History of Philosophy

What is Philosophy?

Periodization of Philosophy

The development of philosophical thought is divided into various periods.

The first question related to periodization concerns the origins of philosophy. The answer to this depends on how one defines philosophy. If philosophy is understood as the love of wisdom, or the quest for truth, then such a pursuit has existed since humanity began. Thus, philosophy emerged when humanity did. Philosophy is as intrinsic to human activity as language, breathing, or circulation. A person cannot help but think, just as they cannot help but breathe. Therefore, under this understanding of philosophy, seeking its temporal beginning is futile. Every person, by nature, is a philosopher, for everyone loves wisdom and seeks truth.

However, if philosophy is understood as a science with specific methods and clear documentation of results, then philosophy has precise temporal boundaries marked by written works. Philosophy as a science of the most fundamental principles of existence emerged when educated and creative individuals began to write substantively on these topics. This occurred almost simultaneously in three regions of the world: Greece, India, and China. Each culture exhibits its own specific characteristics.

Ancient Indian philosophy developed within the context of religious doctrine, meaning Indian philosophers viewed their task as interpreting Hindu beliefs. Thus, in Indian thought, philosophy and theology are inseparable. Indian philosophy is divided into two major streams of thought:

• Astika: The orthodox school of Indian philosophy, whose representatives accept the authority of the Vedas (sacred Hindu texts) and seek to substantiate their undisputed authority. The schools of Astika are categorized not by their views but by the themes that captivated their representatives. The six schools of Astika include:

✵ Vedanta: Philosophers of this school developed issues related to Hindu orthodoxy, metaphysics, and the foundations of Indian worldview.

✵ Mimamsa: Representatives of this school sought to rationally justify the importance of meticulous adherence to religious rites and rituals.

✵ Sankhya: This school dealt with the problem of spirit's bondage to matter and the paths to human liberation, that is, soteriology (the doctrine of salvation).

✵ Yoga: While Sankhya focused on salvation theory, the thinkers of Yoga developed practical spiritual advice and techniques for liberation from matter and spiritual refinement.

✵ Nyaya: Philosophers of this school were interested in questions of logic, theory of knowledge, argumentation theory, and rhetoric.

✵ Vaisheshika: Representatives of this school developed the philosophy of nature, its existence, and the possibility of its knowledge.

• Nastika: The heterodox school of Indian philosophy, whose representatives rejected the authority of the Vedas and Hindu religious tradition, instead forming their own value orientations. Nastika is represented by three schools:

✵ Buddhism: A religious-philosophical doctrine that developed in the Indian cultural space but which founders rejected Hinduism and developed their own doctrine of human salvation. Buddhists believe that all phenomena are illusions and that the cause of human suffering is desire, which must be relinquished to escape suffering.

✵ Jainism: A religious-philosophical school that proposed its own version of doctrine, sacred texts, and moral teachings. Jainism is based on the moral principle of ahimsa (non-harming of any life) and the prohibition of killing any living being.

✵ Charvaka-Lokayana: A heterodox school of Indian philosophy that based its teachings on materialism and the denial of Hindu fundamentals.

Ancient Chinese philosophy addressed different themes from Indian philosophy. While Indian philosophers focused primarily on religious issues, Chinese thinkers dedicated their attention to political and social problems. Chinese philosophers sought to answer questions about how to structure societal and state life to ensure happiness for all. All schools of Chinese philosophy agreed that happiness could only be achieved in a state where Dao, the divine principle of existence, is realized. However, each interpreted Dao differently and proposed distinct paths to building an ideal state, emphasizing various values. This philosophy is represented by the following schools:

• Ru Jia (Confucianism): This philosophical school held that the key to a good state is adherence to the traditions and customs of the past. They believed that ancient Chinese society was happier and thus advocated for following the practices of previous generations to reveal Dao, stabilize the state, and ensure the happiness of its people.
• Dao De Jia (Daoism): This school believed that Dao could best govern the world on its own. People should withdraw from all activity and allow Dao to act. If people do not obstruct Dao, it will arrange personal and societal life in the best possible way.
• Fa Jia (Legalism): This school believed that the people would be happy only if everyone in the state strictly adhered to the law. Since Legalists thought that customary practices hindered the supremacy of law, they proposed eliminating customs and traditions.
• Mo Jia (Mohism): This school argued that universal love was the key to people's happiness. If everyone loved everyone, society would be optimal, and people would be happy.
• Ming Jia (School of Names): This school denied the existence of universal truths and immutable values, contending that any assertion is relative, with utility as the criterion of truth.
• Yin-Yang Jia: This school sought to understand popular beliefs and superstitions, seeing adherence to them as the key to happiness. Over time, this school merged into Daoism.

The philosophical paradigms of the Far East have laid the foundation for the cultures of this region and, in the context of globalization, have had a significant impact on the Western world. The European philosophical tradition began with Ancient Greece, where the first philosophical and scientific schools emerged and the initial scholarly debates began. It is divided into several periods:

• Ancient Philosophy: This period of philosophical development spanned the existence of Ancient Greece and Rome, from the 7th century BCE to the 5th century CE. Ancient philosophy covered the territories inhabited by the Greeks and Romans, including the Mediterranean and the Near East. It is further divided into three sub-periods, each marked by its own characteristics:

✵ Pre-Socratics: These are the philosophical schools and individual thinkers who lived in the Greek city-states of Asia Minor and Southern Italy, operating before Socrates and concerned with philosophical problems of nature, striving to identify the fundamental substance of all existence. During this period, the Milesian, Pythagorean, Eleatic, and Atomistic schools, as well as Heraclitus and Anaxagoras, were active.

✵ Classical Greek Philosophy: This phase is represented by three Athenian philosophers—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—who addressed a wide range of philosophical questions and established the most influential philosophical paradigms in the history of human thought.

✵ Late Ancient Philosophy or Hellenistic Philosophy: This period began after the wars of Alexander the Great and lasted until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. During this time, the cultures of the peoples under Alexander's and Rome's rule merged, leading to the first instance of globalization in history. Philosophers of this period were primarily concerned with moral issues. Hellenistic philosophy includes Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, and Neoplatonism.

• Medieval Philosophy: This period of European philosophy covered the Middle Ages and was primarily based on Christianity, with thinkers of the time exploring religious questions. It is divided into:

✵ Patristics: This refers to Christian philosophy from the 2nd to the 8th centuries, focusing on Christian doctrine and combating heresies. Notable figures include Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Origen, Irenaeus of Lyons, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ephrem the Syrian, and John of Damascus.

✵ Scholasticism: This period of Christian philosophy from the 8th to the 15th centuries took place in church schools and universities, with metaphysics as the central theme of philosophical discourse. Key figures include John Scotus Erigena, Anselm of Canterbury, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and others.

• Arabic Philosophy: This refers to the philosophy of the early Islamic environment when Muslim thought was actively developing. During this time, Muslim philosophers extensively adapted the heritage of ancient philosophy and developed the conceptual and terminological apparatus of Islamic philosophical-theological thought. Notable philosophers include Avicenna, Averroes, Suhrawardi, Al-Ghazali, and others. Arabic philosophy had a profound impact on Christian medieval scholasticism.
• Modern Philosophy: This encompasses European philosophy from the 15th to the 19th centuries, during which ancient philosophical themes were revived and new worldviews developed. This period can be further divided into several sub-periods:

✵ Renaissance Philosophy: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Western European intellectuals were captivated by the philosophical and artistic heritage of Antiquity and aimed to revive it. Renaissance thinkers worked extensively on translating texts from ancient philosophers and writers and sought to express their own views in the style of their ancient predecessors. Prominent figures include Nicholas of Cusa, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, Michel de Montaigne, Marsilio Ficino, Niccolò Machiavelli, Tommaso Campanella, Thomas More, François de Sales, and Giordano Bruno.

✵ The Age of Great Systems: In the 17th century, philosophers no longer limited themselves to reviving the past but aimed to answer fundamental philosophical questions. This era saw the formation of major philosophical paradigms by René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Nicolas Malebranche, Wilhelm Leibniz, Benedict Spinoza, Thomas Hobbes, and others.

✵ English Enlightenment: In the 18th century, English philosophy actively developed, with philosophers aiming to elevate the level of education among the people to ensure their happiness. Notable figures of the English Enlightenment include John Locke, George Berkeley, Adam Smith, David Hume, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, and Jeremy Bentham.

✵ French Enlightenment: In the 18th century, French philosophers embraced Enlightenment ideas, including François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), Denis Diderot, Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Adrien-Claude-Marie Helvétius, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and others.

✵ German Enlightenment or German Classical Philosophy: Enlightenment ideas in the German intellectual sphere led to the development of major philosophical systems by Christian Wolff, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and others.

✵ 19th-Century Philosophy: This period was rich in diverse concepts. German philosophy of this era was represented by Arthur Schopenhauer, Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche. In Denmark, Søren Kierkegaard was active. French 19th-century philosophy was characterized by Auguste Comte's positivism. English philosophy included Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, and others.

• Contemporary Philosophy: This term refers to philosophical inquiries of the 20th and 21st centuries. During this period, various philosophical movements emerged, including Empirio-criticism, Neo-positivism, Philosophy of Science, Phenomenology, Existentialism, Personalism, Hermeneutics, Pragmatism, Anthropology, Neo-Scholasticism, Christian Evolutionism, Theocentric Existentialism, Neo-Humanism, Structuralism, and Postmodernism.