Ancient philosophy

Definition [ˌdɛfɪˈnɪʃən]

'Ancient [ˈeɪnʃ(ə)nt] philosophy' is the conventional [kənˈvɛnʃənl] title [ˈtaɪtl], in Europe [ˈjʊərəp] and the English-speaking academy [əˈkædəmi], for the philosophical activities [ækˈtɪvɪtiz] of the thinkers of the Greece-Roman [griːs]-[ˈrəʊmən] world.

The time-span of Ancient philosophy

It includes a succession [səkˈsɛʃən] of philosophers who operated over a 1,000-year period from the middle [ˈmɪdl] of the first millennium [mɪˈlɛnɪəm] BC to the middle of the first millennium AD—from Thales [ˈθeɪliːz] and the earliest Pre-Socratics to late Neoplatonists and Aristotelian [ˌærɪstɒˈtiːljən] commentators [ˈkɒmɛnteɪtəz], such as Simplicius [sɪmˈplɪʃiəs]. Later thinkers in Europe [ˈjʊərəp] (e.g. Scotus Eriugena [ˈskoʊtəs] [ɪˈrɪdʒənə]) are normally assigned to the category [ˈkætɪgəri] 'medieval' [ˌmɛdɪˈiːvəl], as are Arabic [ˈærəbɪk] philosophers such as Avicenna [ˌævᵻˈsɛnə]. Contemporary philosophers from other cultures (e.g. Confucius [kənˈfjuːʃəs], Buddha [ˈbʊdə]) are also not included.

Periods [ˈpɪərɪədz] of Ancient philosophy

Traditionally ancient philosophy is divided into four main periods: the Pre-Socratic philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, the post-Aristotelian philosophers. Recently there has been a tendency to divide the last by adding a fifth phase [feɪz] of Christian [ˈkrɪstjən] and Neo-platonist [ˈniːəʊ] philosophers.

Pre-Socratic philosophers

“Pre-Socratic” is the term commonly used to cover those Greek thinkers from approximately [əˈprɒksɪmɪtli] 600 to 400 BCE who attempted to find universal [ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəl] principles [ˈprɪnsəplz] that would explain the whole of nature, from the origin and ultimate [ˈʌltɪmɪt] constituents [kənˈstɪtjʊənts] of the universe [ˈjuːnɪvɜːs] to the place of man within it. Pre-Socratic philosophy includes the Milesian [maɪˈliːzjən] school (Thales, Anaximander [əˌnæksᵻˈmændər], Anaximenes [ˌænækˈsɪməˌniːz]), the Pythagoreans [paɪˌθægəˈri(ː)ənz] (Pythagoras [paɪˈθæɡərəs] and his pupils), Heraclitus [ˌhɛrəˈklaɪtəs], Eleatic school (Parmenides of Elea [pɑːrˈmɛnᵻdiːz əv ˈɛliə] and others), the pluralists (Empedocles [ɛmˈpɛdəkliːz] & Anaxagoras [ˌænækˈsæɡərəs]), the atomists (Leucippus [luːˈsɪpəs] & Democritus [dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs]) and others.

Socrates [ˈsɒkrəˌtiːz]

One of the most fertile [ˈfɜːtaɪl] fields of ancient philosophy was ethics. Here a central figure [ˈfɪgə] is Socrates, whose intellectually profound and persistent [pəˈsɪstənt] interest in the nature of the good life led him to penetrating [ˈpɛnɪtreɪtɪŋ] comment on human knowledge and rationality. The constructive [kənˈstrʌktɪv] scepticism [ˈskɛptɪsɪzm] of Socrates has been a major determinant [dɪˈtɜːmɪnənt] of subsequent [ˈsʌbsɪkwənt] philosophical method.

Plato [ˈpleɪtəʊ]

Pupil [ˈpjuːpl] of Socrates, founder of Academy, teacher of Aristotle. Contributed [kənˈtrɪbju(ː)tɪd] to all the main branches [ˈbrɑːnʧɪz] of philosophy, notably [ˈnəʊtəbli] with his theory of ‘forms’ or ‘ideas’. Wrote some thirty-four dialogues (Timaeus [taɪˈmiːəs], Phaedo [ˈfiːdoʊ], Phaedrus [ˈfiːdrəs], Republic, Gorgias, [ˈɡɔːrɡiæs] etc), which all survive.

Aristotle [ˈærɪˌstɒt(ə)l]

Aristotle founded Lyceum [laɪˈsɪəm] in Athens [ˈæθɪnz].

His interests were encyclopaedic [ɛnˌsaɪkləʊˈpiːdɪk], and he contributed to most of the main branches of philosophy and natural science, as well as initiating [ɪˈnɪʃɪeɪtɪŋ] the systematic [ˌsɪstɪˈmætɪk] study of logic. His major works of current interest included the Organon [ˈɔːɡ(ə)nɒn] (set of treatises mainly on logic), Metaphysics, Physics, On the Soul, Nicomachean [ˌnɪkoʊˈmækiən] Ethics, Politics and Poetics [pəʊˈɛtɪks].

The post-Aristotelian philosophers

These [ðiːz] are the hellenistic [ˌhɛləˈnɪstɪk] and roman [ˈrəʊmən] periods. After the death of Aristotle, ancient philosophy became increasingly diverse [daɪˈvɜːs]. While the Platonist and Aristotelian schools continued [kənˈtɪnju(ː)d], the Epicureans [ˌɛpɪkjʊəˈri(ː)ənz] and the Stoics [ˈstəʊɪks] and other philosophers developed new approaches to many issues.

Key themes of Ancient philosophy

The key [kiː] themes [θiːmz] of ancient philosophy are these: the ontological specification [ˌspɛsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən] of non-perceptible [pəˈsɛptəbl] items ['aitəmz] (e.g. numbers, gods, universal kinds); the analysis [əˈnæləsɪs] and evaluation [ɪˌvæljʊˈeɪʃən] of patterns [ˈpætənz] of reasoning [ˈriːznɪŋ] and argument; the importance of understanding in the pursuit [pəˈsjuːt] of the good life; the need to analyse [ˈænəlaɪz] the nature of the human person; the importance of the concept of justice [ˈʤʌstɪs] in defining the nature of a political system; and many more.

SOURCES

Encyclopedia of Philosophy. In 10 vol./ed. by D. Borchert. Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2006.

Lacey, A.R. A dictionary of philosophy. London: Routledge, 1996.

Oxford Companion to Philosophy / ed. by T. Honderich. Oxford University Press, 1995.