Stages of development and main features of ancient philosophy. Periods of ancient philosophy, their features, schools and representatives

12.10.2019

In the future, the ideas of ancient philosophy formed the basis of medieval philosophy and are considered the main sources of development of European social thought.

In ancient philosophy, there are 4 main periods: the Naturphilosophical (pre-classical) stage (7-5 centuries BC, the Classical stage (5-4 centuries BC), the Hellenistic-Roman stage (4 century BC .e. - 3rd century AD), the final stage (3-6 centuries AD).

Pre-classical ancient philosophy arose in the ancient Greek city-states (polises): Miletus, Ephesus, Elea, etc. It is a collection of philosophical schools named after the respective policies. Natural philosophers (translated as philosophers of nature) considered the problems of the universe in the unity of nature, gods and man; moreover, the nature of the cosmos determined the nature of man. The main question of preclassical philosophy was the question of the fundamental principle of the world.

Early natural philosophers brought to the fore the problem of cosmic harmony, which must also correspond to harmony human life(cosmological approach).

At late natural philosophers the contemplative approach is combined with the use of logical reasoning, and a system of categories emerges.

Natural philosophers include:

School	Main Representatives	Key Ideas	What is the fundamental principle of the world
Early natural philosophers
Milesian school	Thales (c. 625-c. 547 BC) - founder of the school	Nature is identified with God	Water
	Anaximander (c. 610-546 BC)	There are countless worlds that come and go	Apeiron - abstract matter in perpetual motion
	Anaximenes (c. 588-c. 525 BC)	He founded the doctrine of the sky and stars (ancient astronomy)	Air
Ephesus school	Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 554-483 BC)	Everything in the world is changeable - "you cannot enter the same river twice"	The first fire is a symbol of the universal, rational and animated elements
Eleatic School (Eleatic)	Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570-after 478 BC)	Human feelings do not give true knowledge, but only lead to opinions.	"One" - eternal, perfect being, which is God.
	Parmenides (c. 515 BC - ?)	The true truth - “aletheia” - can only be known by reason	Eternal life without beginning or end
	Zeno of Elea (c. 490-c. 430 BC)	There is no movement, because a moving object consists of many points at rest (Achilles and the tortoise)
Later natural philosophers
The teachings of Pythagoras and his followers - the Pythagoreans	Pythagoras (2nd half of the 6th - early 5th centuries BC)	Harmony, order and measure are the main thing in the life of both a person and society	Number-symbol of world harmony
	Empedocles of Agrigentum (484-424 BC)	The driving forces of the world - the opposition of Love and Enmity	Four elements: water, air, earth and fire.
Spontaneous materialistic direction	Anaxagoras (500-428 BC)	Nous, Mind (intelligence) - organizes a chaotic mixture of seeds, as a result of which things arise	"Seeds" - an infinite number of tiny particles
Atomistic materialism	Leucippus, Democritus of Abdera (? - c. 460 BC)	All bodies are formed as a result of diverse combinations of atoms.	Atoms are countless, constantly moving elements

Classical stage (5th-4th centuries BC)

The heyday of ancient philosophy. At this stage, the center of philosophical thought was Athens, which is why it is also called Athenian. The main features of the classic stage:

systematized teachings appear (original philosophical systems);
shifting the attention of philosophers from the "nature of things" to questions of ethics, morality, problems of society and human thinking;

The most famous philosophers of the classical period are the ancient Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as the sophist philosophers.

Sophists (translated from Greek - “wise men, experts”) - a group of ancient Greek enlighteners of the middle of the 5th first floor. 4th century BC. They can be called professional philosophers, since the sophists taught logic, oratory and other disciplines for a fee. They attached particular importance to the ability to convince and prove any position (even incorrect ones).

Features of the philosophy of the sophists:

a turn from natural-philosophical problems to a person, society and problems of everyday life;
denial of old norms and experience of the past, critical attitude to religion;
recognition of man as "the measure of all things": free and independent of nature;

The Sophists did not create a unified philosophy, but they aroused interest in critical thinking and human personality.

Among the senior sophists are (2nd half of the 5th century BC): Gorgias, Protagoras, Hippias, Prodicus, Antiphon, Critias.

The younger sophists include: Lycophron, Alkidamont, Trasimachus.

Socrates (469-399 BC) - is considered the founder of classical philosophy. Like the sophists, he made man and his inner world the center of his teaching, but he considered their teaching barren and superficial. He questioned the existence of the gods, put reason, truth and knowledge at the forefront.

The main ideas of Socrates:

Self-knowledge is at the same time the search for knowledge and virtue.
Recognition of one's ignorance encourages the expansion of knowledge.
There is a higher Mind spread throughout the Universe, and the human mind is only an insignificant fraction of it.

The essence of Socrates' life was his conversations with his students and discussions with his opponents. By comprehending the truth, he considered maieutics (the method he invented, in Greek means midwifery) - the search for truth through dialogue, irony and collective reflection. Socrates is also credited with inventing the inductive method leading from the particular to the general.

Since the philosopher preferred to express his teaching orally, his main provisions have come down to us in the retellings of Aristophanes, Xenophon and Plato.

Plato (Athenian) real name - Aristocles (427-347 BC). A student and follower of Socrates, he preached the moral meaning of his ideas all his life. He founded his own school in the suburbs of Athens, called the Academy, and laid the foundation for the idealistic trend in philosophy.

The basis of Plato's teachings are three concepts: "one" (the basis of all being and reality), mind and soul. The main question of his philosophy is the correlation of being and thinking, material and ideal.

According to the idealistic theory of Plato, the world is divided into 2 categories:

world of becoming- the real, material world in which everything is changeable and imperfect. Material objects are secondary and are only a semblance of their ideal images;
world of ideas or "eidos" - sensual images that are primary and comprehended by the mind. Each object, thing or phenomenon carries its own idea. The highest idea is the idea of God, the creator of the world order (demiurge).

As part of his philosophy, Plato also developed the doctrine of virtue and created the theory of the ideal state.

Plato expounded his ideas mainly in the genre of letters and dialogues (the main character of which is Socrates). In total, his works include 34 dialogues. The most famous of them: "State", "Sophist", "Parmenides", "Theaetetus".

Plato's ideas had a huge impact both on subsequent philosophical schools of antiquity and on the thinkers of the Middle Ages and the New Age.

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC). Aristotle was a student of Plato and spent twenty years at his Academy. After the death of Plato, he served as the tutor of Alexander the Great for eight years, and in 335-334. BC. founded his own educational institution in the vicinity of Athens - the Lyceum, where he taught along with his followers. He created his own philosophical system based on logic and metaphysics.

Aristotle developed the main provisions of Plato's philosophy, but at the same time he criticized many of its aspects. Suppose he believed that the highest truth is not the contemplation of abstract "ideas", but the observation and study of the real world.

The main provisions of the philosophy of Aristotle:

any thing is based on: matter and form (material essence and idea of a thing);
philosophy is the universal science of being, it provides a rationale for all sciences;
the basis of science is sensory perception(opinion), however, true knowledge can only be achieved with the help of reason;
the search for the first or ultimate cause is crucial;
the main reason for life is soul- the essence of being of any thing. There are: a lower (vegetative), middle (animal) and higher (reasonable, human) soul, which gives meaning and purpose to human life.

Aristotle rethought and generalized the philosophical knowledge of all previous ancient thinkers. For the first time, he systematized the available sciences, dividing them into three groups: theoretical (physics, mathematics, philosophy), practical (among which one of the main ones was politics) and poetic, regulating the production of various subjects). He also developed theoretical basis ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy and basic structure philosophical knowledge. Aristotle is the author of the geocentric system in cosmology, which existed until the heliocentric system of Copernicus.

The teaching of Aristotle was the highest achievement of ancient philosophy and completed its classical stage.

Hellenistic-Roman stage (4th century BC - 3rd century AD)

This period takes its name from the Greek state - Hellas, but also includes the philosophy of Roman society. At this time in ancient philosophy there was a refusal to create fundamental philosophical systems and a transition to the problems of ethics, meaning and values of human life.

School	Main Representatives	Key Ideas
Cynics (cynics)	Antisthenes from Athens (c. 444-368 BC) - the founder of the school, a student of Socrates; Diogenes of Sinope (c. 400–325 BC).	Renunciation of wealth, fame, pleasures is the path to happiness and the achievement of inner freedom. The ideal of life is asceticism, disregard for social norms and conventions.
epicureans	Epicurus (341-270 BC) - the founder of the school; Lucretius Kar (c. 99 - 55 centuries BC);	The basis of human happiness is the desire for pleasure, serenity and peace of mind(ataraxia). The desire for pleasure is not a subjective will of a person, but a property of human nature. Knowledge frees man from fear of nature, gods and death.
Stoics	Early Stoics: Zeno of Kitia (336-264 BC) is the founder of the school. Late Stoics: Epictetus (50-138 BC); Marcus Aurelius.	Happiness is the main goal of human life. Good is that which is aimed at preserving the human being, evil is everything that is aimed at destroying it. You need to live in harmony with nature and your conscience. The desire for one's own preservation is non-harm to another.
Skeptics	Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-270 BC); Sextus Empiricus (c. 200-250 BC).	Because of his imperfection, man is unable to know the truth. No need to strive to know the truth, you just need to live, relying on inner peace.
Eclecticism	Philo (150-79 BC); Panetius (c. 185-110 BC); Mark Thulius Cicero (106-43 BC).	Combination of progressive philosophical thoughts and ideas of Greek thinkers of the classical period. The value of reason, morality, a reasonable attitude to life.

The final stage (3-6 centuries AD)

The period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD includes the philosophy of not only the Greek, but also the Roman world. At this stage, there was a crisis in Roman society, which was reflected in social thought. Interest in rational thinking faded, the popularity of various mystical teachings and the influence of Christianity grew.

The most influential teaching of this period was Neoplatonism, the most famous representative of which was Plotinus (205-270 AD).

Representatives of Neoplatonism were engaged in the interpretation of the teachings of Plato and criticized all subsequent movements. The main ideas of Neoplatonism were:

Everything lower flows from the Higher. The highest is God, or some kind of philosophical principle. The higher cannot be comprehended by the mind, only through mystical ecstasy.
The essence of knowledge is the knowledge of the divine principle that embodies the authenticity of being.
The good is spirituality, liberation from the bodily, asceticism.

Useful sources

"Philosophy. Course of lectures” / B.N. Bessonov. - M.-LLC "Publishing House AST", 2002
"Philosophy. Short course "/ Moiseeva N.A., Sorokovikova V.I - St. Petersburg-Peter, 2004
"Philosophy: a textbook for universities" / V.F. Titov, I.N. Smirnov - M. Higher School, 2003
"Philosophy: a textbook for students of higher educational institutions» / Yu.M. Khrustalev - M .: Publishing Center "Academy", 2008
"Philosophy: a textbook for higher educational institutions" / executive editor, Ph.D. V.P. Kokhanovsky - Rostov n / a: "Phoenix", 1998

ancient philosophy: stages of development, representatives and features updated: October 30, 2017 by: Scientific Articles.Ru

Ancient Greece is the birthplace of European philosophy. It was here in the 7th-6th centuries. BC. European philosophy was born. Ancient Greek culture gave rise to a democratic form of social organization. political life. Polises (city-states) were organized on the principles of independence not only from the external, but also from the internal ruler, which excluded the deification of power. The development of ancient philosophy followed a rationalistic path, hand in hand with the development of science, rhetoric, and logic. Unlike Eastern philosophy, ancient Greek philosophy is characterized by the understanding of man as a free, independent individual, creative individuality.. The priority was such a characteristic of a person as intelligence .

The main stages in the development of ancient philosophy:

1). Naturphilosophical, or pre-Socratic, period (VII-V centuries BC). The main problems are the explanation of natural phenomena, the essence of the Cosmos, the surrounding world (natural philosophy), the search for the origin of everything that exists.

Philosophical schools representing this period: Miletus school - "physicists" (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes); the school of the Pythagoreans; school of Heraclitus of Ephesus; Elean school; atomists (Democritus, Leucippus).

2). Classical (Socratic) period (mid-V-end of IV centuries BC)- the heyday of ancient Greek philosophy, coinciding with the heyday of the policy.

Main directions: philosophical and educational activities of the sophists; the philosophy of Socrates; the birth of "Socratic" schools; the philosophy of Plato; philosophy of Aristotle. During this period, less attention was paid to the search for the beginning; an idealistic version of the origin of beings was put forward (Plato); materialism (Democritus' doctrine of atoms as the basis of the world) and idealism (Plato's doctrine of ideas as the basis of the world) arise; interest in the problem of man, society and the state; practical philosophical and educational activities (sophists and Socrates).

3). Hellenistic period (late IV-II centuries BC)- the period of the crisis of the policy and the formation of large states of Asia and Africa under the rule of the Greeks and led by the associates of A. Macedon and their descendants.

Main directions: philosophy of cynics; stoicism; the activities of "Socratic" philosophical schools: Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lyceum, Cyrenaic schools, etc.; the philosophy of Epicurus.

Features: crisis of ancient moral and philosophical values; denial of former authorities, disregard for the state and its institutions, the search for a physical and spiritual basis in oneself; the desire to renounce reality; the predominance of a materialistic view of the world; recognition of the happiness and pleasure of an individual as the highest good (physical - Cyrenaic, moral - Epicurus).

4). Roman period (I century BC - V century AD).

The most famous philosophers: Seneca; Marcus Aurelius; Titus Lucretius Car; late stoics; early Christians.

Features: the actual merging of ancient Greek and ancient Roman philosophy into one - ancient; the influence on ancient philosophy of the philosophy of conquered peoples (East, North Africa, etc.); the proximity of philosophy, philosophers and state institutions (Seneca raised the Roman emperor Nero, Marcus Aurelius himself was an emperor); attention to the problems of man, society and the state; the heyday of the philosophy of stoicism, whose supporters saw highest good and the meaning of life to the maximum spiritual development personality, withdrawal, serenity); the predominance of idealism over materialism; increased attention to the problem of death and the afterlife; the growth of influence on the philosophy of the ideas of Christianity and early Christian heresies; the gradual merging of ancient and Christian philosophy, their transformation into medieval Christian philosophy.

SOPHISTS AND SOCRATES

The development of ancient philosophy followed a rationalistic path, hand in hand with the development of rhetoric and logic. In other Greece, such a characteristic of a person as intelligence with his cognitive ability, activity, criticality, dynamism, creative anxiety. The democratic form of organizing the socio-political life of ancient Greece, the direct participation of citizens in the management of state affairs created a favorable atmosphere for free criticism, exchange of opinions, and discussions. This made the culture of thinking and speech in demand, the ability to logically state, argue and justify one's point of view.

Sophists(wise men, artificers) - teachers of rhetoric and "wisdom"; for a fee they taught the art of eloquence. The focus of their attention is no longer questions about the origin and structure of the cosmos, but questions of practical influence on people's opinion, the ability to prove or refute. Sophists argued that laws are established by people themselves, there are no unshakable truths, all knowledge is relative and anything can be proved or disproved. (Protagoras: different, even opposite, opinions can be expressed about any thing, and all of them are equal and true. “Man is the measure of all things ...”.) Sophists argued the indistinguishability of good and evil, questioned the existence of gods, the justice of state laws, rationality decisions made in democratic assemblies.

Socrates(c. 470 - 399 BC) - a student of the sophists; accepted their irony, but rejected their relativism and skepticism. A person, according to Socrates, can distinguish more reasonable and acceptable judgments from less reasonable, less acceptable ones. This is possible by overcoming the naive belief in the infallibility of one's opinion when dialogue, discussion, dispute. Socrates called his method "maieutics" (midwifery, obstetrics) and "dialectics" (the ability to conduct a conversation, dispute). Socrates' motto is "Know thyself". Socrates developed "ethical rationalism" (the reason for a person's bad actions is his ignorance of the truth, the good). Socrates was Plato's teacher.

Introduction

Ancient philosophy is a consistently developed philosophical thought and covers a period of more than a thousand years - from the end of the 7th century. BC. up to the 6th century. n. e. Despite all the diversity of views of the thinkers of this period, ancient philosophy is at the same time something unified, uniquely original and extremely instructive. It did not develop in isolation - it drew the wisdom of the Ancient East, whose culture goes back to deeper antiquity, where even before the Greeks, the formation of civilization took place: writing was formed, the beginnings of the science of nature, and proper philosophical views developed. This applies to countries such as Libya, Babylon, Egypt and Persia. There was also influence from more distant countries of the East - Ancient China and India. But various instructive borrowings by Greek thinkers in no way detract from the amazing originality and greatness of ancient thinkers.

Early period of ancient philosophy

Philosophy originated in Ancient Greece in the 7th-5th centuries. BC e. As in other countries, it arose on the basis of mythology and for a long time retained a connection with the history of ancient philosophy with it, it is customary to distinguish the following periods

Table 1 - The origin of ancient philosophy

Table 2 - The main periods in the development of ancient philosophy

Ancient Greek philosophy, having originated on the basis of mythology, for a long time kept in touch with it. In particular, throughout the history of ancient philosophy, the terminology that came from mythology has largely been preserved. So, the names of the Gods were used to denote various natural and social forces: it was called Eros or Aphrodite, wisdom was Athena, etc.

Naturally, especially close connection mythology with philosophy took place in the early period of development of philosophy. From mythology, the idea of the four main elements that make up everything that exists was inherited. And most philosophers of the early period considered one or more elements to be the origin of being (for example, Water by Thales).

The origin and the first stages of development in ancient Greek philosophy took place in Ionia - a region in Asia Minor, where there were many Greek colonies.

The second geographical center of the development of philosophy was the so-called Great Greece, where there were also many Greek city-states.

At present, all philosophers of the early period are called pre-Socratics, i.e. predecessors of Socrates - the first major philosopher of the next, classical period.

School classification

Ionian philosophy

Milesian school

Thales Anaximander Anaximenes

Ephesus school

Heraclitus of Ephesus

Italian philosophy

School of Pythagoras

Pythagoras Pythagoreans

eleian school

Xenophanes Parmenides Zeno

Athenian philosophy

Anaxagoras

Milesian school

Thales ( OK. 625-547 BC e.) - the ancient Greek sage. He was the first in Greece to predict the complete solar eclipse, introduced a calendar of 365 days divided into 12 thirty-day months, with the remaining five days placed at the end of the year. He was a mathematician.

Main works. "On the Beginnings", "On the Solstice", "On the Equivalence", etc.

Philosophical views. ORIGINAL. F. considered the origin of being water. Everything arose from water, everything began from it, and everything returns to it.

Anaximander(c. 610-546 BC) - ancient Greek sage.

Main works. "On Nature", "Map of the Earth", etc.

Philosophical views. Anaximander considered the fundamental principle of the world apeiron-eternal. Two pairs of opposites stand out from it: hot and cold, wet and dry; This gives rise to four elements: Air, Water, Fire, Earth.

The origin of life and man. The first living beings originated in water. Man originated and developed inside huge fish, then went to land.

Anaximenes(c. 588-525 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. Chose the beginning of life air. When air is rarefied, fire is formed, and then ether; when thickened - wind, clouds, water, earth, stones.

Ephesus school

Heraclitus(c. 544-480 BC) - ancient Greek sage.

Philosophical views. Heraclitus believed that the beginning of all things Fire. Fire is the material of everything eternal and living, moreover, it is reasonable. Everything in the world arises from fire, and this is the “way down” and the “lack” of fire:

According to Plutarch (I-II centuries)

Teaching about the soul. The human soul is a combination of fire and moisture. The more fire in the soul, the better it is. The human mind is fire.

Pythagoreanism

Pythagoreanism is a philosophical movement, the founder of which was Pythagoras. This trend lasted until the end of the ancient world.

Pythagoras(c. 580 - 500 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. He considers ideal essences to be the beginning of being - numbers.

Cosmology. Earth is at the center of the world celestial bodies move in Ether around the Earth. Each planet, moving, produces a monotonous sound of a certain height, together these sounds create a melody that people with especially delicate hearing, for example, like Pythagoras, can hear.

Pythagorean Union

The Pythagorean Union was a scientific and philosophical school and a political association. It was a closed organization, and his teachings were secret.

Development periods

Early VI-IV centuries. BC e. - Hippasus, Alcmaeon

Middle IV - I centuries. BC e. – Philolaus

Late 1st–3rd centuries BC e. - Numnius

Only free people, both women and men, were accepted into it. But only those who have passed many years of testing and training (test of long silence). The property of the Pythagoreans was common. There were numerous lifestyle requirements, food restrictions, etc.

The fate of teaching Through Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism had a definite influence on all subsequent European philosophy based on Platonism. In addition, the Pythagorean mysticism of numbers influenced the Kabbalah, natural philosophy and various mystical currents.

eleian school

The school got its name from the city of Elea, where its largest representatives lived and worked mainly: Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zenon.

The Eleatics were the first to try to rationally explain the world, using philosophical concepts of ultimate generality, such as "being", "non-being", "movement". And even tried to prove their ideas.

The fate of teaching The teachings of the Eleatics had a significant influence on Plato, Aristotle and all subsequent European philosophy.

Xenophanes(c. 565 - 473 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. Xenosphon can be called an elemental materialist. He is the foundation of all things Earth. Water is an accomplice of the earth in the generation of life, even souls are composed of earth and water.

The doctrine of the gods. Xenophanes was the first to express the idea that it is not the gods who create people, but the people of the gods, in their own image and likeness.

The true God is not like mortals. He is all-seeing, all-hearing, all-knowing.

Parmenides(c. 504, time of death unknown.) - Ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. BEING AND NON-BEING To know this truth is possible only with the help of reason. He proclaims identity of being and thinking .

Zeno of Elea(c. 490 - 430 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. He defended and defended the teaching of Parmenides about the One, rejected the reality of sensual being and the plurality of things. Developed aporia(difficulties) proving the impossibility of movement.

Empedocles(c. 490 - 430 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. Empedocles is a spontaneous materialist - a pluralist. He has everything four traditional elements the beginning of the universe. Everything that happens in the world is explained by the action of two forces - Love and Enmity.*

Changes in the world are the result of the eternal struggle of Love and enmity, in which one or the other force wins. These changes occur in four stages.

Origin of the organic world. The organic world arises at the third stage of cosmogenesis and has four stages: 1) separate parts of animals arise; 2) separate parts of animals are randomly combined and both viable organisms and non-viable monsters arise; 3) viable organisms survive; 4) animals and people appear by reproduction.

Epistemology. Main principle Like is known by like. Since man also consists of four elements, the earth in outside world is known thanks to the earth in the human body, water - thanks to water, etc.

The main medium of perception is blood, in which all four elements are most evenly mixed.

Empedocles is a supporter of the theory of transmigration of souls.

Anaxagoras(c. 500 - 428 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher.

Philosophical views. The beginning of being is GEOMETRY. Any thing contains geometries of all kinds.

The geometries themselves are passive. As a driving force A. introduces the concept Nus(World mind), which not only moves the world but also cognizes it.

Epistemology. Everything is cognized by its opposite: cold is warm, sweet is bitter, etc. Sensations do not give truth, geometries are cognized only by the mind.

The fate of teaching The doctrine of Anaxagoras about the Mind was developed in the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle. The doctrine of geometries remains unclaimed until the 20th century.

Pythagoreanism

This philosophical movement was founded Pythagoras(c. 570 - c. 500 BC) from Fr. Samos, therefore it was called Samos. In the south of the Apennine Peninsula in the city of Croton, he created a union (secret, with strict rules) of like-minded people who shared his views and actively participated in the political life of Croton.

Unlike the Milesians and Ephesians, Pythagoras was an idealist. He considered the fundamental principle of the world to be numbers (whole natural ones). Everything in the world is calculated and is in a numerical relation to each other; these relationships create harmony in the world. Numbers are at the heart of the five elements that make up the entire diversity of the world and our planet - the center of the universe. Even sounds (including in music) he correlated with various numbers. Pythagoras also believed in the transmigration of souls.

eleian school

Existed in the city of Elea in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula. Its most famous representatives were Parmenides(lived in the VI-V centuries BC), Zeno(c. 490-430 BC).

The Eleatics first put forward the idea of the illusory nature of the sensory world; in their opinion, the intelligible world, and not the corporeal one, should be considered true. At the same time, not people were created by gods, but gods by people ( Xenophanes). Truth can be known only in a rational way, since being and thinking are identical, while sensations are false.

Being is motionless, because if there is non-being, then it - non-being - also exists, which means that it is also being, and if being and non-being are identical, then there can be no transitions between them, therefore, there are simply no grounds for movement ( Parmenides). To prove this proposition, Zeno developed aporia(difficulties).

If space were divisible into some finite fragments, then a flying arrow (the aporia "Arrow") would occupy at each specific moment of time only certain of them and only completely, at another moment of time it motionlessly occupies other fragments of space. If the space is divisible to infinity, then Achilles will never catch up with the tortoise (aporia "Achilles and the tortoise"), since he needs to overcome the distance separating him from the tortoise, but at the same time it moves to another point, while Achilles reaches a new goal, the turtle moves again and so on ad infinitum, although the distance is significantly reduced each time.

Atomists

Most scientists agree that one of the authors of atomism was Democritus(c. 460-370 BC) from the city of Abdera, his teacher Leucippe many consider the fruit of legends.

Atomists believe that the fundamental principle of being is atoms(indivisible) - indivisible, uncreated and indestructible, the smallest (but different in shape, mass and size) moving particles. There are an infinite number of them. They periodically unite, forming objects of the observed material world, then eventually disintegrate and form other objects in a different ratio. This process is endless, but not chaotic, but subject to a certain necessity (determinism). In the gaps between the atoms there is an infinite void (similar to vacuum).

In addition to the above schools and philosophers, there were others, with their own peculiarities of ideas about the world, with their own versions of the beginnings. For example, Anaxagoras(c. 500-428 BC), who considered the fundamental principle of being homeomerism- the smallest particles of a substance that are carriers of special qualities (for example, the qualities of fire, air, ox or iron), their different ratio in a particular thing determines its properties; or Empedocles(c. 490-430 BC), who believed that the basis of being love and enmity in constant interaction and setting in motion inherently passive elements.

Common to early ancient philosophy were attempts to explain the essence of nature, rather declarative than debatable way of presenting their positions. Most philosophers sought to find the fundamental principle of the world, many animate things, nature (hylozoism). main feature the philosophy of this period is cosmocentrism.

The next period of ancient philosophy is distinguished by great maturity, depth of understanding of the essence of nature and space, and the watershed was a radical change in the main problems considered by philosophy. In particular, the teachings of Socrates were anthropocentric rather than cosmocentric. And if the early period was the birth of ancient philosophy, then the classical one was its heyday.

Classical ancient philosophy

classical period includes the philosophical activity of the sophists, and the emergence of "Socratic" schools.

Sophists

With this name, researchers unite a group of ancient Greek philosophers (they lived in Athens at the same time as Socrates), who believed important goal victory in disputes. At the same time, they did not care about the objective correctness of the potential winner of philosophers, many of whom were engaged in educational activities, education. Sophists (gr. sophists- sage) - philosophers-educators, paid professional teachers who were engaged in the general education of citizens and who had especially extensive experience in teaching oratory, are usually divided into "senior" ( Protagoras, Gorgias, Critias etc.) and "younger" ( Lycophron, Alkidamant and etc.).

The sophists put the person in the center of attention; The saying of Protagoras is known: "Man is the measure of all things." The man became the main Starting point of all reasoning and the main criterion of the surrounding reality. Sophists drew attention to the difference between the laws of nature and social norms established by man himself.

Sophists are characterized by a critical attitude to the surrounding reality, the denial of previous traditions, philosophical ideas and conclusions, ethical standards that are not sufficiently substantiated, as well as the desire to defend their positions with the help of logic. They taught other people to win in disputes, invented various methods of commanding disputes. For this purpose, they, in particular, developed sophisms (Greek. sophisma- cunning) - formally seeming correct, but essentially false conclusions based on a deliberate violation of the rules of logic. For example, the sophism "Horned": What you have not lost, you have. You didn't lose your horn. Therefore, you have horns.

Some contemporaries and researchers classify Socrates as sophists - he was also little interested in natural philosophy (philosophy of nature), put man at the center of the philosophical understanding of the world, also taught other people, and was also skeptical of dogmas. But it should be remembered that the sophists taught people for money, while Socrates was disinterested; the main goal of the sophists in the discussion is to defeat the opponent, Socrates was always looking for the truth; the sophists rejected the objective criteria of good and evil (everything is relative); Socrates believed that knowledge of the essence of good and evil makes people virtuous.

The philosophy of this time was influenced by the partial depreciation of the former mythological, religious and, in general, cultural values. Worship of ancient gods became more of a habit. how internal need; the mythical inhabitants of Olympus were rapidly losing their former power and authority. In parallel with this, some ethical norms also lost their significance. talking modern language, crisis phenomena could not remain outside the attention of philosophers.