Ancient Greek Philosophers: Myth to Reason
Empedocles of Agrigento (483-430 BC)
A mystical figure, Empedocles described reality as a sphere with four original elements: fire, air, water, and earth. These elements combine or separate through forces of love and hate, forming different beings. Man is a microcosm.
Anaxagoras of Clazomenae (500-428 BC)
Accused of impiety for claiming the sun was an incandescent stone, Anaxagoras believed in immutable elements called “seeds.” Change occurs through mixing and division of these seeds, initiated by a non-material “knot.”
Democritus of Abdera (460-370 BC)
Democritus, along with Leucippus, developed the atomist theory. Atoms, the vacuum, and mechanical motion are the basis of reality. Atoms are indivisible and eternal, moving in space and forming eddies.
Myth to Logos
Myths are traditional legends passed down through generations. Philosophy emerged in Athens as thinkers sought rational explanations for natural phenomena, moving from mythos (myth) to logos (reason). Mythic thought relies on imagination and gods, while rational thought is based on reason, observation, and fixed laws.
Sophists and Socrates
Sophists
In the 5th century BC, philosophical focus shifted from nature to society. Sophists were traveling teachers who emphasized rhetoric and persuasion. They questioned the existence of absolute truth, leading to relativism and skepticism.
Socrates
Socrates opposed the Sophists’ commercialization of wisdom. He believed in absolute truth, discoverable through dialogue. His method, maieutics, involved:
- Irony: Exposing ignorance through questioning.
- Maieutics: Guiding others to discover truth.
- Definition: Constructing universal definitions.
Socrates emphasized ethics and morality, believing that wrongdoing stems from ignorance.