Ancient Greek Philosophy: Key Thinkers and Core Ideas

Ancient Greek Philosophy: Early Thinkers and Concepts

Philosophy, derived from the Greek words 'philein' (love) and sophia (wisdom), saw its first recorded use in the 6th century BC by Pythagoras in Greece.

Milesian Philosophers: Seeking the First Principle

The Milesian philosophers, such as Anaximenes and Anaximander, sought the first principle of reality, known as the arche. Some believed, for instance, that water was the arche, and that all beings were endowed with life (hylozoism), and everything was full of gods. Anaximenes based his arche on air, while Anaximander proposed the apeiron (the unlimited or indefinite) as the fundamental principle.

Pythagorean Philosophy: Numbers and the Soul

The Pythagoreans also sought the arche, not in a single substance, but in numbers, the tetractys, and arithmetic and geometric progressions. They believed that the soul was limited and perished with the physical body.

Heraclitus: The Philosophy of Change

Heraclitus emphasized the dynamic aspect of reality with profound phrases, including:

• "War is the father of all things."
• "It is the same day and night."
• "We cannot bathe twice in the same river."
• "Fire is the beginning of all things."

Parmenides: The Immutability of Being

Parmenides asserted that being is the only immutable thing, famously stating: "Being is, non-being is not," or "Either it is, or it is not." He distinguished between what is thinkable, which he called knowledge (episteme), and what is visible, which he termed opinion (doxa).

Zeno's Paradoxes: Challenging Reality

Zeno, a disciple of Parmenides, denied plurality, movement, location, and perceptions. His arguments included:

• Against Plurality: If plurality is understood as a sum of units, then if the sum is divisible, dividing it ad infinitum never arrives at an indivisible figure; and if it is indivisible, then it cannot form a sum.
• Against Motion (The Dichotomy Paradox): To go anywhere, one must first reach half the road, and to reach that half, one must reach its middle, and so on, infinitely, making motion impossible.
• Against Place: If all that exists is in a place, then the place itself, if it exists, must be in another place, and so on, infinitely.

Empedocles: Elements and Cosmic Forces

Empedocles proposed that the world is made up of four fundamental elements: earth, water, air, and fire, with the addition of ether, from which the planets were formed. He also introduced two fundamental principles governing the cosmos: Love (agreement) and Hatred (discordance).

Anaxagoras: Nous and Cosmic Order

Anaxagoras, the first philosopher to live in Athens, is credited with establishing the philosophical tradition there. He was accused of impiety for suggesting that, in addition to the four elements, a higher intelligence, Nous (mind or intellect), was responsible for the order of things.

Atomism: Democritus, Leucippus, and the Void

The Atomists, primarily Democritus and Leucippus (from Rome, according to some accounts), believed that reality was composed of small, indivisible particles called atoms. They posited that the void permitted plurality and motion, and that atoms move by chance. This perspective also touched upon skepticism, questioning what can truly be known or communicated.

The Sophists: Relativism and Rhetoric

The Sophists, including prominent figures like Protagoras and Gorgias, lived in Athens. Protagoras famously stated that "Man is the measure of all things." Gorgias, another influential Sophist, argued: "Nothing exists; if anything did exist, we could not know it; and if we could know it, we could not communicate it."