Ancient Philosophy

The history of Philosophy in the West begins with the Ancient Greeks, particularly with a group of philosophers who came to be known as the “Pre-Socratics” - because they appeared before Socrates brought dramatic change to Philosophy. This is not to say that there weren't other pre-philosophical rumblings in Egyptian, Semitic, and Babylonian cultures, which certainly had great thinkers and writers, and there is evidence that some of the earliest Greek philosophers may have had contact with at least some of the products of Egyptian or Babylonian thought. However, the early Greek thinkers added at least one element which uniquely differentiates their thought from all those who came before. For the first time in History, we discover in their writings reasoned arguments for various beliefs about the World. After the Pre-Socratics and Socrates, we find astounding and deeply influential philosophical achievements in Soctrates' student Plato, and then in Plato's student Aristotle.

Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Although they are very hard to pin down, and it is sometimes very difficult to determine the actual line of argument used in supporting their views, the Pre-Socratic philosophers seeded or initiated a long line of Western Philosophy. This problem arises from their separation from us in History. While most of these philosophers produced significant texts, we have no complete versions of any of those texts today. We have quotations by later philosophers and historians, and in some cases, an occasional textual fragment, but no “books”.

Further, as nearly all of the various Cosmologies proposed by the early Greek philosophers are profoundly and demonstrably false, this does not diminish their importance in the least. Even if later Ancient (and certainly Modern philosophers summarily rejected the answers the Pre-Socratics provided, the questions are with us today:

• Where does everything come from?
• What is anything made out of?
• How do we explain the diversity of things found in Nature?
• Why are we able to describe things with a single Mathematics?

As important as the questions they asked was the method they followed in forming their answers. The Pre-Socratic philosophers rejected traditional mythological explanations for the phenomenon they saw around them in favor of more rational explanations. In other words they depended on Reason and Observation to illuminate the true nature of the World, and they used rational argument to advance those views to others. Ever since, philosophers have been united in the use of the methods first used by the Pre-Socratics.


There has been considerable discussion about why Athenian culture encouraged Philosophy, but one popular theory is it occurred because Athens had a “direct” Democracy. It's known from Plato's writings that many sophists maintained schools of debate, were respected members of society, and were well paid by their students. It's also well known that orators had tremendous influence on Athenian history. Perhaps the sophists' students wanted to acquire the skills of the orators in order to influence the Athenian Assembly, and thereby grow wealthy and respected. Since winning debates led to wealth, the subjects and methods of debate became highly developed. We can note that Western and American culture maintain this trait of wanting to win an argument in order to be rewarded.

Classic Ancient Greek Philosophy

The works of the three Classical Ancient philosophers, although connected in many fundamental ways, differ considerably in both style and substance. While Socrates reportedly wrote nothing down (or nothing which has survived), Plato wrote several dozen philosophical dialogues, or arguments in the form of conversations, usually with Socrates as a participant, as well as a few letters, and then Aristotle wrote many detailed treatises, or books, across many subjects which effectively defined “academia”.

Socrates

• Socrates (470 BC - 399 BC), an (Athenian) philosopher, became one of the most important icons of the Western philosophical tradition. His most important contribution to Western Philosophy is through his method of inquiry, the “Socratic Method”, which is based on leading a philosophical opponent into trouble by posing questions of entrapment.

The key figure in transforming Early Greek Philosophy into a unified and continuous project - the one still being pursued today - is Socrates, who studied under several sophists and then spent much of his life engaging everyone in Athens in reductive discussions, determining whether anyone had a very clear idea what they were talking about. This was especially true when they talked about matters of Justice, Beauty, and Truth. Socrates apparently wrote nothing down, but he inspired many disciples, including his student, Plato. In his old age, Socrates became the focus of hostility from many in Athens who came to see Philosophy and Sophistry interchangeably, as destroying the piety and moral fiber of the City. After a high-profile trial, he was executed in 399 BC for corrupting the youth.

Plato

• Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), an immensely influential classical Greek philosopher, studied under Socrates and taught Aristotle. His most famous work, The Republic (Greek Politeia, 'city'), outlines his vision of “an ideal” State. He also wrote The Laws and many dialogues featuring Socrates as the main participant. Plato became a pupil of Socrates in his youth, and at least according to his own account, attended his master's trial, though not his execution. Unlike Socrates, Plato wrote down his philosophical views and left a considerable number of manuscripts.

As we know, Socrates' most important student was Plato, who wrote a number of philosophical dialogues using his master's methods of inquiry to examine problems. The early dialogues demonstrate a Socratic and inconclusive style of inquiry. The middle dialogues develop a substantive metaphysical and ethical system to resolve such problems. In these, the central ideas include the “Theory of Forms”, that the Mind is imbued with an innate capacity to understand and apply concepts to the World. These concepts are significantly more “real” than the things of the World around us. Also included is the “Immortality of the Soul”, which is more important than the Body. Other ideas include “Evil being a kind of Ignorance”, “Only Knowledge can lead to Virtue”, “Art should be subordinate to Moral Purposes”, and “Society should be ruled by a class of Philosopher-Kings”. In the later dialogues, Socrates figures less prominently for Plato, and the Theory of Forms itself is cast into doubt, while ethical questions become more of a focus. Plato founded the Academy of Athens, and his most outstanding student was Aristotle.

Aristotle

• Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), has, along with Plato, the reputation of one of the two most influential philosophers of all time. Possibly Aristotle's most important and long-lasting work was his formalization of Logic. It appears that Aristotle was the first philosopher to categorize every valid Syllogism, a form of argument guaranteed to be accepted because it is known to be valid. A crucial assumption in Aristotelian logic is that it has to be about real objects.

Aristotle, by contrast, placed much more value on Knowledge gained from the Senses, and would today qualify as an “empiricist”. Aristotle set the stage for what would eventually develop into the Scientific Method centuries later. The works of Aristotle that still exist today appear in treatise form, mostly unpublished by their author. The most important include Physics, Metaphysics, (Nicomachean) Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On the Soul), Poetics, and many others.

Post-Classic, Hellenistic Philosophy

After Aristotle, Philosophy became increasingly disorganized, though flourishing again during the Hellenistic Age. Often overlooked, the time after the three great ancient philosophers was rich with philosophical activity, with the rediscovery of more ancient writings, and with challenges to traditions. From this period we got Classic Schools of Philosophy:


Unfortunately, with the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman World, it slowly brought an end to the rich Greek and Hellenistic philosophical period, ushering in what is generally called “Medieval Philosophy”, or the “Dark Ages” of Europe.

Scholarship by M.R.M. Parrott

Dynamism: Life: Volume II: Biological Chemistry and Epistemology Philosophy and Science Treatise ©2001, 2010-2011 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Jun 2011 Published by rimric press 0-9746106-5-8 | 978-0-9746106-5-8 216 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword, Notes on the Text and Cover Art Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

Dynamism: Force: Volume I: Quantum Physics and Ontology Philosophy and Science Treatise ©2001-2004 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Feb 05/Jun 11 Published by rimric press 0-9746106-1-5 | 978-0-9746106-1-0 204 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Both Prefaces, Afterword, Notes on the Text and Cover Art Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

Synthetic A Priori: Philosophical Interviews Interviews, Discussion ©1998-1999 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: 99,00,02,08,11 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-6-1 | 978-0-9662635-6-5 232 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Both Prefaces, Notes on the Text and Cover Art Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

The Pure Critique of Reason: Kant and Subjectivity Philosophical Monograph ©1998-1999 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Oct 2002 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-5-3 | 978-0-9662635-5-8 148 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword, Notes on the Text Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

The Empiricism of Subjectivity: Deleuze and Consciousness Philosophical Monograph ©1996-1997 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Oct 2002 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-3-7 | 978-0-9662635-3-4 128 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

The Ethos of Modernity: Foucault and Enlightenment Philosophical Monograph ©1995-1996 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: May 96/Oct 02 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-2-9 | 978-0-9662635-2-7 160 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)

The Generation of 'X': Philosophical Essays 1991-1995 Academic Papers ©1991-1995 M.R.M. Parrott First Published: Oct 2002 Published by rimric press 0-9662635-0-2 | 978-0-9662635-0-3 160 Pages, Paperback & eBook, 2025 2025 Edition Extras: Afterword Amazon Paperback (author) Barnes & Noble Paperback (author) Waterstones Paperback (author)