Hellenistic Philosophy: Epicureans, Cynics, Stoics, Skeptics
Hellenistic Philosophy
The Hellenistic period saw the rise of several philosophical schools, branching from Aristotelian and Platonic thought. Here’s a look at some of the key schools:
The Epicureans
Epicurus, drawing from atomistic physics (though disagreeing with Democritus and Leucippus by introducing clinamens, or random deviations in atomic trajectories), aimed to achieve ethical freedom. They sought happiness through three principles:
- Intelligibility of sensation: Ensuring sensations are understood.
- Experience of sensation: Accumulating knowledge through the senses.
- Sense of pleasure and pain: Distinguishing between feelings.
Epicureans believed not all pleasures should be pursued, as some lead to pain, and not all pain should be avoided. They emphasized appreciating what one has and identified the main sources of human suffering and how to address them:
- Fear of the gods: If gods exist, they are not concerned with us.
- Fear of death: Death is non-existent for both the living and the dead, as it cannot be felt or experienced.
- Fear of fate: We possess the ability to shape our lives through our actions and tools.
- Fear of unmet natural needs: Addressed with the same solution as the fear of fate.
The Cynics
The Cynics advocated living according to nature, embracing a simple, unadorned life (like a dog’s life). They believed in owning nothing that could compromise freedom, rejected marriage, and refused gifts.
The Stoics
The Stoics believed everything is predetermined and governed by fate. They viewed the universe as a macrocosm and individuals as microcosms within it. They emphasized accepting the present moment, remaining unmoved by external events, and embracing determinism, rejecting chance.
The Skeptics
Skeptics refrained from asserting or denying any premise categorically, viewing all claims as hypothetical. They argued that human capacity for definitive knowledge is inherently paradoxical, leading to a vicious circle. Skeptical inquiry leads to the conclusion that definitive, unshakeable conclusions are unattainable.
Eclecticism
Eclecticism, with few followers, involved combining related philosophical ideas.
Philosophy of the Middle Ages
Medieval philosophy was dominated by theology, with God holding ultimate power and serving as both the starting point and conclusion of philosophical inquiry. Greek and Latin philosophical heritage was largely lost, and education was based on dogma, with philosophy serving theology.
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury developed an ontological argument to affirm God’s existence. He argued that to affirm or deny something, one must first understand what that thing is. He defined God as “the greatest being one can conceive.” He then proposed two ways of understanding God: “God in Re” (God as believed in by those who believe) and “God in intellecto” (God as a concept in the minds of agnostics or atheists). Anselm concluded that because both perspectives met his definition of God, God must exist.
Philosophy of the Renaissance Era
The Renaissance marked a period of renewal and change. Humanism, the most important movement of the time, offered a new, dignified conception of humanity.