AN OVERVIEW OF THE ANCIENT PHILOSOPHIES
A. Platonism
Platonism is Plato's philosophy or the name of other philosophical systems that are considered
closely derived from it.
Platonism, therefore, is the philosophy of Plato and his followers, especially the doctrine that
physical objects are imperfect and impermanent representations of unchanging ideas, and that
knowledge is the mental apprehension of these ideas or universals.
Hence, Platonism's primary concept is the Theory of Forms. Concisely, this enfolds that the
only true being is founded upon the forms, the eternal, unchangeable, perfect types, of which
particular objects of sense are imperfect copies. The multitudes of objects of sense, being
involved in perpetual change, are thereby deprived of all genuine existence.
Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Neo-Platonism
From the 4th century BCE to the rise of Christian philosophy in the 4th century CE,
Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skepticism, and Neo-Platonism were the main philosophical schools
in the Western world. Interest in natural science declined steadily during this period, and these
schools were concerned mainly with ethics and religion.
B. Epicureanism
Epicureanism, system of philosophy based chiefly on the teachings of the Greek philosopher
Epicurus.
The essential doctrine of Epicureanism is that pleasure is the supreme good and main goal of
life.
In the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, the Greek philosopher Epicurus developed a system of
thought, later called Epicureanism, which identified the highest good with pleasure,
particularly intellectual pleasure, and, like Stoicism, advocated a temperate (restrained in
behavior) and even an ascetic life devoted to contemplative pursuits. The principal Roman
exponent of Epicureanism was the poet and philosopher Lucretius, whose poem De Rerum
Natura (On the Nature of Things); written in the middle of the 1st century BC combined certain
ideas derived from the cosmological doctrines of the Greek philosopher Democritus with others
derived from the ethics of Epicurus. The Epicureans sought to achieve pleasure by maintaining
a state of serenity—that is, by eliminating all emotional disturbances. They considered
religious beliefs and practices harmful because they preoccupy one with disturbing thoughts of
death and the uncertainty of life after death. The Epicureans also held that it is better to
postpone immediate pleasure in order to attain more secure and lasting satisfaction or the
future; they therefore insisted that the good life must be regulated by self-discipline.
In 306 BCE Epicurus founded a philosophical school in Athens. Because his followers met in
the garden of his home they became known as "philosophers of the garden."
Epicurus adopted Democritus's atomistic physics but made several important changes. In place
of the random motion of the atoms in all directions, he assumed, for simplicity of explanation,
that a uniform motion occurred in a downward direction. He also allowed an element of chance
in the physical world by assuming that the atoms sometimes diverge in unpredictable ways.
Thus, it provides a physical basis for a belief in free will.
He maintained that natural science is important only if it can be applied in making practical
decisions and in alleviating fear of the gods or of death.
He claimed that the aim of human life is to achieve the maximum amount of pleasure, which
he identified with gentle motion and the absence of pain.
The teachings of Epicurus are preserved mainly in the philosophical poem De Rerum Natura
(On the Nature of Things) by the Roman poet Lucretius, who contributed greatly to the
popularity of Epicureanism in Rome,
C. Stoicism
The philosophy of Stoicism developed about 300 BCE, during the Hellenistic and Roman
periods. In Greece the principal Stoic philosophers were Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, and
Chrysippus of Soli. In Rome, Stoicism proved to be the most popular of the Greek philosophies,
and Cicero was among the famous Romans who came under its influence. Its principal Figures
during the Roman period were the Greek philosopher Epictetus and the Roman emperor and
philosopher Marcus Aurelius. According to the Stoics, nature is orderly and rational, and only
a life led in harmony with nature can be good The Stoic philosophers, however, also agreed
that because life is influenced by material circumstances one should try to be as independent
of such circumstances; is possible. The practice of certain cardinal virtue. Such as Practical
wisdom.' courage- discretion and justice. Enables one to achieve independence in the spirit of
the Stoic motto "endure and renounce". Hence, the word "stoic" has come to mean 'fortitude in
the face of hardship.
All in all, the stoic school, founded in Athens about 310 BCE by Zeno of Citium, developed
out of the earlier movement of the cynics.
Stoicism became the most influential school of the Greco-Roman World. Producing such
remarkable writers and personalities as Epictetus: a Greek slave who became a Roman
philosopher and the roman emperor Marcus Auretius. Who was noted for his wisdom and his
nobility of character.
The Stoics taught that one can achieve freedom and peacefulness only by becoming insensitive
to material comforts and external fortune (wealth or prosperity) and by dedicating oneself to a
life of reason and virtue. Holding a somewhat materialistic conception of nature. They followed
Heraclitus in believing the primary substance to be fire.
The Stoic doctrine that each person is part of God and that all people form a universal family
helped to break down national, social, and racial barriers and to prepare the way for the spread
of a universal religion.
Herein, the Stoics taught that knowledge can be attained through the use of reason. Truth can
be distinguished from fallacy; even if, in practice, only an approximation can be made.
According to the Stoics, the senses constantly receive sensations: pulsations that pass from
objects through the senses to the mind, where they leave an impression in the imagination
(phantasia). (An impression arising from the mind was called a phantasma.)
The mind has the ability to judge — approve or reject—an impression (general idea- a belief
about or understanding of something), enabling it to distinguish a true representation of reality
from one that is false. Some impressions can be assented to immediately, but others can only
achieve varying degrees of hesitant approval, which can be labeled belief or opinion (doxa). It
is only through reason that we achieve clear comprehension and conviction (katalepsis).
Certain and true knowledge (episteme). Achievable by the Stoic sage, can be attained only by
verifying the conviction with the expertise of one's peers and the collective judgment of
humankind.
D. Neo-Platonism
Neoplatonism js one of the most influential philosophical and religious schools and an
important rival of Christianity, was founded in the 3rd century BCE by AmmomusSaccus and
his more famous disciple Plotinus.
Plotinus based his ideas on the mystical and poetic writings of Plato, the Pythagoreans, and
Philo. The main function of philosophy, for him was to prepare individuals for the experience
of ecstasy,in which they become one with God. God, or the one, is beyond rational
understanding and the source ofall realitythe universe emanates from the One by a mysterious
process of overflowing of divine energy, in successive levels. The further things emanate from
one, according to Plotinus, the more imperfect and evil they are. The highest goal of life is to
purify oneself of dependence on bodily comforts and, through philosophical meditation, to
prepare oneself for an ecstatic reunion with the one.
E. Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a philosophical tradition that takes its defining inspiration from the work of
Aristotle. Since Aristotle’s death in 322 BCE, there has been an unbroken continuation of
schools andindividual philosophers who have cultivated the study of his works and adopted
and expanded his doctrines and methods. For instance:
During the 9th, 10th, and 11lh centuries, an Arabic tradition of Aristotelianism was developed
I Syrians, Persians, Turks, Jews, and Arabs, who wrote and taught in their own countries, in
Africa and in Spain.
During the 12 century, new Latin translations from Greek and from Arabic commentaries
introduced Aristotle to the medieval Christian scholastics, and initiated an intellectual revival
in Europe. Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas developed a synthesis of Aristotelian ideas
with Christian doctrines, which became essential to Roman Catholic theology.
During the 17"' century, the modern philosophy began to develop largely as a reaction to, or it
response to, traditional Aristotelian teachings. Contemporary philosophers, though they
generally rejected Aristotelian metaphysics, incorporated Aristotelian concepts in their theories
of ethics and politics. Aristotle's philosophy, as well as Plato's, has been a source of inspiration
throughout the history of philosophy.
Characteristics of Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism has made an indelible contribution to the language used to articulate
philosophical concepts, experiences and problems. Some words are still in their original Greek
forms, others are derived from Latin equivalents of Aristotle's words. The use of the terms
"subject" and "predicate" in grammar and logic; "form" (information, transform) and "matter"
to express the correlative aspects of essential nature and physical being; "energy" as the active
power inherent in a thing; "potential" for latent possibility; "substance" and "essence,"
"quantity" and "quality," "accidental," "relation," "cause" (and the many meanings of
"because"), "genus" and "species" (general, special), "individual," and "indivisible" (atomic)
are only some of the words which have become established in common use.
Philosophical features of Aristotelianism include a methodology which takes a critical
approach to existing or hypothetical doctrines, and an emphasis on knowledge that can be
acquired by natural means through the senses and the exercise of reason. Aristotelian
metaphysics places the individual at the center of the realm of existence.
In the philosophy of nature, Aristotelianism portrays a perfect and economic organization of
the natural world, in which heavenly, geocentric spheres driven by intelligent movers carry the
stars, the Sun, the planets, and the Moon, in circular movements, and influence the "sublunary"
world. From its beginnings, Aristotelianism incorporated the concept of gravity, in which light
bodies rise away from the center of the earth and heavy bodies move naturally toward it with a
speed related to their weight.
Aristotelian aesthetics hold that poetry and literature are an imitation of what is possible in real
life; and that tragedy in drama and literature can achieve purification (katharsis) through
artificially constructing a situation which evokes fear and pity. Aristotelian ethics emphasize
intellectual activity as the primary path lo happiness, followed by the practice of virtue. Virtue
is characterized as moderation and conscious Aristotelian political theory considers the state as
a self-sufficient society, necessary to provide the social structure and order in which men can
achieve happiness.
Aristotelian teleology incorporates Plato's ideals as goals and "goods" internal to natural
species that are realized in activity. Sometimes contrasted by critics with the rationalism and
idealism of Plato, Aristotelianism is understood by its proponents as a critical development of
Plato's theories.
History of Aristotelianism
Overview
Since Aristotle's death in 322 B.C.E, there has been an unbroken continuation of schools and
individual philosophers who have cultivated the study of his works and adopted and expanded
on his doctrines and methods. Aristotle's ideas, originally developed in Greek, were taken up
by Latin authors, then by Syrian. Arabic, and Hebrew authors, and beginning in the middle
ages, by Italian, French. English, and German writers.
The Greek Aristotelian tradition continued for two thousand years along the eastern
Mediterranean Sea, diverging at various times between the fourth and fifth centuries to give
rise to or reinforce their traditions. Latin Aristotelianism originated in Rome in the fourth
century. And acquired new life from Greece early in the sixth century. It was revived in the
ninth century and again in the twelfth. In the twelfth century, a new tradition of Aristotelianism
emerged from Constantinople, and a third tradition from Arab translators and commentators in
Spain. Both of these new traditions dispersed, through the schools of the Roman Catholic
Church to Italy, France, and the British Isles. In the fifteenth century, the Greek tradition once
more came to Italy from Constantinople and influenced the Italian Renaissance.
Aristotelianism in Islamic philosophy
In Arabic philosophical circles. Aristotle was called Aristalus, Aristu. First Teacher, and
referred to by sobriquets such as "the wise man." Hellenistic texts were first introduced into
Islamic thoughts during the time ofAI-Kindi (c. 801-873 C.E.), who commissioned Arabic
translations of the works of the Greek philosophers. In the tenth century. AI-Farabi discovered
a more accurate translation, and incorporated Aristotle's thought so thoroughly into his own
philosophy that he was called the "Second Teacher." Ibn Bajjah (Avempace, c. 1095-1138/39)
introduced the Islamic Aristotelian tradition into Spain, where it was further developed by his
disciple, Ibn Tufail (c.1105-1185). His protégé, Averroes (1126-1198) wrote extensive
commentaries on Aristotle, which had a profound impact on medieval scholasticism in Europe.
The Persian philosopher Avicenna (980-1032 C.E.) synthesized the theories of Aristotle with
the monotheistic tradition of Islam. His work 'at Shifa (The Cure) was translated into Latin in
twelfth century Spain, and his metaphysics considerably influenced Albertus Magnus and
Thomas Aquinas.
The primary characteristics of Islamic Aristotelianism were an emphasis on the superiority of
philosophy, and knowledge gained through reason, over knowledge gained though faith; and
the theory of a single, universal Active Intellect, an emanation of God, with which the human
soul came into contact at its highest stage of development. Just as Aristotelianism later
encouraged the advancement of scientific investigation in Europe, in the Islamic world it
inspired the development of logic and of a system for classifying the natural sciences.
Medieval Aristotelianism
From the fall of Rome until 1450, Aristotle's works, originally written in Greek, were
unavailable to most educated Europeans. Boethius- (480-525) produced some early translations
into Latin but these were largely ignored, and the only his translations of the Categories and
De interpretation were widely before the twelfth century.
During the ninth and tenth centuries, an Arabic tradition of Aristotelianism was developed by
Syrians. Persians. Turks. Jews, and Arabs, who wrote and taught in their own countries, in
Africa, and in Spain until the twelfth century. Much of the Arabic and Hebrew works passed
into the Latin tradition between 1130 and 1550. During the twelfth century, new Latin
translations from Greek and from the Arabic commentaries of Avicenna and Averroes, and the
Hebrew works of Maimonides (1125-1204), introduced Aristotle to the medieval Christian
scholastics, and initiated an intellectual revival. During the thirteenth century, the Roman
Catholic Church began to react to the challenges posed by new developments in philosophy.
The teaching of Aristotelian books was condemned at Paris in 1210, 1215, and 1231: and lists
of propositions inspired by certain interpretations of Aristotle were condemned at Paris and
Oxford in 1270 and 1277.
Some Christian theologians attempted to appropriate the teachings of Aristotle and interpret
them in a way that was compatible with Christian doctrines. Albertus Magnus paraphrased the
entire works of Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas produced a synthesis of Aristotelianism and
Christian doctrines that became essential to Roman Catholic theology. Since the 1870s the
Roman Catholic Church has reasserted a Thomistic Aristotelianism.
During the fourteenth century, John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham responded by
elaborating philosophical and theological teachings which were radically opposed to
Aristotelianism.
Soon after the beginning of Latin Aristotelianism in Europe during the twelfth century.
Aristotelian teachings were introduced into the Greek schools of Athens and Alexandria by
certain Armenians, and Syrians. The Armenian tradition was still alive in the nineteenth century
in such places as Madras and Venice; and the Syrian tradition which never completely
disappeared, was still active in the fourteenth century.
Aristotelianism and the Renaissance
During the Renaissance (c. 1348-c. 1648), a great quantity of Aristotelian commentaries were
produced. Many of the Renaissance universities used Aristotelian texts in the training of
philosophers, and the corpus Aristulelicum was used as a framework for textbooks and
encyclopedias, and as a point of departure for many philosophical treatises. The growing
number of universities increased the numbers of teachers expounding the works of Aristotle
and the numbers of students learning from them. The advent of printing heightened the impact
of Aristotelianism by making Aristotelian works, and commentaries on them, much more
widely available. A change in the role of philosophy in university education, and new advances
in scholarship, created a need for new commentaries. Exposure to newly-discovered classical
texts from outside the Aristotelian tradition provoked philosophical re-examination and
criticism.
Aristotle’s emphasis on naturally acquired knowledge and on the use of reason to examine and
explain phenomena contributed to the growth of the natural sciences. His own observations of
the natural world and his classification of beings into categories influenced scientific study.
The primacy of the individual in Aristotelian thought contributed to a new appreciation of the
value of the individual and of the natural beauty of human beings. The Aristotelian view of a
logical and beautifully organized world governed by higher intelligences according to inherent
logical principles had a transforming effect on the Christian worldview.
Aristotelianism during the seventeenth century
During the seventeenth century. Aristotelian philosophy took on a new role as the background
against which new ideas and systems were developed. Scholastic Aristotelianism was
considered to be outmoded and conservative, and most of the works written were traditional
textbooks. Philosophers such as Descartes and Galileo developed their views in reaction to
Aristotelianism as it had been taught for the previous four centuries. However, many
seventeenth century Aristotelian philosophers incorporated contemporary scientific
developments in their thought, and the views of commentators such as Eustachios a Sancto
Paulo. Franciscus Toletus. Charles d'Abra de Raconis, ScipionDupleis, and the scholars of the
Portuguese Comibra school formed a background for the development of modem philosophy.
Aristotelianism and modern philosophy
After retreating under criticism from modern natural philosophers, the idea of teleology was
transmitted through Christian Wolff and Kant to Hegel, who applied it to history as a totality.
Although this project was criticized by Trendelenburg and Franz Brentano as un-Aristotelian.
Hegel is now often said to be responsible for an important Aristotelian influence upon Marx.'
‘Postmodernists in search of new ways of perceiving truth and understanding reality, reject the
claim that Aristotelianism reveals important theoretical truths.'31 They follow Heidegger's
critique of Aristotle as the greatest source of the entire tradition of Western philosophy. Recent
Aristotelian ethical and "practical" philosophy, such as that of Hans-Georg Gadamer, is often
premised upon a rejection of Aristotelianism's traditional metaphysical or theoretical
philosophy, white accepting its theory in other areas. The early modern tradition of political
republicanism, which views the public sphere or State as constituted by its citizens' virtuous
activity, appears to be thoroughly Aristotelian.
The most famous contemporary Aristotelian philosopher is Alasdair Maclntyre. Especially
famous for helping to revive virtue ethics in his book. After Virtue, Maclntyre revises
Aristotelianism with the argument that the highest temporal goods, which are internal to human
beings, are actualized through participation in social practices. He places the Aristotelian
concept of essentially human goods and virtues in opposition to the managerial institutions of
capitalism and its state, and to rival traditions, including the philosophies of Hume and
Nietzsche. Maclntyre claims that Aristotelianism is not identical with Western philosophy as a
whole; rather, it is"the best theory so far."
