field of knowledge aimed at truth, the question of truth.
Opodicticity is immutability, the necessity of true knowledge. knowledge - which does not require specialization. the philosopher is not interested in truth, philosophy is not utilitarian. the focus on truth brings philosophy and science closer together. thought starts from a certain chaos, chaos is space. space is the primary order. chaos is not disorder, infinity with a certain speed, the speed of a reaction, changes in properties. Chaos is disorganization; they are trying to bring order into our thoughts. Science operates with the category function. The function sets a limit. science slows down and stops chaos. philosophy is aimed at comprehending infinite speeds; philosophy, instead of function, is affirmed through concept. philosophy is a complete being, science is a piece of being. philosophy is interested in what is above the objectively organized. philosophy - events and accidents.
the crisis is associated with positivism and naturalism, metaphysics was persecuted.
What is philosophy for philosophy, for philosophers?
philosophizing - > philosophy. philosophizing itself is philosophy, we focus our attention on something in between. philosophizing = philosophy. we touch the external and determine the subject. “one must have a philosophical attitude towards life” - an ethical attitude. Being as a subject of philosophy is not objective. man is richer than any certainty. she herself remains behind the scenes. philosophy realizes the limit of understanding. the subject of philosophy is meaning.
Philosophy: (section)
Ontology (the main question about being)
Epistemology (knowledge, the doctrine of knowledge)
Aesthetics
Social philosophy
Philosophical directions:
The main philosophical question for Leninists and Stalinists: what comes first - spirit or matter? this is the field of ontology.
Idealism is a philosophical movement that affirms being as an idea. Being is ideal. idealism is theosophical, God.
Idealism:
Subjective - the idea is subjective, the idea depends on the subject. Berkeley, Fichter
Objective - the idea is objective. Plato, Hegel.
Solepsism - everything exists based on the fact of perception. I alone exist.
Materialism:
The twin of idealistic philosophy, which strives to unite everything into one. Materialism speaks of the multiplicity and difference of everything, in this it is close to naturalism. religious beliefs are prejudices. one order is the order of the differences and multiplicities of everything. a flow of thought that affirms matter as being.
Epicurus, Lucretius, Feuerbach, Marx.
Epistemology:
Rationalism (a way of understanding the world - reason)
Empiricism (a way of understanding the world - experience)
how can we know? The basis of knowledge is reason.
Any phil. the system can be classified either as rationalism or irrationalism. If being is rational and comprehensible, then it is rational. if the direction is not knowable, then it is irrational.
Rationalism – Hegel, B.B. Spinoza
Irrationalism – Arthur Schopenhauer, Nietzsche (will to power).
An irrationalist is one who claims that existence is incomprehensible, because he has a non-logos theory. World will. The will cannot be comprehended and reasoned with, it is impossible to understand (this is the beauty of human life). The world will wills, but a person does not have his own aspirations, he is an object.
Moments of a sentence by Gigue Deleuze
1. Designation – world (indication of something existing in the world) truth/falsity. By pointing out we can protect our thoughts from falling into lies.
2. Manifestation - proposal - I.
3. Signification is a conceptual system. “I” as such is not possible without signification, i.e. "I" must be one. The principle of unity is the philosophical God, who gathers our consciousnesses into unity. Signification implies the conditional. In order to be able to guarantee truth through signification we must guarantee the truth of the condition. The condition justifies. We can justify the condition. The circle is closed.
4. Meaning. Meaning in this context turns out to be something neutral. Indicates superficial metaphysics.
ANAXIMANDER
ANAXIMANDER
(Anaximandros) (c. 610 - after 547 BC) - ancient Greek. Milesian school, student of Thales, author of prose op. “About Nature” (a small excerpt and phrases have been preserved). A. called the beginning that lies at the basis of all things - “boundless, boundless”, not so much in the sense of infinity in space and time, but in the sense of structurelessness, material uncertainty. Apeiron is “immortal and imperishable”, it “encompasses everything and rules everything”, it is inherent in the eternal, it is the only birth and death of the universe: “From what everything receives its birth, everything returns to the same thing, following necessity.”
During cosmogenesis, the opposites of hot and cold, wet and dry are released from the apeiron due to its circulation. When they vaporize, they create fire (hot and dry), air (hot and wet), water (cold and wet), and earth (cold and dry). The earth gathers in the center, above it there is water, air and fire. When some of the water evaporates, land appears. At the border of land and sea, the fish originates in the silt; some marine animals come to land and shed their scales. Man was born in big fish, adults came ashore. The Sun, Moon and stars are holes in invisible rings of fire. The earth is motionless without support, because there is no top and bottom. It is spherical or cylindrical. A.'s doctrine of apeiron was developed by the Pythagoreans, supplementing apeiron with a second, ordering, primary principle - the ultimate.
Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .
ANAXIMANDER
from Miletus (according to Apollodorus, 610 - OK. 540 to n. e.) , other Greek natural scientist, geographer and natural philosopher, the second representative of the Milesian school, according to doxographs, “student”, “comrade” and “relative” of Thales. In 547/546 he published the first early scientific work. prosaic treatise "On Nature" (title may be later), the main ones were cosmography, meteorological. phenomena. The idea of A. as an abstract metaphysician reasoning about the principle of being is certainly erroneous (the term “” - “beginning” was most likely unknown to A., like all Milesians) and is based on non-critical following the peripatetic doxography. The method of A. is characterized by the fundamental role of binary oppositions and analogies. In cosmology, A. proceeds from the universal idea of the “infinite encompassing” - a spatially limitless bodily continuum, “embracing” from the outside after his birth and absorbing him after death. The nature of the “encompassing” A. was already unclear antique readers of his book, perhaps due to the archaic. style. The term apeiron (« ») , which in doxography denotes the “beginning” of A., is not authentic; A. used the adjective “infinite” as one of the attributes of “eternal and ageless nature”, “encompassing all the firmaments (= worlds) and spaces (= space) in them." According to the reliable testimony of Aristotle (Met. 1069 b 22; Phys. 187 a 21) and Theophrastus (Simpl. Phys. 27, 11-23), A. thought of “eternal nature” as a “mixture” of all qualitatively various substances, anticipating, T. O., Anaxagoras's concept of matter. Cosmogony A.: 1st phase - “separation” from the “embracing” world “embryo” (analogous to the “world egg”); 2nd phase - “separation” and polarization of opposites (wet cold core and hot fiery “crust”); 3rd phase - and the struggle of “hot and cold” gives rise to a formed cosmos. In the only surviving fragment (In 1DK) A. gave the first formulation of the law of conservation of matter: “Things are destroyed in the same ones from which they arose, according to their purpose: they pay (elements) legal compensation (cm. Dike) damage within a specified period of time" (“things” are to “elements” as “debtors” are to “creditors” to whom they “return” at the end of the debt period). In cosmology (cosmography) A. created the first geometric. Universe (clearly illustrated with a celestial globe), geocentric originates from it. (cm. Geocentrism) and “spheres” in astronomy associated with the discovery of the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, A. created the first geographical. map (possibly based on the Babylonian model). A.'s doctrine about the origin of the “first people” “from animals of another species” (type of fish), with all creatures, differences, makes it antique predecessor of Darwin.
In Fragments: DK I, 81-90; lonici. Testimonianze e frammenti, ed. A. Maddalena, Firenze, 1970; WITH? l l i G., La sapienza greca, V. 2, Mil., 1977, p. 153-205.
K a h n S h., Anaximander and the origins of Greek cosmology, N.?., 1960; Classen S. J., Anaximandros, a book:RE. Suppl. 12, 1970, col., 30-69 (lit.) ; Lebedev A.V., TO: not?., but Plato and Aristotle, “VDI”, 1978, No. l, With. 39-54, № 2, With. 43-58; him, Geometric. and cosmology of A., in book: Culture and art antique Mira, M., 1980, With. 100-24.
Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .
ANAXIMANDER
ANAXIMANDER from Miletus (c. 611-545 BC) - Ionian natural philosopher, student and researcher of Thales. His op. "On Nature" was the first philosophical work to appear on Greek language. He was the first to posit the “beginning” of all things and defined this beginning as apeiron. Apeiron ( Greek apeiron – indefinite) – this is the infinity of nature, “divine”; from it, various substances arise by secretion.
Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .
ANAXIMANDER
(Ἀναξίμανδρος) Miletus (c. 610–546 BC) – ancient Greek. materialist philosopher of the Milesian school, author of the first elemental materialist in Greece. and naive-dialectical. Op. "On Nature", which has not reached us. For the first time he introduced into philosophy “arche” (“principle”), by which he meant that from which all things arise and into which, when destroyed, they are resolved and what lies at the basis of their existence. Such the first principle of everything that exists, which A. called apeiron (ἄπειρον - infinite), “indefinite matter,” is a single, eternal, infinite; it is in eternal motion and generates from itself the infinite variety of everything that exists: the primary substance distinguishes from itself the opposites of warm and cold, and the world consists in the struggle of opposites, which is the cause of the natural, occurring in a certain temporal order, the emergence and destruction of things. A. taught about the innumerability of worlds, which naturally arise and die, about the development of the animal world. Thus, his philosophy. contained, therefore, dialectical. moments.
The interpretation of A.'s philosophy concerned ch. arr. the concept of "apeiron". A. put forward the doctrine of the innumerability of worlds, which, contrary to the clear evidence of primary sources, is denied by certain historians of philosophy: Ed. Zeller ("The History of Greek Philosophy" - Ed. Zeller, Die Philosophie der Griechen, TI 1, 1844), P. Tannery ("The First Steps of Ancient Greek Science", Russian translation 1902). Aetius (Anaximander, A 17, Diels) in his list of philosophers who recognized the innumerability of worlds, puts A first. He also (ibid.) reports that, in the opinion of A., innumerable. the worlds are at an equal distance from each other. Simplicius (ibid.) says that in their doctrine of the innumerability of worlds, Leucippus, Democritus and Epicurus were followers of A.
A. believed that the Earth rests motionless in the center of the world, and with his doctrine of three celestial rings (solar, lunar and stellar) revolving around the Earth, he laid the foundation for the theory of the celestial spheres. According to the testimony of Diogenes Laertius (II 2), as well as Agathemer (Anaximander, A 6, Diels) and Strabo (ibid.), referring to Eratosthenes, A. compiled the first geographical. map, built the first sundial and astronomical dial in Greece. tools.
F. Engels ("Dialectics of Nature", 1955, p. 147) and V.I. Lenin ("Philosophical Notebooks", 1947, p. 233) noted the doctrine of A. on development in organic. world. A. taught about the origin of animals from water without water. participation of deities. strength In particular, he argued that people descended from fish, which, having found themselves on earth, under the influence of new living conditions, changed in the structure and functions of their body.
Op.: Diеls N., Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker..., 5 Aufl., Bd 1, V., 1934, S. 81–90; Makovelsky A., Pre-Socratics, part 1, Kazan, 1914, p. 25–27.
Lit.: Makovelsky A., Astronomical teachings of ancient philosophers (before Plato), Baku, 1925 (pp. 116–18 A.’s teaching on the celestial rings); Melon M. A., Essay on the history of philosophy of classical Greece, M., 1936, p. 22–23; Lurie S. Ya., Essays on the history of ancient science, M.–L., 1947 (see Index of names); History of philosophy, vol. 1, M., 1957, p. 76–77; Nölscher U., Anaximander und die Anfänge der Philosophie, "Hermes", Wiesbaden, 1953, Bd 81, H. 3, 4. See also lit. to the article Apeiron.
A. Makovelsky. Baku.
Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F. V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970 .
ANAXIMANDER
ANAXIMANDER (Αναξίμανδρος) from Miletus (c. 610540 BC) is an ancient Greek naturalist, geographer and natural philosopher, the second representative of the Milesian school, according to doxographers, “student”, “comrade” and “relative” of Thales. In 547/546 he published the first early scientific prose treatise “On Nature” (the title may be later), the main content of which was cosmogony, cosmography, and the etiology of meteorological phenomena. The idea of Anaximander as an abstract metaphysician, reasoning about the principle of being, is certainly erroneous (the term arche-beginning itself was most likely unknown to Anaximander, as well as to all Milesians) and is based on an uncritical adherence to peripatetic doxography. Anaximander's method is characterized by the fundamental role of binary oppositions and analogies. In cosmology, he proceeds from the universal idea of an “infinite embracing” - a spatially limitless bodily continuum, “embracing” the cosmos from the outside after its birth and absorbing it after its death. The nature of the “embracing” Anaximander was already unclear to the ancient readers of his book, perhaps due to the archaic style. The term apeiron (infinite), which in doxography denotes the “beginning” of Anaximander, is not authentic: Anaximander used the adjective “infinite” as one of the attributes of “eternal and ageless nature”, “embracing all the firmaments (= worlds) and cosmos (= spaces) in them " According to the reliable testimony of Aristotle (Met. 1069b22; Phys. 187a21) and Theophrastus (Ar. Simpi. Phys. 27, 11-23), Anaximander thought of “eternal nature” as a “mixture” of all qualitatively different substances, thus anticipating Anaxagoras’s concept of matter. Cosmogony of Anaximander: 1st phase - “separation” from the “embracing” world “embryo” (analogue of the “world egg”); 2nd phase - “separation” and polarization of opposites (moist cold core and hot fiery “crust”), 3rd phase - interaction and struggle of “hot and cold” gives rise to a formed cosmos. In the only surviving fragment (B l DK), Anaximander gave the first formulation of the law of conservation of matter: “Things are destroyed into the same elements from which they arose, according to their purpose: they pay (the elements) legal compensation for damage within a specified period of time.” In cosmology (cosmography), Anaximander created the first geometric model of the Universe (visually illustrated by a celestial globe), from him originate the geocentric hypothesis and the “theory of spheres” in astronomy, associated with the discovery of the Southern celestial hemisphere, he created the first geographical map (possibly based on the Babylonian model ). Anaximander's teaching about the origin of the “first people” “from animals of another species” (such as fish), with all the significant differences, makes him the ancient predecessor of Darwin.
Fragments: DK I, 81-90; Maddalena A. (ed.). lonici. Testirnonianze e ftammenti. Firenze, 1970; Co/and G. La sapienza greca, v. 2. Mil., 1977, p. 153-205; Conche M. Anaximandre. Fragments et témoignages. P., 1991; Lebedev. Fragments, p. 116-129.
Lit.: Kahn Ch. Anaximander and the origins of Greek cosmology. N. Y I960; Classen C. J. Anaximandros, R. E., Suppl. 12, 1970, col. 30-69 (bib.); Lebedev A.V. TO ΑΠΕΡΟΝ: not Anaximander, but Plato and Aristotle.-Bulletin of Ancient History, 1978, 1, p. 39-54; 2, p. 43-58; It's him. Geometric style and cosmology of Anaximander.-In the collection: Culture and art of the ancient world. M., 1980, p. 100-124.
A. V. Lebedev
New philosophical encyclopedia: In 4 vols. M.: Thought. Edited by V. S. Stepin. 2001 .
See what "ANAXIMANDER" is in other dictionaries:
- Ἀναξίμανδρος ... Wikipedia
Anaximander, Anaksimandros, from Miletus, c. 610 approx. 540 BC e. Greek philosopher. He was considered a student and follower of Thales. The first of the Greeks wrote a prosaic philosophical work called On Nature, of which only... ... Ancient writers
ANAXIMANDER- ANAXIMANDER Ἀναξίμανδρος) from Miletus (c. 610 after 546 BC), ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, second representative of the Milesian school, student of Thales. OK. 546 BC e. published the first scientific and philosophical work of the Greeks, the treatise “On ... ... Ancient philosophy
Anaximander- Anaximander of Miletus, son of Praxiades. He taught that the origin and basis is the infinite (apeiron), and did not define it either as air, or as water, or as anything else. He taught that the parts change, but the whole remains unchanged... ... About the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers
- (about 610 after 547 BC), ancient Greek philosopher, representative of the Milesian school. Author of the first philosophical work in Greek, On Nature. Student of Thales. Created a geocentric model of space, the first geographical map... ... Modern encyclopedia
- (c. 610 after 547 BC) ancient Greek philosopher, representative of the Milesian school, author of the first philosophical work in Greek On Nature. Student of Thales. Created a geocentric model of space, the first geographical map. Expressed... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (610 540 BC) Ionian (from Miletus) natural philosopher, student and follower of Thales. A. is credited with the first written prose work (‘On Nature’). It is also believed that A. made several colonial expeditions, after which he wrote ... History of Philosophy: Encyclopedia
- (610 540 BC) Ionian (from Milet) natural philosopher, student and follower of Thales. A. is credited with the first written prose work (“On Nature”). It is also believed that A. made several colonial expeditions, writing after... ... The latest philosophical dictionary
- (Anaximander, Αναξίμανδρος). Born in Miletus in 610 BC, died in 547. Philosopher of the Ionian school, immediate successor of Thales. He considered the earth to be a cylindrical body located in the middle of the world at an equal distance from all points... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology
- (Greek) mathematician and philosopher, son of Praxiades, b. in Miletus 611, died 546 BC. Among all the Greek thinkers of the most ancient period, the Ionian natural philosophers, he embodied in his purest form their speculative desire to know... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Books
- Lecture “What is philosophy?” , Andrey Zubov. Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrei Zubov, at the first lecture of the series on Western philosophy, will cover topics - the beginning of Greek philosophy; What is primordial matter?; Thales, Anaximander,... audiobook
Chapter 3. Philosophy of the ancient world
Philosophy of Ancient Greece
What was the ancient Greek state like?
Greece has not been a unified state for many centuries. There were city-policies separated from each other by natural boundaries. Each polis spoke its own dialect and gave preference to the cult of one or another God or hero. Despite regional differences, ancient culture is a single whole.
What concept was basic for the ancient Greek citizen?
The concept of freedom. Freedom meant living together in accordance with a law common to all. All emerging problems had to be resolved through open public discussion.
What did the ancient Greeks mean by virtue?
Virtue is a person’s ability to find a place in society and realize his destiny.
What did the ancient Greeks see as evidence of wisdom?
Wisdom is manifested in the art of speaking. The word shapes a person's thoughts. Beautiful thoughts should sound beautiful. Therefore, the concept of logos was developed in Ancient Greece.
What was meant by logos?
Logos is a word, a language. Later, logos began to be understood as thought, reason, a world law that stands even above the gods.
What ideas became fundamental in Greek philosophy?
Ideas of harmony and order that dominate nature and society.
What tasks did ancient Greek philosophers set for themselves?
Find “arche” - the fundamental principle of the world and the root cause of all phenomena. The second is to develop universal methods of thinking, not limited by anything external - primarily by faith and sensory experience.
Philosophy of Thales
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life around 624-547. BC. Thales was born and lived in the city of Miletus. A merchant, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and politician, he took part in government affairs, traveled a lot and applied his theoretical knowledge in practice: Thales built bridges and invented hydraulic clocks.
What is the main thing in the teachings of Thales?
Thales considered water to be the basis of all things. Everything starts with water and returns to it. The evaporation of water feeds the celestial lights - the sun and other celestial bodies, then in the rain the water returns and passes into the ground, etc. According to the thinker's ideas, water is eternal, endless moving matter.
For Thales, the goal of philosophical reflection is to find the fundamental principle of the world - “arche”.
Philosophy of Anaximander
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life: 610-546. BC. Anaximander was born in the city of Miletus, for which he received the nickname Miletus. He was a student and follower of Thales. The device is attributed to Anaximander sundial- gnomon. He was the first to draw up a geographical map. According to Anaximander, the earth is shaped like a cylinder and floats freely in the air, unsupported by anything. The eternal rotational movement of the earth is a source of heat and cold.
His scientific work “On Nature” has not reached our times.
What underlies the universe?
Trying to explain the origin of the world, Anaximander believed that the basis of the universe lies some abstract and boundless substance that cannot be defined. Anaximander called this substance “apeiron,” literally “limitless,” “endless.” Thanks to the apeiron movement, some things are born, others die.
How, according to Anaximander, did the world come into being?
Anaximander associated the emergence of the world with the struggle of opposites, primarily the struggle of heat and cold within the “apeiron”. According to Anaximander, the world in the process of its emergence went through three stages:
1. It emerged from the world embryo - “apeiron”.
2. There has been a separation and polarization of opposites.
3. The interaction and struggle between heat and cold gave rise to a formed world.
What ideas about the world did Anaximander have?
He taught that parts change, but the whole - the fundamental principle of the world - remains unchanged. For the first time in history, Anaximander suggested that the moon does not shine with its own light, it borrows it from the sun, and man is the result of evolution, which began with fish.
Philosophy of Anaximenes of Miletus
Curriculum Vitae
Anaximenes lived in 585-524. BC e. He was born in the city of Miletus and was a student of Anaximander. Anaximenes tried to determine the distance between the planets. His works have not survived to this day. We know about the philosophical concepts of Anaximenes only from the later writings of the ancient Greeks. A legend has been preserved that one day, while walking in a shady grove, Anaximenes talked with his student. “Tell me,” asked the young man, “why are you so often overcome by doubts? You have lived a long life, are wise by experience and learned from the great Hellenes. How is it that so many unclear questions remain for you?”
In thought, the philosopher drew two circles in front of him with his staff: a small one and a large one. “Your knowledge is a small circle, and mine is a large one. But everything that remains outside these circles is unknown. A small circle has little contact with the unknown. The wider the circle of your knowledge, the greater its border with the unknown. And from now on, the more new things you learn, the more questions you will have.”
What, according to Anaximenes, is the fundamental principle of the world?
Air. Air is infinite, but determined by its qualities. He is always in motion, which gives rise to a variety of things. Discharging, the air becomes fire, condensing, turns into wind, then into a cloud, becomes water, then earth, stones and other things. Anaximenes assumed that the living world comes from the non-living.
Philosophy of Democritus
Curriculum Vitae
Democritus was born around 470-460. BC. His father's rich inheritance gave him the opportunity to make a long journey, and he visited Babylon, Persia, Egypt, and spent many years in Athens.
It is known that Democritus wrote dozens of works covering almost all areas of knowledge of that time, but not a single work has survived to this day; now about 200 fragments are known from his works “Medical Science”, “On What After Death”, “ On the structure of nature”, “On mathematics”, “On rhythm and harmony”, etc. The date of death of Democritus is unknown.
What, according to Democritus, is the fundamental principle of the world?
The world is based on the smallest bodies - atoms. The atom is an "indivisible entity", the void allows this "indivisible entity" to move when a vortex arises. Atoms are indivisible and vary in shape: they are convex, concave, spherical, square, etc. Atoms differ in size from each other. The main property of atoms is movement, which is inherent in them by nature and exists in different forms- vortex, evaporation, chaotic movement.
How did the world emerge from the primordial atomic chaos?
The Universe is infinite, and the number of worlds in it is infinite. Worlds arise as a result of an atomic vortex, which generates a spherical mass. From this spherical mass something like a shell is separated, which in the form of the sky extends over the whole world. The sun burns due to the speed of its movement.
How do things come from atoms?
Colliding in motion, atoms “link” with each other and form things. Therefore, things came into being through the interaction of atoms. Things disappear when the atoms that form them move away from each other.
The movement of atoms is determined by mechanical causes and does not depend on the divine mind.
What view of man did Democritus argue for?
Man is a “small world” that has a soul. The human soul is a combination of fire-like atoms. Man arose naturally from inanimate nature - from warm mud - without the participation of a creator.
Can a person understand the world around him?
A person is able to understand the world around him through feelings and thoughts. Democritus distinguished two types of knowledge - sensual (dark) and rational (true). According to Democritus, subtle images “flow” from the surface of objects, which are captured by our senses, resulting in sensations. But such “dark” knowledge is not capable of giving knowledge to a person on its own. True knowledge occurs with the participation of the mind, which corrects, classifies and discovers what is not perceived by the senses.
Why are errors possible in the process of cognition?
Errors are possible because the atoms of the sense organ may be in disorder, or because the atoms on the way from the object to the sense organs, colliding with each other, deliver distorted information to the atoms of the sense organs.
How did Democritus view the problem of life and death?
Life and death of living organisms depend on the connection and separation of atoms. The human soul is mortal: when the body dies, the atoms of the soul leave it, dissipating in space.
What, according to Democritus, should be the purpose of human life?
Earthly happiness, which the scientist understood as the reasonable satisfaction of needs. This state can be achieved through education and training. Democritus noted that “education is an adornment in happiness and a refuge in misfortune.”
Philosophy of Pythagoras
Curriculum Vitae
Pythagoras supposedly lived in 571-497. BC. He was born on the island of Samos. Pythagoras is not a name, but a nickname, which means persuasive by speech, because Pythagoras expressed the truth as constantly as the Delphic oracle. Having left his homeland due to tyranny, he went to Egypt, where he studied for 22 years with Egyptian priests. When Egypt was captured by the Persians, Pythagoras was sent as a prisoner to the East, where he lived for 12 years and became acquainted with the teachings of the Babylonian priests. Returning to Greece, he founded the Pythagorean League in the city of Croton. Pythagoras died in the city of Metaponte.
Pythagoras is credited with only three works that have not survived to this day: “On Nature”, “On Education”, “On the State”.
How was the training at the Pythagorean Union?
The training was based on the following principle: the student is not a vessel that needs to be filled, but a torch that needs to be lit. The School did not try to attract students; on the contrary, Pythagoras usually advised to wait and come to the School in three years. If a person later returned, this confirmed his true desire to learn. After admission, a person was not yet considered a student and was called an “acousmatician,” that is, a listener. For five or seven years a person attended classes taught by senior students of Pythagoras. Philosophical reflections alternated with simple physical work. After many years of work on himself, the “acousmatic” became a real student. Now he bore the title of mathematician - “cognitive”. In classes taught by Pythagoras himself, mathematicians were given ideas about the general picture of the world, the structure of man and nature. The training of mathematicians also lasted for several years, and was also only preparation for choosing a “specialty”. Some began to study medicine, others the ability to take care of property. The highest level in the Pythagorean school was the training of politicians - people capable of governing based on the highest principles and laws of human society.
A conspiracy was hatched against the school, many Pythagoreans were killed, and the survivors were forced to flee.
What, according to Pythagoras, underlies the world?
Pythagoras believed that the world is based on mathematical relations. The cosmos is an ordered, harmonious whole, expressed in numbers. The circular motion of celestial bodies demonstrated that these bodies obey the laws of mathematics. Things disappear and mathematical concepts unchangeable. Number gives things proportionality and mystery. Both the world and the human soul ultimately have a quantitative dimension.
What did Pythagoras understand by the universe?
Pythagoras imagined the universe in the form of space, which, connecting with the endless “pneuma”, that is, “limitless breath”, gives birth to the world. Pythagoras was the first to call the Universe “cosmos” because it is inherent in order: in Greek “cosmos” means “order”, “integral structure”. The cosmos, according to the teachings of Pythagoras, “inhales pneuma” and gives birth to individual things.
What does knowledge of mathematics give a person?
Mathematics allows you to understand the world around you and take care of your soul. Caring for the soul presupposes an ascetic lifestyle and the acquisition of scientific knowledge. Human well-being lies in agreement with oneself.
How does a person’s true worldview emerge?
The true worldview, according to Pythagoras, rests on three foundations: morality, religion and knowledge. Pythagoras tried to subordinate the tasks of science to the interests of religion, which should coincide with morality.
Philosophy of Xenophanes
Curriculum Vitae
Xenophanes lived in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. He was born in the city of Colophon, from which he was expelled. He wandered for a long time. Xenophanes expressed his philosophical views in poetic form. Some excerpts from his poem “On Nature” have been preserved.
What is the basis philosophical teaching Xenophanes?
At the center of philosophical teaching is the idea of the unity of the world. The world for Xenophanes is not the creation of God, the world is not created, but is eternal and indestructible. The all-united world is eternal and motionless, but its parts are changeable, arise and are destroyed.
How did the Sun and Earth originate?
The sun and other luminaries emerged from the ignited clouds. Clouds arise from moist vapors, water is their source. The earth was originally covered with water and gradually became free of it.
Can a person understand the world?
It is possible to know the world, but one cannot limit oneself to sensory contemplation, since it does not allow one to know the essence of things. A person receives true knowledge only through the process of reflection.
Philosophy of Empedocles
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life: approx. 483-423 BC. Empedocles was born and lived in Sicily. In the ancient world, he was famous as a philosopher, poet, orator, doctor, active politician, and supporter of democracy. As a physician, Empedocles was the founder of the Italian medical school. Empedocles is credited with two philosophical poems: On Nature and Purification. Of these, about 450 lines have survived.
What, according to Empedocles, underlies the world?
Empedocles believed that the world is material, that its diversity comes down to four “roots.” He called the roots of things the elements that, mechanically combined, form all objects. These roots are earth, water, air and fire. The roots of things are eternal, unchanging and indivisible.
How is world development going?
Empedocles distinguished four periods in world development. At first there was a starting point with complete unity of elements. The second period is the emergence of individual things. In the third period, a complete separation of the elements occurs. Finally, in the fourth period, the elements are reconnected. Thus, the cyclical development of the universe occurs. The cosmogonic process consists of eternally repeating, eternally renewing four world periods.
What is a person?
Man and the external world consist of the same elements, subject and object are qualitatively homogeneous, as a result of which man is able to cognize the external world.
Cognition is possible through the senses. Recognizing the paramount importance of sensations for cognition, Empedocles came to the conclusion that it is necessary to check and regulate sensations with reason.
Philosophy of Socrates
Curriculum Vitae
Socrates lived in 470-399. BC. A man of humble birth and not rich, he never sought to improve his financial situation. His active philosophical activity unfolded in the period 450-400. BC. Due to circumstances, it was believed that he represented a danger to Athenian society. Socrates was tried and sentenced to death, which he accepted by drinking poison.
Socrates did not write anything; his teaching came to us thanks to other authors, mainly Plato, in whose dialogues Socrates plays a major role.
What new did Socrates introduce into ancient philosophy?
He first raised the question of what wisdom is in general. Socrates also sought to build a holistic doctrine of man.
Socrates developed a philosophical method based on questions and answers: by asking a series of questions, you expose your interlocutor to contradictions. Using this method, Socrates created a doctrine of man. In his teaching, he emphasized that we cannot explore human nature in the same way as we discover the nature of physical phenomena.
What, from Socrates' point of view, determines the value of human life?
A critical, testing, cognitive attitude towards life. “And without testing... life is not worth living for a person.”
What should a person care about first?
About your soul. “After all, all I do is go around and convince each of you, young and old, to take care earlier and more strongly not about your bodies or money, but about your soul, so that it is as good as possible...”
Caring for the soul means that a person must cultivate virtue and morally reasonable behavior. Socrates believed that the main ability of the soul is reason, which is opposed by passions coming from the body and provoked by the external world. Through reason you can achieve power over your passions.
A person understands the world and himself with the help of his soul. The life of the soul is self-knowledge, searching for answers to questions, understanding the world.
What did Socrates mean by reason?
A person's ability to think logically and reason. It is reason that is the source of self-control, which gives power over vital impulses. With the help of self-control, a person comes to power over himself.
What does power over oneself mean?
Such power means freedom. From the point of view of Socrates, the one who knows how to control passions is free. “Shouldn’t everyone be imbued with the conviction that abstinence is the basis of virtue, and first of all, store it in the soul? What slave of sensual pleasures would not bring both body and soul to a shameful state?”
What is the wisdom of man?
Wisdom consists of the ability to distinguish between good and bad, useful and harmful. From Socrates' point of view, a true hero is a sage who has defeated his internal enemies.
The main responsibility for reasonable person- avoid evil and strive for good.
What is good?
The desire for good, Socrates believed, should be the main desire of a person.
Goodness combines certain qualities. This:
1. Good health and bodily strength, because they contribute to a moral life.
2. Spiritual health, mental abilities.
3. Arts and sciences, because they are useful for a happy life.
4. Harmony between parents, children, brothers, because they were created for mutual assistance.
5. The civil community or the state, because if they are well-organized, they provide great benefits to the citizens.
How can a person achieve goodness?
Nurturing virtues.
Socrates identified three main virtues: self-control, courage, and justice. Taken together, they are nothing less than wisdom. Virtue is always knowledge, vice is always ignorance.
Plato's philosophy
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life: 427-347 BC. Born in Athens. An aristocrat named Aristocles, he was nicknamed Plato for his powerful figure. He was a student of Socrates, and the death of his teacher deeply shocked him. Plato set himself the task of revealing the principles on which a reasonable state policy can be built. He tried to put his political ideas into practice - in the city of Syracuse during the reign of Dionysius I (430-367 BC) and his son Dionysius II (367-344 BC). These attempts were a complete fiasco, and Plato miraculously managed to return to Athens. In 388, he founded his own school near Athens, calling it the Academy. Above the entrance to the Academy there was a saying: “No one should enter without knowledge of geometry.” About 30 dialogues, as well as a number of letters from Plato, have survived to this day.
What is Plato's ideal state?
In an ideal state, everything is built according to a clear plan that cannot be violated by any of the citizens. In such a state law and justice reign.
A just society is one in which everyone is engaged in the work that suits them best.
For creating ideal state power must be transferred to the hands of philosophers. To achieve this goal, a universal education system is needed in which every citizen can find a place suitable to his abilities.
What should the education system be like in an ideal state?
All children, regardless of background, have the same opportunities to learn. From 10 to 20 years, everyone receives the same education, after which the best students are selected to continue their education. The rest should become artisans, farmers and merchants. At the age of 30, a second selection is provided, and those who pass it study philosophy for another 5 years. Those who do not pass the second selection become warriors (guardians). Those who have completed all three stages must participate in the practical life of society for another 15 years, acquiring management skills. When they reach 50 years of age, they can become rulers.
Such an education system, according to Plato, made it possible to divide society into 3 classes not by origin, but by ability.
What did Plato see as the task of philosophy?
The task of philosophy, according to Plato, is to generalize accumulated ideas and create a new approach to understanding the world. You can understand the world with the help of your mind. The mind must recheck sense impressions. Plato noted: “He who approaches every thing by means of thought alone, without involving in the course of reflection either sight or any other sense, and without taking any of them as a companion with reason, he knows the truth.”
What underlies the existing world?
Plato believed that the basis of the world is “one thing that exists” - a certain animated “order” created by the demiurge, that is, the creator, out of “disorder.”
Plato believed that there also existed a world inaccessible to human senses: he placed the entire set of supersensible objects separately from visible world, to a special place - to the “celestial” region. Plato emphasized: “This area is colorless, without outlines, an intangible essence, truly existing, visible only to the helmsman of the soul - the mind, and the true kind of knowledge is directed towards it.”
The philosopher called this area of supersensible objects the world of ideas.
What did Plato understand by idea?
An idea is an ideal prototype of a thing. Each thing has its own perfect example. A thing is an imperfect copy of an idea, and an idea is an unattainable model to which a thing strives.
How did Plato envision the world of ideas?
Ideas can be more or less general, so the world of ideas is hierarchical organized system. There is a general idea that sits at the top of the hierarchy. This is the idea of good. It gives rise to all other ideas in all their multitude and diversity. First, five general ideas arise, generated by goodness. This is being, rest, movement, identity, difference. The ranks below are equality, inequality, similarity, dissimilarity. Another step lower in the hierarchical structure of the world of ideas are mathematical and geometric objects.
Why did Plato create his diagram of the world of ideas?
In order to explain the world accessible to the senses. In the sensory world, everything happens according to the same pattern as in the world of ideas, but in a coarser form. The world of ideas is the plan, the sensory world is the implementation of the plan.
When a person gets to know the world around him, his soul “remembers” what it saw in the world of ideas, where it lived before the person was born.
What did Plato consider to be man's highest moral duty?
Like Socrates, caring for the soul. Caring for the soul involves cleansing it from sensory attachment to the body. Leading a virtuous life, a person purifies his soul. For the concept of “purification of the soul” Plato introduced a special term - “catharsis”. In Plato’s interpretation, “catharsis” is achievable through rational-logical knowledge, and it consists in the fact that passions are enlightened by the light of the mind. That is why the main means of “catharsis” is science.
Why did Plato consider the body to be the root of all evil?
The body is the source of passions, which give rise to hostility, ignorance and disagreement. Evil can be defeated only through caring for the eternal soul.
Caring for the soul transforms a person and ultimately frees him from the sensory world.
Plato argued that the soul lives forever. It is capable of cognizing the immovable and eternal - the world of ideas - and therefore has the same nature as the ideal world. Otherwise, everything eternal would remain inaccessible to the soul.
Aristotle's philosophy
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life: 384-322. BC. Aristotle was born in Macedonia. At the age of 17-18 he came to Athens and became a student at Plato's Academy and stayed there for 20 years. After Plato's death, he made several trips and for more than 3 years was the mentor of Alexander, who later became known as Alexander the Great. After Alexander came to power, he moved to Athens and founded it in 335 BC. own school - Lyceum. Aristotle's school also had another name - peripatetic, because learning took place during walks: “peri” means “around”, the verb “patein” means “to walk”. In the mornings, Aristotle conducted classes in a close circle of his closest students (acroamatic lectures), and in the afternoon he gave public (exoteric) lectures. In 62, Aristotle was forced to move to the city of Chalkis on Euboea, where he soon died.
Why is Aristotle considered an encyclopedist?
His works presented knowledge in all branches of science of that time. The most famous of those that have survived to this day: “Physics”, “On Heaven”, “On the Soul”, “Politics”, “Rhetoric”, “Poetics”, “History of Animals”, “On the Origin of Animals”.
What are the specifics of the Aristotelian type of philosophizing?
Aristotle affirmed the principle of the historical approach, according to which, before expressing one’s own opinion, one should carefully study what predecessors expressed on a given subject and only then challenge anything known or add something new. He strove to be systematic and methodical. Only gradual movement along the steps of knowledge will allow the truth to be discovered. Aristotle, in contrast to Plato, believed that for knowledge it is necessary to highlight the common features of things. Cognition is a continuous detailing, in the process of which we discover the laws of the formation of things.
What classification of sciences did Aristotle propose?
Aristotle divided the sciences that existed in Ancient Greece into three groups:
1. Theoretical, or “speculative” - philosophy, mathematics, physics.
2. Practical, or “reasonable” - ethics and politics.
3. Creative, or “productive” - arts, crafts.
Aristotle believed that the main sciences are creative: relying on them, a person can move towards more general, theoretical knowledge.
How, according to Aristotle, did the world come into being?
The world arose and began to develop thanks to the “prime mover” - the divine “Nus”. “Nous” is the Greek word for “mind.” “Nus” is the pinnacle of the entire universe. It contains the plan of the world and comprehends the world, increasing its completeness and richness. The activity of “Nusa” is life in all its manifestations. He is the “prime mover” of the world, and everything that moves is contained in him.
What is the relationship between the real world and Nous?
The world is directed towards “Nus” as an unattainable perfection.
What did Aristotle think about Plato's world of ideas?
Aristotle believed that there is no separately existing world of ideas. An idea cannot exist separately from a thing: the idea of a thing is in it itself, without an idea it is impossible to understand what a given thing is.
Aristotle replaced the immobility of Platonic ideas with the activity of the Mind: in his teaching, “Nus” not only contains the plan of the world, but also thinks of it. By comprehending ideas, Nus improves them.
Why do things exist?
Aristotle taught that every thing exists due to form and matter. All things have form, in addition, they are created from matter. If you take away from matter the appearance that constitutes its form, it turns into non-existence. In reality, only formed matter exists. Aristotle identified four principles of the existence of every thing as an organism: matter, form, efficient cause, purpose.
How does a person understand the world?
Initial cognition is based on sensory experience. Then a person must, relying on reason, make the transition from knowledge of the individual to knowledge of the general. This allows you to gain true knowledge.
To understand the phenomena of the surrounding world, you need to know the reasons that made the world what it is.
What did Aristotle say about the soul?
Animated beings have a soul.
Life involves a choice of functions, therefore, the soul must have parts responsible for performing certain functions. Aristotle divided the fundamental functions of life into three groups:
1. Vegetative functions - birth, nutrition, growth.
2. Sensory-motor functions - sensations and movements.
3. Mental functions - cognition, self-determination, choice.
Based on this, Aristotle divided the soul into three parts: the vegetative soul, the sensory soul and the rational soul.
The vegetative and sensual souls are initially present in man, the rational soul comes from the “Nus”. It has a supercorporeal and supersensible nature; it is the divine part in man.
What did Aristotle consider the highest human virtue?
Justice. Justice is associated with reasonable measures in all matters. A person must find a middle path between extremes.
Judgment and wisdom are required to determine a reasonable measure. Prudence determines what is good and what is harmful, which habits are useful and which are harmful. With the help of wisdom one can know the ultimate reality.
Philosophy of Epicurus
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life: 341-270 BC. Epicurus was born on the island of Samos. At the age of 14 he began studying science and philosophy. He lived in Athens, then in different cities of Asia Minor, where he became acquainted with the teachings of Democritus. At the age of thirty, Epicurus began teaching philosophy. In 307 BC. he returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Garden of Epicurus. The inscription on the gate above the entrance to the “Garden of Epicurus” read: “Wanderer, here you will feel good, here the highest good is pleasure.” Everyone could visit the Garden, including women and slaves. The works of Epicurus have not reached us. Only three of his letters have survived, in which the main provisions of his teaching are concisely stated.
What, according to Epicurus, is the purpose of philosophy?
The purpose of philosophy is for man to achieve happiness. In order to be happy, a person must understand the laws of nature. Epicurus wrote that “without natural science it is impossible to acquire unalloyed pleasures.”
Philosophy in the understanding of Epicurus is a practical activity that is aimed at creating a happy life for a person.
What is happiness?
Happiness is the absence of suffering. Happiness is possible only when you live wisely, morally and fairly. Happiness is a state of wisdom and equanimity of spirit.
What is freedom?
Epicurus believed that the most important thing for a person is freedom; it is this that gives the opportunity to be happy. Freedom consists in the fact that a person makes his own choice. Gods should not interfere in people's lives.
How was it supposed to ensure happiness for every person?
Life must have the right balance between pleasure and pain. To do this, a person must calculate his actions. According to Epicurus, it is wiser to refuse short-term pleasure, which may be followed by long-term suffering. The beginning of the greatest good is prudence.
What pleasures should a person strive for?
Only to the reasonable ones. Epicurus believed that reasonable pleasures were literature, science and friendship between people. Only spiritual pleasures and benefits can be truly long-lasting and lasting: knowledge, friendship. The highest form of bliss is spiritual peace, equanimity. Wisdom and happiness lie in the fact that a person achieves independence and peace of mind and avoids everything that brings him displeasure.
What role should social laws play?
The laws that exist in society must regulate the receipt of pleasure. Compliance with laws requires fear of punishment.
What is the soul?
Soul is the finest body, scattered throughout the human body.
How did our world come into being?
The world has always been, in principle, the way it is now. The universe consists of bodies and emptiness. Bodies consist of indivisible and unchanging atoms. The world itself is limitless and endless. The cosmos as a whole and all the diversity of phenomena exist thanks to mechanical movement primary material particles-atoms in empty space.
Atoms are eternal, indestructible, unchanging and indivisible, they are in continuous motion.
Philosophy of Ancient Rome
What were the main questions in the system of ancient Roman philosophy?
The philosophers of Ancient Rome, as well as Greece, were interested in questions about the origin and development of the world and man. Unlike Ancient Greece, in Ancient Rome philosophers paid a lot of attention to legal problems.
The most famous ancient Roman philosophers were Lucretius, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Cicero and Plotinus.
Philosophy of Titus Lucretius Cara
Curriculum Vitae
Years of life: 95-51 BC. (according to other sources - 99-55). Little is known about the life of Lucretius. Almost 500 years after his death, the Christian theologian Eugenius Jerome wrote in his Chronology about 95 BC that the poet Lucretius was born in this year, who committed suicide at the age of 44.
Titus Lucretius was a supporter of atomism. His main work is the philosophical poem “On the Nature of Things.”
What was Lucretius's goal when he wrote his poem?
He wanted to describe nature as it really is, and thereby drive out fear and superstition from the human soul. Lucretius sought to build a worldview based on nature itself and its laws.
What did Lucretius say about man?
Man is a part of the world, not its goal and master. He is entirely subject to the laws of nature and cannot surpass them. The main value of a person is his mind.
How can a person understand the world?
Attaching great importance to the senses, Lucretius saw their limitations. This incompleteness of sensory knowledge must be filled by thought. Thought is limitless, like the Universe. The free soaring of the mind, which does not break with common sense and sensory perceptions, gives a person true knowledge about the world.
What is the fundamental principle of the world?
Indivisible principles (atoms), which are eternal and unchanging. They are invisible, but nevertheless corporeal. The beginnings differ from each other in shape, movements, and spaces between each other. They form various combinations- things.
How did life originate on Earth?
The living, sensual, according to Kara, is born from the inanimate due to the combination and movement of primary bodies (atoms).
What did Lucretius write about death?
Death is not the transition of being into non-existence, but the disintegration into its original principles, as a result of which the living becomes inanimate. Death and life are inseparable.
Philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Curriculum Vitae
Seneca lived in 6-65. AD He was born into an aristocratic family and received a varied education. At the insistence of his father, Seneca became a lawyer and in this capacity acquired great fame. For his sympathy with republican ideas, Seneca was expelled from Rome to Corsica. After an eight-year exile, he returned to Rome, received the position of praetor and became the tutor of twelve-year-old Nero. In 57, Seneca received the post of consul - the highest in the Roman Empire. In 65 he was accused of conspiracy and sentenced to death. He died by committing suicide.
Seneca's largest works are “Letters to Lucilius”, “On Anger”, “On Mercy”. He outlined his views on nature in his work “Natural Historical Questions.”
What image of the world was created in the teachings of Seneca?
The world is a cycle of animate matter. In the general cycle, everything is subject to strict necessity, and everything repeats itself after a certain time. Material world- the body of the Mind-god, and God is the source of life. Everything happens with inevitability; an inexorable fate dominates the world.
What did Seneca understand by fate?
Fate is not a blind cosmic force, it has intelligence and consciousness. Seneca characterizes fate as something all-good, wise and omnipresent. There are pieces of destiny in every person. Fate is the deity that dominates all things and events. Nothing can change it. “Fates lead those who want, and drag those who do not want.”
What is a person's happiness?
Man's happiness lies in living according to nature and adhering to the reasonable necessity that is inherent in nature. Happy man one who knows how to voluntarily submit to life’s adversities. Happiness, according to Seneca, is within a person, and not outside of him.
What did Seneca see as human virtue?
Virtue is to obey fate. A moral, virtuous person is one who obeys fate. Seneca considered any misfortune only a reason for a person to improve in virtue.
What is the purpose of life?
The main goal in life is to develop absolute equanimity of spirit. To do this, you need to overcome the feeling of fear of death. Death is rest and peace because it frees us from suffering. Death is not a punishment, it is the lot of all people and is fair before the law of nature.
What are the duties of a person?
The first duty is not to harm members of society, since all people are parts of a single body. A person has a responsibility to care for others and show them love and compassion.
How to resist existing evil?
Through self-restraint and moderation. Seneca wrote: “We cannot change world relations. We can only do one thing: to acquire high courage worthy of a virtuous person, and with its help to steadfastly endure everything that fate brings us.”
Philosophy of Plotinus
Curriculum Vitae
Plotinus lived approximately 203-269. AD He was born in Egypt, which was at that time a Roman province. Plotinus became interested in philosophy. He spent 11 years studying with Ammonius Sakkaasu, then joined the army of the Roman Emperor Gordian III in order to get to Persia and get acquainted with the worldview of the Persians. The army was defeated, Plotinus fled to Rome, where he founded his school. After the death of Plotinus, 54 works remained, which were bequeathed to his student Porfiry. Porfiry did not preserve the chronological order of the manuscripts; he distributed them thematically into six topics and gave them titles. There were 9 essays in each topic. So it turned out six nines - “ennad”. This is where the name of Plotinus's works as a whole came from - "Ennadas".
What concept is central to Plotinus' philosophy?
The concept of the One. The One is the supreme principle of everything that exists, it is the highest divine essence. The One cannot be limited or closed in on itself. Excess of fullness leads to the fact that the One “flows out”, goes beyond the boundaries of itself and thus gives birth to the world.
How does the world work?
The world is a creation of the One, the highest essence.
The world includes the One, the Mind, the World Soul and the Cosmos.
Mind is supracosmic consciousness, the ideal semantic structure of the Cosmos. The World Soul is an ever-moving, dynamic principle that serves as a source of eternal activity for the world as a whole and for each element separately. Cosmos is the concrete embodiment and implementation of the World Soul and Mind.
How did nature come into being?
Nature arose from matter, into which the divine principle penetrated. Comparing this principle with light, Plotinus likened matter to darkness: the world is formed from matter due to the fact that light emitted by the divine One penetrated into it.
What did Plotinus understand by matter?
Matter is the result of the extinction of light. Where the glow of the One fades away, where darkness closes in, matter arises. For Plotinus, all the evil of the world is contained in matter. Unlike the One, matter is cognizable by man.
What, according to Plotinus, is a person?
Man consists of three parts: the intelligible soul, which is closest to the deity, the sensory soul and, finally, the body.
What is the purpose of human life?
The goal is to achieve ecstasy in which merging with the deity occurs. Ecstasy is achievable with the help of catharsis, that is, cleansing from the bodily and base. Having purified itself, the soul can free itself from the body and merge with the One. Thus, the One is accessible to man.
ANAXIMANDER (Αναξ?μανδρος) from Miletus (about 610 - after 546 BC), ancient Greek philosopher, representative of the Milesian school. Student of Thales. Around 546, he published the first scientific and philosophical work of the Greeks, the treatise “On Nature” (only fragments and paraphrases have survived), which marked the beginning of Ionian natural history or “physiology” and stood at the origins of European physics, geography, astronomy, geology, meteorology and biology. In this treatise, Anaximander gave a general history of the cosmos from the moment of its emergence from prime matter to the origin of living beings and humans, and also for the first time proposed a geometrized geocentric model of the world, which dominated astronomy throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages until N. Copernicus. If in folk and poetic ideas the Earth “grows” with roots from the underworld, and in Thales’s cosmology it “floats” on the world’s oceans, then in Anaximander’s cosmology it “hangs” in a boundless abyss and occupies only a small part of the Universe. The book of Anaximander is the first text in the history of mankind in which the origin and structure of the world are considered not mythologically or in the context of religious ritual, but strictly rationally and evolutionarily - by the method of natural analogies and reconstruction of past (“invisible”) states based on relic facts accessible to the empirical observation.
According to Anaximander, the Universe is infinite in all directions and filled with gaseous matter, devoid of visible qualitative differences and in constant motion, inherent in it immanently. Later authors describe this primordial matter either as “limitless” (apeiron), or as an “intermediate substance” (for example, average between fire and air), or as a “mixture” of countless simple substances. In Anaximander’s cosmogony, a spontaneously arising “vortex” causes the division of an ideal mixture into the physical opposites of hot and cold, wet and dry, etc. Solid and cold particles, having gathered in the center of the vortex, formed the Earth, light and hot particles were pushed to the periphery (sky and stars). The neutral state was replaced by the polarization of hostile cosmic elements, the confrontation of which created a dismembered visible cosmos. Cold impenetrable air (aer) enveloped the fire and locked it into three giant rotating “wheels”, leaving the fire with an exhaust “vent”; people call these vents the Sun, the Moon and the stars. The fire of the Sun, “feeding” on moisture, evaporated most of the primordial ocean (as evidenced by the shells and fossils of fish found in the depths of the continent); in the future, left without “food”, it will go out, the heavenly wheels will stop and the remains of our world, like a corpse, will decompose in “boundless nature”. There are an infinite number of such worlds, in various stages of birth and death. With this process in mind, Anaximander gave the first formulation of the law of conservation of matter: “From whatever principles things arise, at the same time they are destined to perish, for they give fair compensation for damage in set time"(fragment B 1). All individual things (including worlds) exist “on loan” and die at a predetermined time, returning the borrowed elements to “limitless nature,” which alone remains “ageless” and “eternal.”
Anaximander's first theory of the natural origin of life contained evolutionary insights that were ahead of its time: the first living creatures arose at the bottom of the sea and were covered with spiny skin (probably a hypothesis based on the observation of fossils of extinct echinoderms). Since the human baby is helpless and cannot survive without its parents, the first people must have been born in animals of a different species - some fish-like creatures that fed them. The geographical map accompanying the treatise “On Nature” marked the beginning of ancient cartography. Anaximander is also credited with the invention of astronomical instruments - the gnomon, the celestial globe, and the sundial.
Source: Fragments of early Greek philosophers / Ed. A. V. Lebedev. M., 1989. Part 1 Lit.: Kahn Ch. Anaximander and the origins of Greek cosmology. N. Y., 1960.
