Philosophy, Myth, and the Dawn of Logical Thought
The Essence of Philosophy
Philosophy, derived from ‘sophia’ (wisdom) and ‘philia’ (love), signifies a desire for knowledge. Humans, driven by reason, seek to understand the world’s nature and reality. Unlike other forms of knowledge, philosophy aims to find a unifying foundation, explaining the order of things that escape our senses. Reason is paramount in revealing truth.
Understanding Myth
Myths are traditional stories that explain the order of things and humanity’s place in the world. They express reality consistently, detailing how supernatural beings brought a reality into existence. Key features of myths include:
- A narrative set in a distant past, often called ‘prime time’.
- Personification of natural forces, viewing nature as alive.
- Events influenced by supernatural powers.
- Acceptance of fate (moira) as an inescapable law.
- Validity derived from tradition and ancestral acceptance.
Responses Before Philosophy
Philosophy emerged in Ionia, building upon the foundations laid by Homer and Hesiod. Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, served as common references, suggesting the world originated from water. Hesiod explored the principle of existence, proposing a chaotic state as the origin of the universe.
Homer
His works suggest that our world owes its origin to a first water: ocean.
Hesiod
He proposed that the origin of the universe is in a state report (chaos) where all emergirá orderly existence.
The Rise of Logical Thinking
Around the 6th century BC, a new rational approach to understanding reality emerged. The focus shifted to explaining the origin of things through nature, without supernatural agents. The first philosophers, the Presocratics, aimed to explain the basis of nature, origin, and constitution of the cosmos. They belonged to wealthy Ionian cities like Miletus and Ephesus, where knowledge exchange fostered autonomous thinking.
Characteristics of this new thought:
- The world, though diverse to our senses, has a common, understandable foundation.
- Nature is in constant, though seemingly messy, transformation.
- Nothing comes from nothing; there must be a root cause.
- Reason (logos) is the appropriate means to understand reality.