Greek philosophy

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The philosophy has a history of over two thousand and five hundred years. It was in ancient Greece that science arose and took the first proportions. Though living in different cities and nations competing among themselves, the Greeks succeeded in developing a unique community of language, religion and culture, which was responsible for major advancement of science in ancient times. The Greek genius was responsible for advancing various areas of knowledge such as arts, literature, music and philosophy.

Greek philosophy can be divided into three phases: pre-Socratic, Socratic and Hellenistic. In the pre-Socratic philosophy was used to explain the origin of the world and things around. The pre-Socratics sought a principle that should be present in every moment of existence of everything. The major philosophers of this phase were: Thales of Miletus, Heraclitus, Anaximander, Xenophanes and Parmenides.

The Socratic period was characterized by change in relation to the subject matter of philosophy, from metaphysics to the man himself. This anthropological occurred through the three major Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

The Helenistic period extends from the end of the third century BC to the II century AD. This phase was marked by the association of the Cristian view of philosophy, starting to believe in more individual than collective solutions. Amoung the philosophers of this period, we can mention: Marcus aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Lucan, Pyrrho of Elis, Antithenes, Diogenes of Sinope, etc.