Origin and Development of Early Greek Thought

• Greek philosophy marks a significant departure from mythological thinking, representing a transition to more complex and comprehensive systems of thought.
• The Greeks laid the foundations for subsequent Western philosophical traditions and addressed a wide range of philosophical problems.
• Greek philosophy evolved from simple mythological beginnings to sophisticated systems, showcasing the spirit of independence and love for truth.
• The study of Greek philosophy is valuable for understanding higher speculative thought and the evolution of human thinking.
• The intellectual movement of Greek philosophy originated and developed in the Hellenic world but also influenced other civilizations like Rome, Alexandria, and Asia Minor.
• The geographical and social environment of ancient Greece, with its active trade, commerce, and diverse colonies, stimulated intellectual and cultural progress.
• Greek city-states evolved politically from patriarchal monarchy to aristocracy and eventually to democracy, reflecting social and economic changes.
• Greek literature evolved from optimistic and objective narratives to critical and reflective works, expressing discontent and prompting reform.
• The religious origins of Greek philosophy are intertwined with the anthropomorphic religion of the Olympian gods and the mystery cults that emerged later.
• Greek religion influenced philosophy, especially in areas like cosmology, theology, and theogony, paving the way for philosophical inquiries into natural principles and ethical concepts.
• The revival of religious feeling in the sixth century BCE, through mystery cults and worship practices, contributed to philosophical reflections on life, death, and immortality.
• The interplay between Greek religion and philosophy led to intellectual advancements and the development of rational explanations in philosophical discourse.
• The sixth-century religious revival, especially in its Orphic form, influenced Greek philosophy significantly, particularly regarding the doctrine of the soul and concepts of immortality and the fall from a blessed state.
• Greek philosophy can be divided into several periods, each focusing on different aspects of philosophical inquiry.
• The pre-Sophistic period (585 BCE to the middle of the fifth century BCE) was primarily concerned with ontological questions about the essence of external nature and the process of change.
• The Sophistic period (fifth century BCE) marked a shift towards human-centered inquiries, such as knowledge and conduct, amid skepticism about metaphysical speculations.
• The Socratic period (430 BCE to 320 BCE) emphasized the defense of knowledge against skepticism and laid the groundwork for ethical inquiries.
• The systematic period, characterized by Plato and Aristotle, encompassed comprehensive studies of metaphysics, ethics, politics, logic, and human knowledge.
• The post-Aristotelian period (320 BCE to 529 CE) saw developments in ethical and theological philosophy, with schools like Stoicism and Epicureanism focusing on conduct and Neoplatonism exploring theological questions.
• Greek philosophy evolved from naturalistic and cosmological inquiries to humanistic and ethical concerns, culminating in comprehensive systems of thought in the systematic period.
• Various works and historians have documented the history and development of Greek philosophy, offering insights into its different phases and key philosophical ideas.

Development of Pre-Sophistic Philosophy

• The speculative impulse in Greek philosophy is first seen in the Ionian physicists, Pythagoreans, Heraclitus, Eleatics, Empedocles, Atomists, and Anaxagoras, who sought to explain phenomena using natural causes rather than mythical beings.
• The development of pre-Sophistic philosophy follows a logical pattern, with each problem naturally leading to the next and various solutions explored systematically.
• The initial problem addressed by early philosophers was the nature of substance, with each Milesian philosopher proposing a concrete substance as the basic element of the world (water, air, or an undifferentiated mass).
• The problem of change was not distinctly separated from the problem of substance initially; the concept of hylozoism was prevalent, assuming that reality is alive and capable of change.
• Different early Greek thinkers offered various solutions to how derived things originate from the original substance, such as transformation, separation, or condensation/rarefaction.
• The Pythagoreans focused on abstract number theory, considering numbers as the primary causes of things rather than concrete substances.
• Heraclitus emphasized change as a fundamental aspect of the world, while the Eleatics denied the possibility of change and emphasized permanence.
• Empedocles and Anaxagoras sought a compromise between change and permanence, introducing concepts like Love and Hate or Mind as separate moving principles.
• Empedocles and Anaxagoras introduced qualitative atomism, while Leucippus and Democritus proposed quantitative atomism with indivisible particles called atoms and inherent motion in the atoms themselves.
• The Sophists, in contrast, took a negative stance towards these theories, considering attempts to solve the world-problem futile and beyond certain knowledge.

The Problem of Substance

• Thales, the first Greek philosopher, focused on answering philosophical questions without resorting to mythical explanations.
• Thales declared water as the original substance, possibly influenced by its transformative properties and significance in life.
• Anaximander, a pupil of Thales, proposed the Boundless or Infinite as the principle of all things, from which everything originates and returns.
• Anaximander’s cosmology included the eternal motion of the Boundless, separation of hot and cold, and the formation of celestial bodies.
• Anaximander’s speculations on the origin of living creatures and the cyclical recurrence of worlds were ahead of his time.
• Anaximenes, another pupil of Anaximander, identified air as the underlying substance, emphasizing rarefaction and condensation as processes for the emergence of observable elements.
• The Pythagoreans, led by Pythagoras, shifted focus from substance to the form and relations of things, introducing the concept of number theory.
• The Pythagoreans believed numbers to be the true realities and the basis of everything, emphasizing the importance of numerical relations, order, and proportion in the universe.
• Pythagoras’ teachings extended to ethics, politics, and religious ideals, forming a philosophical and ethical society.
• The Pythagorean school developed ideas about opposites, dualism of the limited and unlimited, and the numerical basis of the corporeal world.
• The Pythagorean doctrine influenced later philosophical concepts and contributed to the understanding of harmony, form, and relations in the universe.
• Pythagorean number-mysticism extended into physics and astronomy, influencing theories like Kepler’s with its emphasis on numerical relations and order.
• Despite its fantastic correlations, Pythagorean number-mysticism aimed to discover order and lawfulness in abstract numerical terms, laying the groundwork for modern science’s mathematically expressible natural laws.
• In astronomy, the Pythagorean school placed the central fire in a spherical universe, with planets revolving around it via transparent moving spheres.
• The dualism of limited and unlimited, central to Pythagorean metaphysics, was reflected in astronomy’s separation between the stellar system and terrestrial regions.
• The Pythagorean cosmology of ten heavenly bodies and a counter-earth influenced later Greek astronomy, leading to the heliocentric theory.
• Pythagorean ethics rooted in number-mysticism applied numerical interpretations to non-corporeal concepts like love, friendship, justice, and virtue, associating them with harmonious numerical relationships.

The Problem of Change

• Ionian physicists focused on the substantial nature of things, while Pythagoreans were interested in quantitative relations, order, harmony, and number.
• The problem of change or becoming became significant, with Heraclitus emphasizing constant flux and denying permanence, while the Eleatics rejected change and asserted the eternal nature of being.
• Heraclitus viewed change as central to the universe’s life, denying permanence and asserting that everything is in a state of constant flux.
• Heraclitus chose fire as his first principle, symbolizing ceaseless activity and transformation, with everything changing into its opposite.
• The world is ruled by opposition and strife, leading to harmony through the union of opposites, according to Heraclitus.
• Heraclitus’ cosmology posited that all things return to the original state of fire, governed by a rational principle (logos) underlying all change and opposition.
• Heraclitus’ psychology and ethics were based on the soul’s connection to divine reasoning, advocating for a rational life guided by universal principles of law and morality.
• The Eleatic School, led by Parmenides, rejected change and motion, emphasizing the permanence and unchanging nature of the principle of things.
• Xenophanes introduced skepticism into Greek thought, questioning the possibility of certain knowledge about gods and nature while allowing for theological conjectures.
• He criticized polytheism and anthropomorphism, advocating for the unity and unchangeableness of God.
• Xenophanes is seen as a speculative theologian rather than a philosopher, influenced by the religious movements of his time.
• He believed in the eternity of God, who governs all things without toil, remains immovable, and possesses eternal attributes.
• Xenophanes’ pantheistic view identifies God as the eternal principle of the universe, viewing God as the world itself rather than a separate entity.
• Parmenides challenged Heraclitus’ view of constant change, arguing for the eternal, unchangeable nature of being.
• Parmenides’ ontology posited a homogeneous, continuous, and indivisible reality governed by reason, where change and motion are inconceivable.
• Zeno, Parmenides’ pupil, used dialectic to demonstrate the absurdity of plurality, motion, and space, presenting famous paradoxes such as Achilles and the tortoise.
• Zeno’s paradoxes aimed to prove the impossibility of motion and the relativity of observed motions, challenging common assumptions about space and time.
• Melissus, another Eleatic thinker, supported Parmenides’ doctrine of the eternal, infinite nature of being but introduced the idea of spatial infinitude, denying the existence of empty space or non-being and rejecting motion and change.

Qualitative Theories

• Xenophanes introduced skepticism into Greek thought, asserting that certain knowledge about gods and nature is impossible but allowing for theological conjectures approaching truth.
• He criticized anthropomorphism and polytheism, advocating for the unity and unchangeableness of God.
• Xenophanes proposed that gods are different in body and mind from mortals, emphasizing God’s eternal nature and governance of all things.
• He migrated from Colophon to southern Italy, working as a satyric poet and criticizing Greek beliefs and manners.
• Xenophanes was a speculative theologian rather than a philosopher, with a skeptical religious attitude.
• He embraced pantheism, viewing God as the eternal principle of the universe, the One encompassing all things.
• Parmenides, influenced by Xenophanes, challenged Heraclitus’ views on change and asserted the immutability of being.
• Parmenides argued that being and thought are one, rejecting the possibility of absolute change or motion.
• Zeno of Elea, a student of Parmenides, formulated paradoxes challenging the possibility of motion and change.
• Melissus of Samos extended Parmenides’ ideas, positing that being is eternal and infinite in time and space, denying the existence of empty space.
• The Eleatic school, including Parmenides, Zeno, and Melissus, emphasized the impossibility of absolute change while allowing for relative change.
• Empedocles proposed four elements (earth, air, fire, water) and mythical forces Love and Strife to explain change through mingling and separation of elements.
• Anaxagoras introduced an infinite number of specific quality substances and a teleological principle (Nous) to explain change and the world-order.
• Anaxagoras viewed Nous as an intelligent, purposive principle initiating the world-process through mechanical means and ordering the cosmos.
• Anaxagoras’ dualistic view of Nous as both transcendent and immanent contributed to the development of philosophical idealism.

Quantitative Theories

• Democritus, along with Empedocles and Anaxagoras, contributed to the natural-scientific view of the universe known as the atomic theory.
• He rejected the qualitative properties of original particles and the idea of external forces like Love and Hate governing them.
• Democritus believed in an infinite number of atoms differing only quantitatively in shape, size, etc., unlike Anaxagoras’ limited qualitatively differing elements.
• He emphasized the reality of empty space, essential for atom motion, contrary to Anaxagoras’ view of qualitative reality everywhere.
• Democritus considered motion an intrinsic property of atoms, governed by mechanical law, unlike Anaxagoras’ teleological explanation.
• Leucippus and Democritus founded atomism, with Democritus elaborating extensively on the atomic theory.
• Atoms are indivisible, impenetrable, and eternal, forming the basis of all reality and explaining cosmic evolution through their motions and combinations.
• Democritus’ psychological theory involved atoms composing the soul and sense perception as a result of atom interactions with sense organs.
• Ethics for Democritus centered on happiness derived from moderation, rational reflection, virtuous conduct, and service to the state, reflecting a materialistic and hedonistic philosophy.