Philosophy:
Definition:
The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the Greek roots philo- meaning "love" and -sophos, or "wisdom."
Where to begin?
I decided to begin by attempting to find the start of philosophy. When did people begin thinking about ways of thinking? I am curious if I can locate the point in history when it became a theme that was beginning to grow - with people exploring different possibilities. If I can find any context behind their ideas and why they began thinking about such broad, large questions during their time period - it may assist me in understanding their pathway to the subject.
Which start ?
Ancient Greek Philosophers
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Thales of Miletus (~624 - 548 BC)
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Socrates (470 - 399 BC)
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Plato (428 - 348 BC)
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Aristotle (384 - 322 BC)
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Eastern Philosophers
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Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650)
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Conficius (551 - 479 BC)
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Lao Zi (571 - ? BC)
There are many options for "starting points". I think I will continue from Ancient Greece as in many sources it has been stated that "Socrates is the father of western philosophy". As I reside in the UK, it makes sense to learn a bit more about western philosophy before looking into the East. Additionally, starting with Ancient Greeks would prove to be more chronologically accurate - starting with Thales of Miletus.
During my research, I quickly noticed that It would be difficult to find factual primary source accounts from the time. Additionally, looking into the context of the time which the Ancient Greeks contributed to the field of Philosophy would not lead me to any more knowledge surrounding their idea developments. Most information regarding the earlier philosophers was passed through quotations of Aristotle (the latter of the 4 who are considered the most influential). So I continued to try and traverse the lineal progression of knowledge from Thales, whilst understanding the definitions of new developments.
Facts I have learned:
Here is a summarized timeline of the main philosophers and their contributions throughout Ancient Greece.
* It must be noted that during Ancient Greece, there were many individuals who can be considered as philosophers, however the list below only includes the main figures who have been noted to be the most influential.*
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Thanes (6th Century) believed that the Earth was flat, floated on water and everything was made out of water.
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Thanes was the "founder of natural philosophy" - words of Aristotle.
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After Thanes, there was Socrates.
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Socrates was a moral philosopher (5th Century - during the Golden age of Pericles' Athens) who is regarded as the "Father of Western philosophy".
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Plato (429 - 347 BC)
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Plato is known for starting Platonism.
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Platonism believes in the existence of abstract object, "which are asserted to exist in a third real distinct form both the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness".
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Aristotle (384 - 322 BC)
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Aristotle was a student of Plato and begun his own school of Aristotelianism.
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Zeno of Citium (334 BC - 262)
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Zeno was the creator of Stoicism.
Metaphysics considers the physical universe and the nature of ultimate reality. It questions the origin of the world, what is real and what is "beyond the stars?".
Epistemology considers how people come to learn what they know. Epistemology refers to nature and origin of knowledge.
Whilst looking into Ancient Greek Philosophy, I discovered that philosophies are not all linear developments of one another and that they are not all considered of the same kind. There are categories that different philosophies lie within.
Axiology looks at the study of principles and values. These values are categorized in 2 sets, ethics and aesthetics. Ethics questions morals and personal values, whereas aesthetics focuses on what is beautiful/enjoyable. Axiology can often times be used to talk about the quality of life also.
Logic is all about thinking in a structurally sound manner. There are 2 types of reasoning : deductive and inductive. Inductive involves taking specific examples and considering the rules that caused them. Deductive reasoning looks at a general case, deducing a set of rules which are then applied to a specific case.
Different sources have stated different values for "the main branches of philosophy" (ranging between 3 - 10).
However, the following 4 are mentioned on all sources:
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Metaphysics
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Epistemology
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Axiology
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Logic
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Philosophies have many different categories that they can be broken down into further. This is due to the specific contexts they can be studied or applied in. All the ancient Greek philosophers specialized in some academic subject (Pythagoras- mathematics, Thales-biology, etc...)
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I attempted to find some clear diagrams that would show chronological progression from each philosopher. Lots of the philosophers had overlap and would take inspiration from one another in order to develop their own ideologies and philosophies. The timeline above is much clearer than the bottom one. It categorizes everyone with their relative time periods well using colours. However, does not provide any information on their philosophy. The bottom one, in showing the philosophies related to the Ancient Greek figures, has resulted in a very complex and congested diagram (that is hard to read).
For the purpose of assisting my understanding and providing a clear visual diagram for my presentation, I created a small "drawing" of how philosophies related to one another.
Platonism
Nominalism
Epicureanism
Neoplatonism
Stoicism
Perennialism
Hedonism
Skepticism
Aristotelianism
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Platonism was introduced by Plato.
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Neoplatonism was inaugurated by Plotinus (AD 204/5 -270)
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Perennialism has roots in the Renaissance (where Marsilio Ficino 1433-1499 and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola 1463-94 ; suggested there could be truths in many religions/traditions rather than just two).
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Epicureanism used to be the opposite of Platonism, until Nominalism was introduced.
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Epicureanism is a type of Hedonism.
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Epicureanism is the opposite of Stoicism.
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Aristotelianism was formed by Aristotle and can be argued to the opposite of Skepticism.
Philosophies:
*I came across Perennialism when I was looking into a modern philosopher by the name of Alan Watts. His speeches interested me and so I looked into the school he was part of - which happened to be "Perennialism"*
Platonism – Plato (428 BC – 348 BC)
“Platonism at least affirms the existence of abstract objects, which are asserted to exist in a third realm distinct from both the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness and is the opposite of nominalism. This can apply to properties, types, propositions, meanings, numbers, sets, truth values, and so on (see abstract object theory).”
Nominalism – William Ockham (1050 – 1125) [Born Surrey – Studied in Oxford]
Abstract objects do not exist other than being merely names or labels.
There is no “universal” but some will accept there area resemblance universals (that are necessary).
"there is nothing general except names”.
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Neoplatonism – Plotinus (3rd Century AD)
Platonism fused with oriental mysticism (angels, demons, gods)
Inspired by Persian and Indian philosophy (product of his extensive travels and Egyptian theology).
Perennialism – Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499)
Is a perspective in philosophy and spirituality that views all of the world’s religious traditions as sharing a single, metaphysical truth or origin (from which all knowledge has grown).
“The idea of One, from which all existence emanates.”
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Hedonism – Aristippus of Cyrene (fourth century BCE.)
Comes from the Greek “pleasure”
Hedonism claims that only pleasure or pain motivates us.
Sources:
Dr Andreas Matthias (2021). Who is the Father (or Mother) of Philosophy? [online] daily-philosophy.com. Available at: https://daily-philosophy.com/who-is-the-father-of-philosophy/.
Ehrlich, C., Dybkaer, R. and Wöger, W. (2007). Evolution of Philosophy and Description of Measurement (Preliminary Rationale for VIM3). NCSLI Measure, 2(1), pp.30–43. doi:10.1080/19315775.2007.11721356.
Haffer, J. (2007). Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-71779-9.
Lynch, M. (2016). What You Need to Know as an Educator: Understanding the 4 Main Branches of Philosophy - The Edvocate. [online] The Edvocate. Available at: https://www.theedadvocate.org/need-know-education-understanding-4-main-branches-philosophy/.
Mohaghegh, M. (2005). Evolution of Structures Design Philosophy and Criteria. Journal of Aircraft, [online] 42(4), pp.814–831. doi:10.2514/1.11717.
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Plato. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_philosophy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law#Aristotle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotelianism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes_of_Miletus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Western_philosophers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_philosophy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristippus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_philosophy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno_of_Citium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionian_School_(philosophy)