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History and Evolution:
By William E. Steinman:
Part 18, Before Socrates:
July 21, 2003:
Without some study we might come to believe that Western philosophy began with Socrates. Of course, that is not true. We have already noticed that Thales and Pythagoras were philosophers who preceded Socrates. In fact, there was a whole cracker box full of other philosophers prior to Socrates. Indeed his thinking was influenced by those predecessors.
From reading a bit about them, I surmise that these earlier philosophers were not particularly concerned about man's political or economic situation. Although some were statesmen they showed something of a disinterest toward the human situation as concerns their philosophies. Their efforts were toward attempts to understand the physical world and in some cases they offered ideas in theology.
It is not my intent to examine all of the philosophers through all time. I just want to establish some kind of basis of philosophy. The questions are, what is and what is not philosophy? Who decides this and how? Taking a brief look at these first few should help us in that.
The underlying pre Socrates Greek philosophical principle seems to be everything is one. It is the idea of cosmic unity. With no tools whatsoever to show them the underlying nature of the universe, with no true scientific evidence they made these leaps to rather profound ideas. Their insights were remarkable. Their premise belied the evidence before their eyes which showed them a world of multiplicity. To reconcile the idea of the one with the many was their conundrum. Let's look at some of their explanations.
Thales:
Thales was a native of Ionia on the shore of Asia Minor. He was
perhaps the first to suggest that the universe is composed of
a single underlying substance. He chose water, based on the evidence
he had. I don't see how we can fault him this late in the game.
Is it possible Thales received and understood a gift from the
life force that many of us are offered and most of us miss? We
don't know. We do know that his departure from religious tradition
was a bold move. Rather than seek mystical explanations for the
mysteries of life he sought answers from nature itself.
Anaximander:
Another Ionian and student of Thales was Anaximander. He is credited
by some as being the founder of astronomy. He proposed a substance
called the material cause. Everything arises from this primal
stuff which is infinite, ageless, eternal, and pervasive in the
universe. This was another attempt to determine how the world
had developed without reference to mystical entities.
Anaximenes:
The third Ionian, and associate of Anaximander was Anaximenes.
He also proposed a universe derived from, or coming out of, a
more basic substance. He chose air as that substance. He constructed
an elaborate theory of rarefaction and condensation whereby air
became other things. Regardless of his premise, we must admire
him for his cleverness.
Pythagoras:
We took a brief look at this man and the society he founded in
Part 14. Pythagoras is something of a contradiction. On the one
hand he was a scientist who has justifiably been called the first
mathematician. On the other had, he establish a mystical religious
society of followers who believed in some kind of afterlife. As
to the theory, if the writers are correct, Pythagoras said the
principles of mathematics were really the principles of all things.
Heraclitus:
Heraclitus believed that fire was the underlying material or nature
of all things. He saw the world as a coherent system in a kind
of Yin and Yang way. That is any change will be balanced by a
corresponding change in another direction. He saw an underlying
connection between all things. In the social arena, he urged men
to live together in harmony. He reasoned that men did not get
along because they failed to understand the underlying harmony
of the world.
Parmenides:
This man is called the founder of the Eleaticism school of philosophy.
He is also considered a founder of metaphysics out of which springs
theology. He held that the world we see is simply a manifestation
of a single underlying entity. The premise is, all is one.
Zeno of Elea:
Aristotle credits Zeno as being the inventor of dialectic. Dialectics
is a method of reasoning that systematically weighs contradictory
facts or ideas in an attempt to resolve their real or apparent
contradictions. He supported Parmenides idea of all is one and
used paradoxes or contradictory premises to make his points. By
carrying his opponents premises to their logical conclusion he
demonstrated their absurdity.
Empedocles:
This man was unique as being the first to propose the theory of
a four element universe. The elements being earth, air, fire,
and water. Nothing is created or destroyed, but merely transformed.
This was many centuries before Einstein's famous E = MC2. Empedocles
proposed two forces that act upon the basic elements to combine
and separate them, these being love and strife, or love and hate
in some accounts. He also believed in the transmigration of souls.
Anaxagoras:
A student of cosmology, Anaxagoras discovered how eclipses really
occur. He one upped Empedocles and proposed an infinite number
of elements to make up the universe. To explain the origin he
offered a concept of mind or reason as the primal force. Reading
his theory one can get just a hint of whence came the Christian
Creationist's theory. He also proposed that the sun was really
an incandescent stone. That got him in trouble on a charge of
impiety and he had to leave Athens. This persecution is one of
the worlds oldest and longest lasting problems. Scientists can
still get in trouble for seeking answers in some parts of the
world.
Leucippus:
This man is important in that he is credited with developing the
theory of atomism. In this theory the universe is composed of
tiny indivisible and invisible particles called atoms. We have
since learned that the atoms are not indivisible but are composes
of still smaller particles. Other than that his theory still stands.
By giving these brief notes about these earlier philosophers I do not mean to shortchange or discredit them. They did lay the foundations of Western science. We should not overlook that. My goal is to outline the very beginnings of Western philosophy and civilization. We call these men philosophers because the authorities say the are philosophers. I have no wish to pick an argument with the authorities, but I would much prefer to call them theoretical scientist and or theologians.
Though some of them seemed to be statesmen we know little of
their public lives. In their philosophies they had very little
to say about political situations or the condition of man. It
seems they made little effort to examine or deal with the social
problems of man. They offered no solutions or directions for us.
In particular, we find nothing about the concepts of freedom or
democracy in their work. These concepts came from practical statesmen
like Solon and Ephialtes.
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