Philosophers of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece offers a plethora of great thinkers all of whom contributed greatly to understanding the mysteries of natural and unnatural phenomena. From the Pre-Socratic era to the Classical Age of thought, we come across various schools that painstakingly define the workings of the mind, soul, matter and the whole universe. This paper aims to outline the philosophical beliefs of the spearheads of Greek thought and compare their notions in a manner that shows the evolution of rational reason.
Greek thinkers of the pre-Socratic era, were the undoubtedly the first of many thinkers who delved into the mystics of nature and deemed it necessary to think along the lines of life and how it ought to be led. They presented a new rational line of thought whereby a lot of veneration was given to the intricate workings of the universe. These philosophers are singlehandedly responsible for kick starting the Western movement and changing the face of rational thought forever more. From scientific discoveries to sociological advances, these philosophers can be credited for probing into matters that their predecessors never thought about. To this day their contributions to philosophy, politics, biology, metaphysics and arts have helped many successors view the world through an insightful lens. These intellectual pioneers were dedicated to the cause of combining qualitative as well as quantitative analysis to present to us basic information that we take for granted today.
As far as Ancient Greek philosophy is concerned, it all started with the pressing need to unravel the secrets of nature. The original philosophers of this enlightened era that we commonly refer to as the pre-Socratic era scrutinized the workings of the planetary system as well as the basic nature of life. They were then succeeded by Pythagoras whose ideas were more abstract. He emphasized upon the significance of the soul and its development. His mystical opinions were then extended by Heraclitus, whose work covered many metaphysical schools of thought regarding evolution. After this era, came the Eleatic powerhouse Parmenides, who propagated the belief of utmost singularity in all forms of existence; and these ideas, were then reinforced by Zeno as well. According to many contemporary philosophers, this particular school of thought was the primary opposition to pre-Socratic ideology. This epoch was soon followed by the works of Democritus, whose discoveries revolved around the atomic nature of matter. The coming period recognized the efforts of the Sophists, whose main area of focus had by now deviated from unraveling the natural mysteries. The Sophists transcended from their predecessors' schools of thought and dived into sociological perspectives instead. (Baldwin 1902) All in all, we can clearly see how tireless the efforts of these intellectual giants have been and how much they have shaped our modern lives. This paper is based on the basic ideologies of Greek philosophy and the many contenders that made it happen.
We begin the journey along the development of Western philosophy by first establishing that in the time, the driving force behind all this philosophical upheaval was a need to understand the essential elements of the external world. The principles associated with pure sciences were being rampantly discovered and the mere existence of matter was enough to stimulate these great minds. In such a period, the philosophical relay was initiated by Thales (624-546 BC), who by many is regarded as the father of Greek philosophy. (Seyffert 1894) It was a time whereby the Greek civilization flourished and city states strengthened in terms of government and economy. After much progress and prosperity, these city states began to crumble under the weight of corruption and utilitarianism. Thales stepped in the cataclysm to fill the void created by a readily evolving Greece. He first studied the principles of geometry, and during the time acquired unmatched mathematical skills. His empirical capacity stretched to amazing lengths: he could calculate navigational distances, predict the height of a pyramid and even forecast a solar eclipse. (Bielaczyc and Collins 2006). His life was marred by much destitution but the sharpness of his mind never once wavered.
In terms of his philosophical school of thought, Thales is particularly known for claiming that all things are constituted of water. As such Thales can be applauded for presenting the foremost conjecture as to the constitution of matter. His study went deeper than any of his contemporaries because he proposed the quintessential idea of existence and hence ended up explaining all of natural phenomena. He is equally renowned for proposing the theory of the right...
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