Philosophy takes its name from Philo or love for Sophia (knowledge). Philosophy is the mother of all theoretical and natural sciences, be it medicine, art, music, mathematics, etc. By studying philosophy, one will be able to understand the future. The analogy is that the future is visible by climbing on the shoulders of a giant who can look ahead. Thus a person is able to understand the context of the philosopher he lives in. Understanding philosophy helps a person to understand history and society.
Hippocrates
In ancient Greece, the concept of Greek death was in full swing. What this meant was that no one could change his destiny. Greek mythology was based on gods like Zeus, who controlled the fate of every human being. Even when an earthquake occurred, the Greeks used to believe that some god was upset with them. Interestingly, these gods often had fights with each other. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi had written "Know Thyself" at its entrance, meaning that you first know your destiny and then enter the temple. If anyone thought he could change his destiny, he was not fit to enter the temple. The Greek tragedy was that if an avid hero wanted to change his destiny with his own efforts, he would always fail.
Natural philosophers rose with the times, who believed that the Greek death was wrong. Nature has its own laws that govern natural events on earth. Early Greek philosophers explained that earthquakes occur because of the water in which the world floats or any change in the air in which the earth was suspended.
The other area that natural philosophers influenced was medicine. Conventional Greeks believed that when a god was angry with a man, the man became ill. Natural philosophers, however, theorized that, for example, the flu (cold) struck a person when it was due to malignant 'influence' from one or another star. In this environment rose a person named Hippocrates who is considered the first physician in Greek society. He said it was a balance of four humor in the human body that governed a person's health. He looked for natural causes of a person's illness. Even today, doctors take the Hippocratic oath to save lives.
Socrates
No study of philosophy is complete without an examination of the ideas of philosophy by Socrates. The amazing fact about Socrates is that he did not write any text, did not write any books and left no proof of his ideas. All his ideas have reached us through the writings of his students, Plato and Xenophon.
Socrates was born in Athens, part of Greece, approx. 47-399 BC He was the first moral philosopher we know. The most well-known aspect related to Socrates is the Socratic method. In this method, Socrates is looking for the meaning or definitions instead of abstract concepts such as justice, freedom, bravery, etc. He would go out on the market and start asking for definitions of abstract concepts of justice, freedom, justice, injustice, and so on. . It would not be wrong for us to call Socrates 'the father of philosophy'.
Sophistication
To understand Socrates, we must understand who the Sophists were. Sophists were trained in the art of speaking and teaching philosophy to ordinary people. It would not be wrong to say that if a person wanted his son to learn philosophy, he would hire a sophist who would do the job. There were obviously no universities or schools at that time that served the purpose of teaching philosophy that the Sophists used to teach philosophy throughout Greece and between the Greek colonies, they were very aware of all the local customs and traditions in each area of the mentioned places. . Socrates was not a Democrat. He used to think that only the best minds should rule society.
Dialectics
Socrates used the dialectal method to teach philosophy. According to him, "Doubt is the origin of the truth". Dialectical question means di =two (which is thesis and anti-thesis). If thesis and anti-thesis are opposed to each other, then philosophy comes into play and tries to find the answer. For example, Socrates went into conceptual analysis as what is bravery? The answer would intuitively be when trying to correct mistakes? Will Socrates further ask to define error? The interrogation will continue until a plausible definition is reached. This is known as the Socratic method of interrogation. He used to ask moral questions such as justice, fair play, courage and then used the Socratic method to find out if the premise on which a concept is based is right or wrong.
Socrates' death
Sparta and Athens were at war with each other. Sparta and Athens fought the Peloponnesian Wars. Sparta won the war, and they elected thirty elites from Athens to rule. When the rule of thirty ended, Athens was given freedom. Socrates took part in the war on the Athenian side. Socrates was then charged with heresy and destruction of the Athens youth. In our time, to judge a case, a jury of around 12-15 days is chosen. In the Athenian days, however, a jury of 500 people was elected. A man from all walks of life was chosen. The defendant had to prove his innocence before this jury. There were two punishments for a proven offender:either going into exile or drinking poison. Instead of softening, Socrates took an aggressive tone and chose to drink the hemlock.
Socrates never went into isolation. He used to go out to the market and catch someone and ask him to define freedom. He used to play the role of a student and chose the person he asked as a teacher. The famous saying inscribed on the entrance of the Temple of Apollo "Know Your Self" applies here that a person who has never examined himself has wasted his life.
The charge against Socrates was that he corrupted the Athens youth by questioning Greek mythology. He said there were no gods in heaven. He was persuaded many times to stop indulging in this practice, but he did not stop. He was told to drink the hemlock, which he gladly did.
Socrates never wrote anything other than his dialogues were brought down to us by his disciple, Plato. Plato formed his own Academy to spread the ideas of Socrates.
Reunion with Plato
Plato's theory of the cave deserves special mention here. According to this theory, man stands facing the wall in a cave where he sees pictures. However, these images are visible through a candle. The object itself is behind one's back, of which shadows are cast on the surface of the cave. Unlike Aristotle, Plato theorized that the world we live in is an ideal world and not a materialistic one. The objects in the world are special and it is an ideal world.
When it comes to politics, Plato wrote Republic where it was the concept of philosopher-kings. Plato believed that only philosophers had the ability to control the affairs of the state. He set up the whole regime of Republic which also included physical exercise. The body has its own needs and appetites, but the supreme being was the mind and logic that only philosophers had to create a harmonious society.
Plato's Communism
The rulers of society were Platonic communists who could not own any property. However, the rest of the people could own property. Platonic communism was based on the idea that the children of the elite were taken from their mothers, as they had to be trained to make important decisions for society. Philosophical knowledge was based on the Spartan governance model.
Aristotle
Aristotle was a clever student of Plato and was Alexander's mentor. He opened a school of philosophy known as the Lyceum. His teaching style was peripatetic, ie he taught while walking. He turned Plato's theory upside down. He said that the material world was the present world. What he meant was that if we see a horse, we describe it as an animal that has four legs, and thus this animal is known as a horse. Aristotle believed in information rather than universal. Thus, there is enough evidence that Aristotle was a materialist.
Ibn Rushd was strongly influenced by Aristotle. Ibn Rushd believes in the collective soul and that there is no individual soul. He also believed that this universe has existed forever and will continue to exist forever. Third, Ibn Rushd believed that only intellectuals could understand philosophy.
These three ideas did not fit well into Orthodoxy. Even Christian Orthodoxy united with Ibn Rushd. As scholastic activity grew in Paris, some had to explain Aristotle's idea to the rest of the world. All of these ideas were a product of the deliberations of the House of Hikmah built by Caliph Haroon-ur-Rashid.
As these ideas grew in the face of stiff opposition from Al-Ghazali's teachings, Ibn Rushd's ideas fell out of favor in the Middle East. The clergy began to oppose Ibn Rushd's ideas and believed that this doctrine took people out of the pale of Islam.
Stoicism is a school of philosophy that advocates that emotions and feelings cause people to make mistakes and lead them to wrong decisions. They say that using your intellect over emotions keeps your decision-making power robust and strong. They argue that one should lead an ascetic lifestyle. We should make rational decisions in the light of logic and decisions. One should concentrate on knowledge in order to live a proper life. Stoics were so much for leading an emotional life that they banished all emotions from human life. For them, the highest virtue is that one should achieve the best possible life by using the mind and reason. They emphasized that the highest virtue is to live a life based on reason.
Stoics were undoubtedly against emotions and feelings. But they never said you should live in rags. They proposed a good, decent life, largely governed by rationality. The Stoic virtues were:Wisdom, Courage, Justice, and Perseverance (abstinence from alcohol in simple words).
Stoics were so attracted to knowledge that they called themselves Citizens of the World. They hated to call themselves only Greek philosophers. Ideas flowing from all parts of the world, ie India, Rome, etc. were their domain.
The best part of Stoic philosophy was that they were against slavery. They believed in the law of nature and believed that all human beings were created equal. So why discriminate against a certain section of society? i.e. slaves. Stoics lived in a time when slaves were treated as mere goods, emphasizing that slaves should be liberated.
Stoicism was the dominant philosophy in Rome. Some of the famous Stoics included Marcus Aurelius, Cicero and other notable figures. Stoics not only influenced Christianity, but later they also influenced the Muslim schools of thought. The starting point was that humanity is sacred and should be respected.
Also read Disencheant with the Masses:Plato and Athenian Democracy
Conclusion of Genesis of Philosophy
In this blog we covered Hippocrates, the first physician in medicine. Then we covered the doctrine of Socrates, who can easily be called the father of philosophy. He was the first moral philosopher. He was looking for the truth, and he was in love with the knowledge that he had drunk the hemlock. Plato and Xenophon wrote down Socrates' dialogues for posterity. Then we visited Plato and Aristotle and their conflict with each other's ideas. We had a debate between universals and particulars, respectively. We also shed some light on Ibn Rushd's ideas and then discussed the Stoics. Aristotle can easily be described as the first scientist in the philosophical tradition. Although almost all of Aristotle's theories have been discredited, he is undoubtedly the first natural scientist in the Greek line of thought. His theories may be wrong, but he at least made the right decisions in the right direction. He could only obtain knowledge from the sources available at that time. In honor, he at least tried to study nature. Stoicism was discussed by those who opposed emotions and feelings. They argue that emotions, feelings, etc. lead to wrong decisions. Only a sensible and rational mind can help the mind to make the right decisions in life. We will address the further study of the development of philosophy in subsequent blogs.