Ancient Philosophy and its Cosmocentric Orientation

The Classical Period of Ancient Philosophy

The sophists—paid teachers of wisdom, rhetoric, and logic—were the first to redirect philosophical inquiry from the knowledge of nature (the cosmos) toward humanity (the microcosm) and the realities of human existence. They are justly regarded as representatives of Greek Enlightenment: not only did they embody a critical approach to established beliefs, but they also popularized knowledge among their numerous students. However, the sophists placed the subjective aspect of human experience at the forefront. Protagoras (c. 480-410 BCE) articulated his famous thesis in "On Truth": “Man is the measure of all things: of things that are, that they are; of things that are not, that they are not.” This assertion implied that one must judge not merely the things themselves but their existence “through man,” leading the sophists to relativism, which posited that knowledge, laws, and moral principles are inherently relative and conditional, thereby rendering universally obligatory knowledge impossible.

Socrates (c. 470-399 BCE), one of the most renowned philosophers of Ancient Greece, vehemently opposed this stance. He turned away from the study of nature, believing that the world of things should not concern a true philosopher, and instead focused on the questions of what it means to be human and the nature of consciousness, emphasizing self-knowledge. For Socrates, the subject of philosophy could only be that which is accessible to humanity—namely, the soul, the spiritual essence. His favorite maxim was “Know thyself.”

By concentrating on ethical issues, Socrates regarded philosophy as a teaching on how one ought to live, seeing its primary task as uncovering the nature of good and evil. He asserted that immoral actions stem from ignorance of the truth about goodness: if a person truly knows what is good, they would never commit an evil act. It is reason that can provide the higher, universally binding knowledge, which serves as the source of human moral development. This viewpoint came to be known as ethical rationalism in the history of philosophy.

However, Socrates believed that knowledge could not be obtained in a ready-made form, acquired from without, or proclaimed. An individual must exert considerable effort to attain it, as it emerges through dialogue among people collectively seeking the truth, through the collision of opposing thoughts and viewpoints. The method associated with Socrates, now known as the Socratic method, he himself termed "maieutics" (from the Greek for “the art of midwifery”). This method aimed to assist the truth in coming to birth during communication. The fundamental principle of this approach is irony, through which Socrates instilled doubt in people regarding accepted truths, thus inviting them to reflect.

Socrates did not commit his thoughts to writing, believing that ideas should live in dialogue and lively exchange. The content of his philosophy is known through the teachings of his students, particularly Plato. Socrates noted that truth is a process, and that philosophy is not wisdom itself but the striving toward it. He often expressed, “I know only that I know nothing, while others do not even know that.”

Socrates is regarded as the embodiment of philosophy. He lived as he philosophized, and philosophized as he lived. In 399 BCE, when he was unjustly sentenced to death, he rejected the pleas of his students to escape from prison, for he had always preached the necessity of obeying the laws of the state, and fleeing would signify a renunciation of his convictions. Through his life and death, Socrates symbolizes the purpose of philosophy: to find a solid foundation within oneself, in one’s own reason.

His student Plato (c. 427-347 BCE) continued Socratic thought, becoming the creator of a system of objective idealism. In Plato’s work, as in Socrates’, the central theme remains moral and ethical inquiry, with the most significant philosophical problems revolving around humanity, society, and the state. Considerable emphasis is also placed on the doctrine of being, according to which reality is divided into two realms: the world of ideas and the world of things. Each object possesses its own idea, a specific standard according to which it is “crafted.” The material world is merely a “shadow” of the world of ideas, secondary; the ideas—standards also encompass the most essential ethical principles. Ideas form a hierarchy, ranging from less general to more general, with the concept of the good at the apex. For Plato, matter is something indeterminate, formless, lacking independent existence, which corrupts the ideas and is merely potential rather than actuality.

The distinction between the world of ideas and the world of things is illustrated in Table 3.

Plato developed what is known as the “theory of recollection,” which serves as the foundation for his epistemological conception. Humanity consists of an immortal soul, belonging to the realm of ideas, and a mortal body, which is the prison of the soul. Based on his belief in the transmigration of souls (metempsychosis), Plato argued that human souls retain memories of the true, otherworldly realm of ideas from whence they came. Before inhabiting a human body, the soul existed in its pure, ideal state, freely contemplating and recording the world of ideas. Upon entering a material body, however, the soul forgets its previous knowledge. Nonetheless, the perception of things acts as a stimulus for recalling their true essence, resulting in the emergence of general concepts. Thus, knowledge is the process of the soul recollecting the knowledge it has retained. For the soul to remain in the realm of ideas during its transmigrations—freed from the body—it must achieve a higher degree of perfection: subduing sensual inclinations to a higher rational aspiration for the good. The stronger and more intense the memories, the more the soul succeeds in liberating itself from corporeality. “Ideas,” therefore, are known through reason, independent of the sensibly given external world, which cannot provide true knowledge or truth, only an opinion about it.

Table 3

Ideas (Eidos)	Things
eternal	temporary
unchanging	changeable
incorporeal	corporeal
immaterial	result of the interaction of ideas with matter
perfect	imperfect
primary	secondary
exist independently	lack independent existence
intelligible, supersensible	perceived sensibly
models of things	copies, shadows of ideas
true being	false being

Plato’s ethical-political doctrine reflects his understanding of the essence of humanity. He likens the human soul to a charioteer guiding a pair of horses. The soul consists of two levels: the rational (the charioteer), capable of perceiving the world of ideas and striving for the good, and the appetitive (the horses), connected with the body. The appetitive part of the soul is divided into the affective, associated with noble passions—courage, bravery, and a sense of duty—and the passionate (appetitive) soul, characterized by base and crude feelings, overly tied to the corporeal world. Based on this distinction, Plato categorizes all people into three groups according to which part of the soul predominates:

• Those with a predominating rational soul—philosophers, who can contemplate the beauty and order of ideas, are inclined toward justice and moderation, and strive for the highest good; in his ideal state, he assigns them the role of rulers.
• Affective types, possessing noble passions, capable of subordinating their desires to a sense of duty; according to Plato, they should serve as the guardians of the state.
• Passionate types, whose principal virtue is temperance, should engage in physical labor—farmers and artisans.

Thus, according to Plato, each class possesses its own virtue: wisdom for the rulers, courage for the warriors, and temperance for the farmers and artisans.

For Plato, if each class fulfills its functions clearly, there will be order in the state. He posits that the good of the state surpasses that of the individual. The dominance of the general over the individual, characteristic of his ontology, also defines his theory of the state. He identifies seven types of government: the ideal and six that actually exist. Among the latter, he divides them into correct forms—monarchy and aristocracy—and incorrect forms—timocracy (from the Greek "timē," meaning price, conditioned by property status), oligarchy (the rule of the few, either military or wealthy), democracy, and tyranny. Plato did not harbor fondness for democracy; he believed that when the populace enjoys excessive freedom in selecting unworthy rulers from their midst and dictates state affairs while swinging from one extreme to another, each individual prioritizes personal gain over the common good.

Aristotle (384-322 BCE) stands as the most distinguished philosopher of antiquity and a pupil of Plato. He was characterized by an encyclopedic intellect, encompassing a wide array of interests beyond philosophy itself, including logic, psychology, physics, zoology, ethics, politics, and pedagogy, all harmoniously united within a coherent philosophical system.

In his work "Metaphysics," Aristotle posits that philosophy is a unique science concerned with the principles and primary causes of all existence, focusing not on nature itself, but rather on what exists beyond it—supersensible, eternal essences accessible to the intellect. He was the first among ancient thinkers to differentiate philosophical knowledge from empirical science. He referred to philosophy as "metaphysics" or the first philosophy, while physics—the study of nature—was deemed the second.

Aristotle asserted that the study of being could be undertaken through logic. His establishment of logic as a tool for understanding reality, articulated in "Organon," marks a significant historical achievement. He is rightly referred to as the "father of logic." Aristotle formulated theories on the laws and principles of formal-logical thought, methodologies for scientific inquiry, and developed a classification of categories. He termed the method of deriving the general as induction and also advanced a theory of deductive proof. In "Categories," Aristotle articulates a system encompassing ten categories: substance, quality, quantity, relation, place, time, position, state, action, and passion.

In the book "Physics," Aristotle elucidates his doctrine on the essence of nature. A component of his physical teachings is cosmology—the study of the structure of the cosmos, which he views as geocentric, placing the Earth at its center. The Earth, according to Aristotle, is immobile and spherical, with the Moon, Sun, planets, and stars revolving around it. The primary source of movement is the unmoved mover, the form of all forms—God. An essential aspect of Aristotle's physics is his doctrine of teleology, illustrated through examples such as animal instincts and the harmonious relationships among bodily parts. Critiquing atomic theory, Aristotle contends that nature cannot abide a vacuum.

Aristotle challenges Plato's theory of ideas, denying the independent existence of universal concepts—ideas. He argues that it is impossible for the essences of things to exist separately from the things themselves, in a realm apart. Thus, according to Aristotle, only the things themselves are real; the material world is the sole reality, and there are no separate ideas outside of it.

He elaborates a doctrine of four causes that account for all existence:

• Formal Cause: The form of a thing, the active principle that organizes passive matter. This, for Aristotle, is not a celestial essence, but resides within the thing itself. The development of natural phenomena is an unceasing process of shaping matter.
• Material Cause: The substance of all things; this is the passive principle.
• Efficient Cause: The source of motion.
• Final Cause: The purpose for which movement occurs.

Everything in the world is governed by a higher goal—the ultimate cause, which Aristotle termed the "form of all forms," the first cause and unmoved mover of all, which is the World Mind, or God. Thus, Aristotle's teaching about the higher being manifests as a discourse on God, or theology. However, this God is not a personal entity, as will be seen in later Christian thought, but an impersonal intellect, a thought that thinks itself. The higher intellect integrates the formal, efficient, and final causes, with its supreme aim being the good. Therefore, Aristotle's doctrine emerges as an objective teleology, representing the universal purposiveness of all. From this teleological perspective, explanations are not framed in response to the question "why?" but rather to "for what purpose?" Knowledge, for Aristotle, entails the search for the reasons behind each thing's existence, with the emergence of things being determined by their purpose—their reason for existence. Real entities can be comprehended through empirical means, via the senses. Through this empirical understanding of real entities, humans formulate general concepts.

Aristotle regards humans as the most perfected beings within the material world. The "matter" of a human being is their body, while the "form" is their soul. The body serves as the potentiality for the soul. His teachings on the connection between the soul and body are articulated in "On the Soul." Aristotle posits that the human soul comprises three parts:

• The vegetative part, responsible for nutrition and growth;
• The animal part, responsible for sensation and desire;
• The rational part, capable of grasping the universal— the higher aspect.

The first two parts are inextricably linked to bodily life and are thus mortal; the rational part, however, is immortal and merges with the higher Intellect after death. Aristotle characterizes humans as social (political) animals, who cannot exist outside of society— the state, which represents a form of communal living among citizens. The aim of the state is the common good.

In his work "Politics," Aristotle categorizes the types of government.

Correct forms of government—realizing the purpose of the state: the common good

• Monarchy: the rule of one best individual
• Aristocracy: the rule of a few worthy individuals
• Polity (republic): the rule of the majority capable of military service

Incorrect forms of government—distorting the purpose of the state, serving merely selfish interests

• Tyranny: the rule of one, obtained through force
• Oligarchy: the rule of a few wealthy individuals
• Democracy: the rule of the masses

According to Aristotle, among the correct forms, monarchy and aristocracy are the best. Among the incorrect, democracy is the most acceptable—provided that it is governed by law rather than the whims of the mob.

In his teachings on the state, Aristotle did not, as Plato did, seek absolute justice. Aware of the imperfections in existing laws, he emphasized that the rule of law is preferable to the rule of any individual. Governance based on law may not be wholly just, yet it is a lesser evil compared to the tyranny and passions that dominate individuals in power. This idea later became foundational to Western European democracy. Aristotle also rejected Plato's notion of abolishing the family and communal ownership of children and property, advocating instead for the preservation of private property.

Aristotle ultimately completed the formalization of ethics as a scientific discipline in his works—Nicomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics, and Great Ethics. He regarded ethics (to which he was the first to assign the current name) as an independent discipline within the system of philosophical knowledge. While theoretical philosophy is oriented towards knowledge as such, that is, towards the contemplation of the eternal and immutable, practical philosophy teaches correct actions. Practical philosophy examines volitional activity, which implies the freedom of choice. Everything that is done involuntarily—either through coercion or due to ignorance—falls outside the purview of practical philosophy. Thus, according to Aristotle, ethics is a distinct practical science concerning virtue, with the aim of teaching a person how to become virtuous and happy. It consists of three parts: the doctrine of the highest good, the doctrine of the nature of virtues, and the doctrine of specific virtues.

For Aristotle, the highest good is happiness, which he distinguished into two components: the internal (psychological) perfection—what depends on the individual—and the external (material well-being)—what does not depend on the individual. These are interrelated in such a way that the psychological qualities of a person—her virtue—substantially determine her happiness. Virtue represents a socially significant (commendable) and acquired quality of the soul. It is not innate but is cultivated based on natural predispositions.

Aristotle classifies all virtues into intellectual (dianoetic) and ethical. Dianoetic virtues are the intellectual, theoretical virtues: wisdom, understanding, and prudence. They are acquired through learning. Ethical virtues, while also based on reason, do not depend solely on it. Virtue, Aristotle asserts, cannot be equated with knowledge, as Socrates believed. To possess knowledge of the good and to act upon it are not the same. One also requires a natural inclination towards the good, a desire to follow what is beneficial, the exertion of will, and practice to transform beneficence into habit. Only then can virtue become a stable and unchanging state of the soul, that is, ethical virtues are acquired through education. A crucial aspect of characterizing virtues is Aristotle's doctrine of the golden mean. Virtue represents a mean between excess and deficiency of a particular quality. For instance, courage is the mean between cowardice and reckless bravado. Aristotle pays particular attention to the virtue of justice.

Thus, in Aristotle's teachings, the entire experience of previous ancient thought is generalized. In his works, a whole culture, a civilization, draws its conclusions.

Aristotle's writings were not only the pinnacle of the classical period of ancient philosophy; they also found a second life in the East: his teachings became the foundation for the worldview of prominent Arab thinkers—Avicenna and Averroes.