Elites Grid Weekly Track

Day 2: Ancient Schools of Philosophy

Aristotelianism 2
Atomism 5
Cynicism 9
The Eleatic School 11
The Ephesian School 12
Epicureanism 13
Hedonism 15
The Milesian School 17
Neo-Platonism 19
Platonism 22
Pluralism 25
Pythagoreanism 27
Skepticism 30
Sophism 33
Stoicism 36
  
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a school or tradition of philosophy from the ​Socratic (or
Classical) period of ancient Greece, that takes its defining inspiration from the
work of the 4th Century B.C. philosopher ​Aristotle​.

His immediate followers were also known as the Peripatetic School (meaning
itinerant or walking about, after the covered walkways at the Lyceum in Athens
where they often met), and among the more prominent members (other than
Aristotle himself) were Theophrastus (322 - 288 B.C.), Eudemus of Rhodes (c. 370
- 300 B.C.), Dicaearchus (c. 350 - 285 B.C.), Strato of Lampsacus (288 - 269 B.C.),
Lyco of Troas (c. 269 - 225 B.C.), Aristo of Ceos (c. 225 - 190 B.C.), Critolaus (c. 190
- 155 B.C.), Diodorus of Tyre (c. 140 B.C.), Erymneus (c. 110 B.C.) and Alexander of
Aphrodisias (c. 200 A.D.).

Aristotle developed the earlier philosophical work of ​Socrates and ​Plato in a more
practical and down-to-earth manner, and was the first to create a comprehensive
system of philosophy, encompassing ​Ethics​, ​Metaphysics​, ​Aesthetics​, ​Logic​,
Epistemology​, ​Politics and Science. He rejected the ​Rationalism and ​Idealism
espoused by ​Platonism​, and advocated the characteristic Aristotelian virtue of
"phronesis" (practical wisdom or prudence). Another cornerstone of
Aristotelianism is the idea of teleology (the idea that all things are designed for, or
directed toward, a final result or purpose).

Aristotelian ​Logic was the dominant form of ​Logic until 19th Century advances in
mathematical logic, and as late as the 18th Century Kant stated that ​Aristotle​'s
theory of logic completely accounted for the core of deductive inference. His six
  
books on ​Logic​, organized into a collection known as the "Organon" in the 1st
Century B.C., remain standard texts even today.

Aristotle​'s works on ​Ethics (particularly the "Nicomachean Ethics" and the

"Eudemian Ethics") revolve around the idea that morality is a practical, not a
theoretical, field, and, if a person is to become virtuous, he must perform virtuous
activities, not simply study what virtue is. The doctrines of ​Virtue Ethics and
Eudaimonism reached their apotheosis in ​Aristotle​'s ethical writings. He stressed
that man is a rational animal, and that Virtue comes with the proper exercise of
reason. He also promoted the idea of the "golden mean", the desirable middle
ground, between two undesirable extremes (e.g. the virtue of courage is a mean
between the two vices of cowardice and foolhardiness).

Aristotelian ​Metaphysics and ​Epistemology largely follow those of his teacher,

Plato​, although he began to diverge on some matters. ​Aristotle assumed that for
knowledge to be true it must be unchangeable, as must the object of that
knowledge. The universe therefore divides into two phenomena, Form (the
abstract and unobservable, such as souls or knowledge) and Matter (the
observable, things that can be sensed and quantified), and these two phenomena
are different from, but indispensable to, each other. ​Aristotle​'s conception of
hylomorphism (the idea that substances are forms inhering in matter) differed
from that of ​Plato in that he held that Form and Matter are inseparable, and that
matter and form do not exist apart from each other, but only together.

Aristotle​'s theory of ​Politics emphasizes the belief that humans are naturally
political, and that the political life of a free citizen in a self-governing state or
"polis" (with a constitution which is a mixture of leadership, aristocracy and
citizen participation) is the highest form of life. Aristotelian ideals have underlain
much modern ​liberal​ thinking about politics, the vote and citizenship.
  
Although much of ​Aristotle​'s work was lost to ​Western Philosophy after the fall of
the Roman Empire, the texts were reintroduced into the West by medieval Islamic
scholars like ​Averroes and ​Maimonides​. Just as these Muslim philosophers
reconciled Aristotelianism with Islamic beliefs, ​St. Thomas Aquinas was largely
responsible for reconciling Aristotelianism with Christianity, arguing that it
complements and completes the truth revealed in the Christian tradition. It
became the dominant philosophic influence on ​Scholasticism and ​Thomism in the
early Middle Ages in Europe.

The distinctively Aristotelian idea of teleology was transmitted through the

German philosophers Christian Wolff (1679 - 1754) and ​Immanuel Kant to ​Georg
Hegel​, who applied it to history as a totality, resulting in turn in an important
Aristotelian influence upon ​Karl Marx​.

The lasting legacy of Aristotelianism can be seen in the works of contemporary

philosophers such as John McDowell (1942 - ), Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900 - 2002)
and Alasdair MacIntyre (1929 - ).
  
Atomism
Atomism is a ​Pre-Socratic school of thought from ancient Greece, established in
the late 5th Century B.C. by Leucippus of Miletus (5th Century B.C.) and his more
famous student, ​Democritus​. It teaches that the hidden substance in all physical
objects consists of different arrangements of atoms and void (see the section on
the ​doctrine of Atomism​ for more details).

No writings by the movement's founder, Leucippus, have survived, and we have

just a few fragments of the writings of ​Democritus in secondhand reports,
sometimes unreliable or conflicting. Much of the best evidence is that reported by
Aristotle in his criticisms of Atomism, which he regarded as an important rival
current in natural philosophy.

Epicurus studied Atomism with Nausiphanes (c. 325 B.C.) who had been a student
of ​Democritus​. Although ​Epicurus was certain of the existence of atoms and the
void, he was less sure he could adequately explain specific natural phenomena
such as earthquakes, lightning, comets, or the phases of the Moon. He went on to
found his own school of ​Epicureanism​.

Of ​Democritus​' and ​Epicurus​' followers, perhaps the most notable was the Roman
poet and philosopher Lucretius (c. 99 - 55 B.C.) whose "On the Nature of Things"
was one of the definitive works of ​Epicureanism​, but also of Atomism. It argues
that the universe and all substance is eternal, composed of atoms moving in an
infinite void and nothing else, and that the human soul also consists of minute
atoms that dissipate into smoke when a person dies. It depicts ​Epicurus as the
hero who crushes the monster Religion through educating people about what is
possible and what is not possible in a world composed of atoms.
  
Aristotelianism eclipsed the importance of the Atomists, and there was little
interest expressed in the idea throughout the whole of the medieval period until
its resurrection in the 16th and 17th Century, although the Islamic Ash'arite
school of philosophy, notably al-Ghazali (1058 - 1111), propounded a type of
hybrid Atomism where atoms are the only perpetual, material things in existence,
and all else in the world is “accidental” (lasting for only an instant), and
contingent events are the direct result of God’s constant intervention.

Much of the renewed interest in Atomism in the 16th and 17th Century was
precipitated by scientific advances, particularly those of Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473 - 1543) and Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642), who himself converted to Atomism
when he found that his corpuscular theory of matter and his experiments with
falling bodies and inclined planes contradicted the mainstream ​Aristotelian
theories. The English philosophers ​Sir Francis Bacon and ​Thomas Hobbes were
both confirmed Atomists for a time, as was Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600) in Italy.

However, the main figures in the rebirth of Atomism were the French
philosophers ​René Descartes and Pierre Gassendi (1592 - 1655), and the Irish
philosopher and scientist Robert Boyle (1627 - 1691).

Descartes​’ mechanical philosophy of corpuscularism (that everything physical in

the universe is made of tiny “corpuscles” of matter, and that sensations, such as
taste or temperature, are caused by the shape and size of tiny pieces of matter)
had much in common with Atomism, and may be considered in some sense
another version of it, although for ​Descartes there could be no void, and all
matter was constantly swirling to prevent a void as corpuscles moved through
other matter. ​Descartes was also firm on the concept of mind/body ​duality​, which
allowed for an independent realm of existence for thought, soul and, most
importantly, God.
  
Pierre Gassendi was a French priest and natural philosopher, who set out to
“purify” Atomism from its heretical and ​atheistic philosophical conclusions. He
formulated his atomistic conception of mechanical philosophy partly in response
to ​Descartes​, particularly opposing ​Descartes​’ ​reductionist view that only purely
mechanical explanations of physics are valid.

Robert Boyle's form of Atomism, which came to be accepted by most English

scientists, was essentially an amalgamation of the two French systems. He arrived
at it after encountering problems reconciling ​Aristotelian physics with his
chemistry experimentation.

Roger Boscovich (1711 - 1787) provided the first general mathematical theory of
Atomism, utilizing principles of Newtonian mechanics. Then, in the early 19th
Century, John Dalton (1766 - 1844) developed his atomic theory in which he first
proposed that each chemical element is composed of atoms of a single, unique
type, which can combine to form more complex structures (chemical
compounds).

Although philosophical Atomism led to the development of early scientific atomic

theory, modern science has shown that atoms in the chemical sense are actually
composed of smaller particles (electrons, neutrons and protons), and that these in
turn are composed of even more fundamental particles called quarks. Although
the principle can still theoretically apply, there are few, if any, modern-day
atomists.

The Atomist idea that anything might ultimately consist of an aggregation of

small, indivisible units later lent itself to other fields, such as Social Atomism (the
sociological view that society is composed of individuals rather than social
institutions) and ​Bertrand Russell​'s Logical Atomism (an attempt to identify the
  
atoms of thought, the pieces of thought that cannot be divided into smaller pieces
of thought).
  
Cynicism
Cynicism is a school of philosophy from the ​Socratic period of ancient Greece,
which holds that the purpose of life is to live a life of Virtue in agreement with
Nature (which calls for only the bare necessities required for existence). This
means rejecting all conventional desires for health, wealth, power and fame, and
living a life free from all possessions and property.

Cynics lived in the full glare of the public's gaze and aimed to be quite indifferent
in the face of any insults which might result from their unconventional behavior.
They saw part of their job as acting as the watchdog of humanity, and to
evangelize and hound people about the error of their ways, particularly criticizing
any show of greed, which they viewed as a major cause of suffering. Many of their
ideas (see the section on the ​doctrine of Cynicism for more details) were later
absorbed into ​Stoicism​.

The founder of Cynicism as a philosophical movement is usually considered to be

Antisthenes (c. 445 - 365 B.C.), who had been one of the most important pupils of
Socrates in the early 5th Century B.C. He preached a life of poverty, but his
teachings also covered language, dialogue and literature in addition to the pure
Ethics​ which the later Cynics focused on.

Antisthenes was followed by ​Diogenes of Sinope​, who lived in a tub on the streets
of Athens, and ate raw meat, taking Cynicism to its logical extremes. ​Diogenes
dominates the story of Cynicism like no other figure, and he came to be seen as
the archetypal Cynic philosopher. He dedicated his life to self-sufficiency
("autarkeia"), austerity ("askesis") and shamelessness ("anaideia"), and was
famed for his biting satire and wit.
  
Crates of Thebes (c. 365 - 285 B.C.), who gave away a large fortune so he could
live a life of poverty in Athens, was another influential and respected Cynic of the
period. Other notable Greek Cynics include Onesicritus (c. 360 - 290 B.C.),
Hipparchia (c. 325 B.C.), Metrocles (c. 325 B.C.), Bion of Borysthenes (c. 325 - 255
B.C.), Menippus (c. 275 B.C.), Cercidas (c. 250 B.C.) and Teles (c. 235 B.C.).

With the rise of ​Stoicism in the 3rd Century B.C., Cynicism as a serious
philosophical activity underwent a decline, and it was not until the Roman era
that there was a Cynic revival. Cynicism spread with the rise of Imperial Rome in
the 1st Century A.D., and Cynics could be found begging and preaching
throughout the cities of the Roman Empire, where they were treated with a
mixture of scorn and respect. Cynicism seems to have thrived into the 4th Century
A.D., unlike ​Stoicism​, which had long declined by that time. Notable Roman Cynics
include Demetrius (c. 10 - 80 A.D.), Demonax (c. 70 - 170 A.D.), Oenomaus (c. 120
A.D.), Peregrinus Proteus (c. 95 - 167 A.D.) and Sallustius (c. 430 - 500 A.D.).

Cynicism finally disappeared in the late 5th Century A.D., although many of its
ascetic​ ideas and rhetorical methods were adopted by early Christians.
  
The Eleatic School
The Eleatic School is an early ​Pre-Socratic school of philosophy founded by
Parmenides in the 5th Century B.C. at Elea, a Greek colony in southern Italy. Other
important members of the school include ​Zeno of Elea​, Melissus of Samos (born c.
470 B.C.) and (arguably) the earlier Xenophanes of Colophon (570 – 480 B.C.)

Xenophanes in particular criticized the belief in a pantheon of anthropomorphic

gods which was then current, and ​Parmenides developed his ideas further,
concluding that the reality of the world is "One Being", an unchanging, timeless,
indestructible whole, in opposition to the theories of the early ​physicalist
philosophers. Later, he became an early exponent of the ​duality of appearance
and reality, and his work was highly influential on later ​Platonic​ metaphysics.

Zeno of Elea is best known for his paradoxes (see the ​Paradoxes section of the
page on ​Logic​). But ​Aristotle has also called him the inventor of the dialectic (the
exchange of propositions and counter-propositions to arrive at a conclusion), and
Bertrand Russell​ credited him with having laid the foundations of modern ​Logic​.

The Eleatics rejected the ​epistemological validity of sense experience, preferring

reason and logical standards of clarity and necessity to be the criteria of truth.
Parmenides and Melissus generally built their arguments up from indubitably
sound premises, while ​Zeno primarily attempted to destroy the arguments of
others by showing their premises led to contradictions ("reductio ad absurdum").

Although the conclusions of the Eleatics were largely rejected by the later
Pre-Socratic and ​Socratic philosophers, their arguments were taken seriously, and
they are generally credited with improving the standards of discourse and
argument in their time.
  
The Ephesian School
The Ephesian School is a Greek ​Pre-Socratic school of philosophy of the 5th
Century B.C., although essentially it refers to the ideas of just one man, ​Heraclitus
(who did not have any direct disciples or successors that we are aware of), a
native of Ephesus in the Greek colony of Ionia.

Along with his fellow Ionians of the ​Milesian School​, he looked for a solution to
the problem of change, but his view was that the world witnesses constant
change, rather than no change at all. The aphorism "everything is in a state of
flux", often attributed to ​Heraclitus​, was probably not actually his, but it does give
a reasonable summary of his views. The transformation of material from one
state into another does not happen by accident, he held, but rather within certain
limits and within certain time and according to law or "logos", according to which
all things are one. He considered that the basis of all the universe is an ever-living
fire (although this is used more as a symbol of change and process, rather than
actual fire), so that the world itself consists of a law-like interchange of elements,
symbolized by fire.

He also made the apparently logically incoherent claim that opposite things are
identical, so that everything is, and is not, at the same time. This he exemplified
by the idea that, although the waters in it are always changing, a river stays the
same.
  
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a ​Hellenistic school or system of philosophy based on the
teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher ​Epicurus​. It was founded around 307
B.C., and was based in ​Epicurus​' home and garden (the school was often called
"The Garden"). ​Epicurus was a ​materialist​, following in the steps of ​Democritus
and the school of ​Atomism​.

In ​Ethics​, Epicureanism teaches that happiness (or the greatest good) is to seek
modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquillity, freedom from fear and
the absence of bodily pain. This state of tranquillity can be obtained through
knowledge of the workings of the world, the leading of a simple, moderate life
and the limiting of desires (see the section on the ​doctrine of Epicureanism for
more details).

In ​Metaphysics​, Epicureanism emphasizes the neutrality of the gods and their

non-interference with human lives. Despite some tendencies towards ​Atheism​, it
does not actually deny the existence of gods, which it conceives of as blissful and
immortal, yet material, beings, made up of atoms and inhabiting the empty
spaces between worlds in the vastness of infinite space.

Epicureanism was originally conceived by ​Epicurus as a challenge to ​Platonism​,

although, arguably, ​Democritus had propounded a very similar philosophy almost
a century earlier. It built on the ​Hedonism of Aristippus (c. 435 - 360 B.C.) and
Cyrenaics, differing from that movement mainly in its belief that one should defer
immediate gratification for the sake of long-term gain, and that bodily
gratification is not necessarily preferable to mental pleasures. Later, it became
  
(along with ​Stoicism and ​Skepticism​) one of the three dominant schools of
Hellenistic philosophy, lasting strongly through the later Roman Empire.

During ​Epicurus​' lifetime, its members included Hermarchus (who succeeded

Epicurus as the head of his school in about 270 B.C.), Idomeneus (310 - 270 B.C.),
Colotes (3rd Century B.C.), Polyaenus (c. 340 - 278 B.C.) and Metrodorus (331 -
277 B.C.), most of these from the Greek city of Lampsacus, where ​Epicurus taught
his school before relocating to Athens.

Lucretius (99 - 55 B.C.) was the school's greatest Roman proponent, composing an
epic poem, "De Rerum Natura" ("On the Nature of Things") on the Epicurean
philosophy of nature. The poet Horace (65 - 8 B.C.) and Julius Caesar (100 - 44
B.C.) both leaned considerably toward Epicureanism.

After the official approval of Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine (272
- 337) in 313 A.D., Epicureanism was repressed as essentially irreconcilable with
Christian teachings, and the school endured a long period of obscurity and
decline.

In more modern times, the French philosopher and priest Pierre Gassendi (1592 -
1655) referred to himself as an Epicurean (and attempted to revive the doctrine),
as did Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826) and the ​Utilitarian Jeremy Bentham (1748 -
1832).
  
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of philosophy from the ​Socratic and ​Hellenistic periods of
ancient Greece, which holds that pleasure is the most important pursuit of
mankind, and that we should always act so as to maximize our own pleasure.

The earliest manifestation of Hedonism was Cyrenaicism (which was popular in

the 4th and 3rd Centuries B.C.), although arguably, ​Democritus had propounded a
very similar philosophy even earlier. As a movement, it was founded by Aristippus
of Cyrene (c. 435 - 360 B.C.), a pupil of ​Socrates​, who emphasized one side only of
Socratic teaching (that happiness is one of the ends of moral action) to the
exclusion of all else. The Cyrenaics emphasized bodily gratification as more
intense and preferable to mental pleasures, and denied that we should defer
immediate gratification for the sake of long-term gain, two major points of
departure from the similar, but more modest, school of ​Epicureanism​.

During the Middle Ages, Christian philosophers largely denounced Hedonism,

which they believed was inconsistent with the Christian emphasis on avoiding sin,
doing God's will, and developing the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity.
However, Renaissance philosophers such as ​Erasmus and ​Sir Thomas More
revived Hedonism to some extent, defending it on the religious grounds that
pleasure was in fact compatible with God's wish for humans to be happy.

Libertinism is a philosophy related to Hedonism, which found adherents in the

17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, particularly in France and Britain, including the 2nd
Earl of Rochester (1647 - 1680), the Marquis de Sade (1740 -1814) and the
occultist Aleister Crowley (1875 - 1947). Libertinism ignores, or even deliberately
  
spurns, religious norms, accepted morals, and forms of behavior sanctioned by
the larger society, and encourages gratification of any sort, especially sexual.

The 19th Century ethical theory of ​Utilitarianism​, propounded by the British

philosophers ​John Stuart Mill and ​Jeremy Bentham​, developed and refined
Hedonism, concluding that we should perform whichever action is best for
everyone ("the greatest good for the greatest number"). ​Bentham believed that
the value of a pleasure could be quantitatively understood, while ​Mill preferred a
qualitative approach dependent on the mix of higher quality pleasures and lower
quality, simple pleasures.

Contemporary Hedonists, as represented by an organization known as Hedonist

International, strive first and foremost for pleasure, as did their predecessors, but
with an additional emphasis on personal freedom and equality.
  
The Milesian School
The Milesian School is an early ​Pre-Socratic school of philosophy founded in the
6th Century B.C. in the Ionian town of Miletus (a Greek colony on the Aegean
coast of Anatolia in modern Turkey). The major philosophers included under this
label are ​Thales​, ​Anaximander and ​Anaximenes​, who held quite distinct views on
most subjects, so that the grouping is more one of geographical convenience than
one of shared opinions (although it is thought likely that ​Thales taught
Anaximander​, who in turn taught ​Anaximenes​).

Arguably, it forms part of the Ionian School, which additionally includes

Heraclitus​, ​Anaxagoras​, Diogenes Apolloniates (c. 460 B.C.), Archelaus (5th
Century B.C.) and Hippo (5th Century B.C.), although this larger group has even
fewer points of affinity. The Milesians were also more focused on nature than on
reason and thought like the later Ionians.

The Milesians introduced new opinions (contrary to the then prevailing views) on
how the world was organized, in which natural phenomena were explained solely
by the will of anthropomorphized gods (with human characteristics). They are
sometimes described as philosophers of nature, and they presented a view of
nature in terms of methodologically observable entities, and therefore
represented one of the first attempts to make philosophy truly scientific.

In ​Metaphysics​, they defined all things by their quintessential substance

("archк"), of which the Universe was formed and which was the source of all life
(​Materialistic ​Monism​). However, they differed widely in how they conceived of
this substance: ​Thales thought it was water; ​Anaximander called it "apeiron"
(something infinite and indeterminate); ​Anaximenes settled on air. In general,
they believed in hylozoism, the idea that all life is inseparable from matter, and
  
that there is no distinction between the animate and the inanimate, between
spirit and matter.

In cosmology, they also differed in the way they conceived of the universe: ​Thales
believed that the Earth was floating in water; ​Anaximander placed the Earth at
the center of a universe composed of hollow, concentric wheels filled with fire,
and pierced by holes at various intervals (which appear as the sun, the moon and
the stars); ​Anaximenes saw the sun and the moon as flat disks traveling around a
heavenly canopy, on which the stars were fixed.
  
Neo-Platonism
Neo-Platonism is a ​Hellenistic school of philosophy founded by ​Plotinus in the 3rd
Century A.D. The term "neo-platonism" itself was not used in ancient times (it was
in fact not coined until the early 19th Century), and Neo-Platonists would have
considered themselves simply ​Platonists​, although their beliefs demonstrate
significant differences from those of ​Plato​.

The Egyptian philosopher ​Plotinus (along with his lesser-known teacher,

Ammonius Saccas), is widely considered the founder of Neo-Platonism,
developing his theories initially in Alexandria in his native Egypt, and then later in
Rome. He was influenced by the teachings of classical Greek philosophy, but also
by ​Persian and ​Indian philosophy (from his extensive travels) and Egyptian
theology. Although his original intention was merely to preserve the teachings of
Plato and ​Socrates​, he effectively fused ​Platonism (more specifically, Middle
Platonism) with oriental mysticism.

Neo-Platonism is generally a religious philosophy, combining a form of ​idealistic

Monism with elements of ​Polytheism​. It teaches the existence of an ineffable and
transcendent One, from which emanates the rest of the universe as a sequence of
lesser beings (although later Neo-Platonic philosophers added hundreds of
intermediate beings such as gods, angels and demons).

Plotinus​'s student, Porphyry (c. 233 - 309 A.D.), assembled ​Plotinus​'s teachings
into the six "Enneads". Porphyry was a Syrian Neo-Platonist philosopher, who also
wrote widely on astrology, religion, mathematics and musical theory, and was a
strong opponent of Christianity and defender of Paganism.
  
Iamblichus Chalcidensis (c. 245 - 325 A.D.) was another Syrian (and student of
Porphyry), who was instrumental in determining the direction taken by later
Neo-Platonic philosophy. One of the last major Greek philosophers, Proclus
Lycaeus (412 - 485 A.D.), set forth possibly the most elaborate, complex and
fully-developed Neo-Platonic systems, even incorporating the ancient Greek gods
into the Neo-Platonic hierarchical system. Other important Neo-Platonists include
Hypatia of Alexandria (370 - 415 A.D.), the Roman Emperor Julian (c. 331 - 363
A.D.), Hierocles of Alexandria (active around 430 A.D.), Simplicius of Cilicia (c. 490
- 560 A.D.) and Damascius (c. 458 - 538 A.D.), the last teacher of Neo-Platonism at
Athens.

Some central tenets of Neo-Platonism (e.g. that evil is merely the absence of
good, which comes from human sin) were very influential in ​St. Augustine of
Hippo​'s development of Christian dogma, although eventually he effectively
abandoned Neo-Platonism altogether in favor of a doctrine based more on his
own reading of Scripture. The influence of Neo-Platonism on Origen (c. 185 -
254A.D.), as well as on ​Boethius​, John Scotus Eriugena (c. 815 – 877) and St.
Bonaventura (1221 - 1274), also proved significant for both the Eastern Orthodox
and Western branches of Christianity.

In the Middle Ages, Neoplatonist ideas influenced Jewish thinkers, including

Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021 - 1058) and the Kabbalist Isaac the Blind (1160 - 1235),
as well as Islamic and Sufi thinkers such as al-Farabi (872 - 951), ​Avicenna and
Maimonides​.

There was something of a Neo-Platonist revival during the Italian Renaissance,

with such luminaries as Nicholas Cusanus (1401 - 1464), Giovanni Pico della
Mirandola (1463 - 1494), Marsilio Ficino (1433 - 1499), Michelangelo (1475 -
1564), Sandro Botticelli (1445 - 1510), the Medici family and, later, Giordano
  
Bruno (1548 - 1600), as well as with the Cambridge Platonists in 17th Century
England.
  
Platonism
Platonism is an ancient Greek school of philosophy from the ​Socratic period,
founded around 387 B.C. by ​Socrates​' student and disciple, ​Plato​, and continued
by his students and followers. It was based in the Academy, a precinct containing
a sacred grove outside the walls of Athens, where ​Plato delivered his lectures (the
prototype for later universities). Platonism was originally expressed in the
dialogues of ​Plato​, in which the figure of his teacher, ​Socrates​, is used to expound
various doctrines.

Plato​'s philosophy is best known for its ​Platonic Realism (also, confusingly, known
as Platonic Idealism), its hylomorphism (the idea that substances are forms
inhering in matter) and its Theory of Forms ("Forms" are the eternal,
unchangeable, perfect universals, of which the particular objects we sense around
us are imperfect copies). It poses an eternal universe, and describes idea as prior
to matter, so that the substantive reality around us is only a reflection of a higher
truth. (see the section on ​Platonic Realism​ for more details).

Platonic ​Epistemology holds that knowledge is innate, and the immortal soul
"remembers" its prior familiarity with the Forms ("anamnesis"). Learning is
therefore the development of ideas buried deep in the soul. Of these, the Form of
"the Good" (the ideal or perfect nature of goodness) is the ultimate basis for the
rest, and the first cause of being and knowledge. ​Plato held that the impressions
of the senses can never give us the knowledge of true being (i.e. of the Forms),
which can only be obtained by the exercise of reason through the process of
dialectic (the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments, propositions and
counter-propositions).
  
Platonic ​Ethics is based on the concept that virtue is a sort of knowledge (the
knowledge of good and evil) that is required to reach the ultimate good
("eudaimonia" or happiness), which is what all human desires and actions aim to
achieve (see the section on ​Eudaimonism​). It holds that there are three parts to
the soul, Reason, Spirit and Appetite, which must be ruled by the three virtues,
Wisdom, Courage and Moderation. These are, in turn, all ruled by a fourth,
Justice, by which each part of the soul is confined to the performance of its
proper function.

The Academy, in which the school was based, is usually split into three periods:
the Old, Middle, and New Academy. The chief figures in the Old Academy were:
Plato​'s most famous student, ​Aristotle​, who rapidly developed his own set of
philosophies and a whole separate ​Aristotelian tradition; Speusippus (407 - 339
B.C.), ​Plato​'s nephew, who succeeded as head of the school after ​Plato​'s death in
347 B.C.; Xenocrates (396 - 314 B.C.) who was head from 339 B.C. to 314 B.C.;
Polemo, from 314 B.C. to 269 B.C.; and Crates, from 269 B.C. to 266 B.C. After this
time, the Middle Academy and New Academy were more vehicles for ​Skepticism
than Platonism proper, before being re-founded, after a lapse during the early
Roman occupation, as a ​Neo-Platonist​ institution in 410 A.D.

Around 90 B.C., a period known as Middle Platonism began, when Antiochus of

Ascalon (c. 130 - 68 B.C.) rejected ​Skepticism​, and propounded a fusion of
Platonism with some ​Aristotelian and ​Stoic dogmas. ​Philo of Alexandria can also
be considered a Middle Platonist, as he attempted to synthesize Platonism with
monotheistic religion, anticipating the ​Neo-Platonism of later philosophers such
as ​Plotinus​.

Platonism influenced Christianity first through Clement of Alexandria (c.150 - 216

A.D.) and Origen (c. 185 - 254 A.D.), and especially later through ​St. Augustine of
  
Hippo​, who was one of the most important figures in the development of
Western Christianity. Platonism was considered authoritative in the Middle Ages,
and many Platonic notions are now permanent elements of Latin Christianity, as
well as both Eastern and Western mysticism.
  
Pluralism
Pluralism is a Greek ​Pre-Socratic school of philosophy of the 5th Century B.C.,
consisting of three major philosophers: ​Anaxagoras​, Archelaus (5th Century B.C.)
and ​Empedocles​.

In general terms, they attempted to reconcile the complete rejection of change by

Parmenides and the ​Eleatic School​, which generally speaking they accepted, with
the apparently changing world of sense experience (things like birth and death
and creation and destruction), and thereby find the basis for all change.

The Ionian philosopher ​Anaxagoras believed that all things have existed from the
beginning as an endless number of infinitesimally small fragments of themselves,
but in a confused and indistinguishable form. The segregation of like from unlike
was carried out by a pure and independent thing called "Nous" (mind), which also
causes all motion. Some of his ideas presaged the later development of ​Atomism​.

Archelaus, a student of ​Anaxagoras​, asserted that air and infinity are the
principles of all things, that primitive Matter is air mingled with Mind, and that
the principle of motion was the separation of hot from cold, from which he
endeavoured to explain the formation of the Earth and the creation of animals
and humans.

Empedocles was a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek colony in Sicily, and is best

known for being the origin of the cosmogenic theory of the four classical elements
(fire, air, water and earth) which he held to be simple, eternal and unalterable,
and which are eternally mixed and separated by two divine powers, Love and
Strife. Like the ​Eleatics​, he held that it is not possible for something to come into
existence from a non-existence, or vice versa, only that original materials are
  
combined and recombined. ​Empedocles was also influenced by ​Pythagoreanism
in his support for the doctrine of reincarnation.

Pluralism as a philosophical doctrine is a concept used in many different ways,

but, in general terms, it is the theory that there is more than one basic substance
or principle, whether it be the constitution of the universe, of the mind and body,
the sources of truth, etc (see the section on the ​doctrine of Pluralism​).
  
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism is an early ​Pre-Socratic Greek school of philosophy based around
the ​metaphysical beliefs of ​Pythagoras and his followers. Their views and methods
were influential on many later movements including ​Platonism​, ​Neo-Platonism
and ​Cynicism​.

The early Pythagoreans (the first society was established in about 530 B.C.) met in
the Greek Achaean colony at Croton in Southern Italy, but after becoming caught
up in some fierce local fighting, the movement dispersed and those that survived
fled back to the Greek mainland and settled around Thebes and Phlius.

Pythagoras himself wrote nothing down, and we must rely on the second-hand
accounts of his followers and commentators, ​Parmenides​, ​Empedocles​, Philolaus
(c. 480 - 385 B.C.) and ​Plato​, but accounts are often sketchy and sometimes
contradictory.

Pythagorean thought was dominated by mathematics, but it was also profoundly

mystical. ​Pythagoras (along with his teacher Pherecydes of Syros), was one of the
first Western philosophers to believe in metempsychosis (the transmigration of
the soul and its reincarnation after death). He also subscribed to the views of
another of his teachers, ​Anaximander​, that the ultimate substance of things is
what he described as "apeiron" (variously described as "the boundless" or "the
undefined infinite"). ​Pythagoras believed that the apeiron had inhaled the void
from outside, filling the cosmos with vacuous bubbles that split the universe into
many inter-connected parts separated by "void", and that this play of apeiron and
peiron takes place according to a natural harmony. Always somehow underlying
  
all these theories is the assumption that numbers and mathematics constitute the
true nature of things.

The Pythagoreans were well-known in antiquity for their vegetarianism, which

they practiced for religious, ethical and ascetic reasons. Women, who were held
to be different from men, but not necessarily inferior, were given equal
opportunity to study as Pythagoreans, although they had to also learn practical
domestic skills.

Pythagoreanism developed at some point into two separate schools of thought:

● the "akousmatikoi" (or "listeners"), who focused on the more religious and
ritualistic aspects of ​Pythagoras​' teachings;

● the "mathematikoi" (or "learners"), who extended and developed the more
mathematical and scientific work he began.

The akousmatikoi claimed that the mathematikoi were not genuinely

Pythagorean, but followers of the "renegade" Pythagorean Hippasus (c. 500 B.C.)
The mathematikoi, on the other hand, allowed that the akousmatikoi were indeed
Pythagorean, but felt that they were more representative of ​Pythagoras​' real
views. The mathematikoi group eventually became closely associated with ​Plato
and ​Platonism​, and much of Pythagoreanism seems to overlap ​Platonism​. The
akousmatikoi became wandering ​ascetics​, finally joining the ​Cynicism movement
of the 4th Century B.C.

Neo-Pythagoreanism was a revival, in the 2nd Century B.C. - 2nd Century A.D.
period, of various ideas traditionally associated with the followers of ​Pythagoras​.
Notable Neo-Pythagoreans include 1st Century Apollonius of Tyana (c. 40 - 120
A.D.), and their meetings were mainly held in Rome.
  
Ultimately, Pythagoreanism has been a dynamic force on Western culture. It has
creatively influenced philosophers, theologians, mathematicians and
astronomers, as well as musicians, composers, poets and architects of the Middle
Ages.
  
Skepticism
Skepticism (or Scepticism in the UK spelling) is a ​Hellenistic school of philosophy.
At its simplest, Skepticism holds that one should refrain from making truth claims,
and avoid the postulation of final truths. This is not necessarily quite the same as
claiming that truth is impossible (which would itself be a truth claim), but is often
also used to cover the position that there is no such thing as certainty in human
knowledge (sometimes referred to as Academic Skepticism). See the section on
the ​doctrine of Skepticism​ for more details.

Possibly the earliest Skeptic, ​Gorgias claimed that nothing exists; or, if something
does exist, then it cannot be known; or if something does exist and can be known,
it cannot be communicated. ​Gorgias​, however, is known primarily as a ​Sophist
rather than as a philosophical skeptic.

Socrates claimed that he knew one and only one thing: that he knew nothing.
Thus, rather than making assertions or opinions, he set about questioning people
who claimed to have knowledge, ostensibly for the purpose of learning from
them. Although he never claimed that knowledge is impossible, he never claimed
to have discovered any piece of knowledge whatsoever, even at his death.

The first Skeptic proper, however, was ​Pyrrho of Elis (although he was perhaps
not actually a "skeptic" in the later sense of the word), and the Skeptic movement
which subsequently grew up was largely based around his early ideas. ​Pyrrho
traveled and studied as far as India, but he became overwhelmed by his inability
to determine rationally which of the various competing schools of thought of the
time was correct. Upon admitting this to himself, he finally achieved the inner
peace (or "ataraxia") that he had been seeking (and which became the ultimate
goal of the early Skeptikoi), and he propounded the adoption of what he called
  
"practical skepticism". ​Pyrrho himself wrote nothing, and even the satiric writings
of his pupil Timon of Phlius are mostly lost. Today, his ideas are known mainly
through the book "Outlines of Pyrrhonism" by the Greek physician Sextus
Empiricus in the early 3rd Century A.D.

Later thinkers took up and extended ​Pyrrho​'s approach, accusing the ​Stoics of
dogmatism, and arguing that the logical mode of argument was untenable, as it
relied on propositions which could not be said to be either true or false without
relying on further propositions. They did not believe that truth was necessarily
unobtainable, but rather an idea which did not yet exist in a pure form, or had not
yet been discovered. Thus, they viewed dogmatism as a disease of the mind and
vowed to continue their inquiry.

Around 266 B.C., Arcesilaus (c. 316 - 241 B.C.) became head of ​Plato​'s Academy in
Athens, and he strongly changed the Academy's emphasis from ​Platonism to
Skepticism, and it remained the center of "Academic Skepticism" for the next two
centuries. Carneades (c. 214 - 129 B.C.), who became the fourth Academy
scholarch in succession after Arcesilaus in 155 B.C., was one of the best known of
the Academic Skeptics, and he famously claimed that "Nothing can be known, not
even this". He was followed as head of the Academy by Clitomachus (187 - 109
B.C.) in 129 B.C., and by Philo of Larissa (c. 159 - 84 B.C.) who became the last
undisputed head of the Academy in 110 B.C. until the Roman occupation in 84
B.C.

During the 1st Century B.C., Aenesidemus rejected many of the theories of the
Academy and founded a separate Pyrrhonian Skepticism school, which revived
the principle of epoche" (or "suspended judgment") originally proposed by ​Pyrrho
and Timon, as a solution to what he considered to be the insoluble problems of
Epistemology​.
  
Later followers of ​Pyrrho and Carneades developed more theoretical
perspectives, and Sextus Empiricus (c. 200 A.D.) in particular incorporated aspects
of ​Empiricism (the idea that the origin of all knowledge is sense experience) into
the basis for asserting knowledge. Sextus and his followers considered both the
claims to know and not to know to be equally dogmatic, and claimed neither.
Instead, despite the apparent conflict with the goal of ataraxia, they claimed to
continue searching for something that might be knowable.

After centuries of religious dogmatism throughout the Middle Ages, Skepticism

again resurfaced during the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment of the 17th and
18th Century. Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592) in France and ​Francis Bacon in
England both took as their starting point the skeptical viewpoint that they knew
nothing for certain, as did ​Blaise Pascal and ​René Descartes​, although these early
pioneers were careful not to jettison their Christian beliefs.

Descartes established a methodological skepticism (also known as Cartesian

Skepticism) in which he rejected any idea that can be doubted, and then
attempted to re-establish it in order to acquire a firm foundation for genuine
knowledge. His famous formulation "Cogito, ergo sum" is sometimes stated as
"Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum" ("I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am").
  
Sophism
Sophism is an early ​Pre-Socratic school of philosophy in ancient Greece. It is the
name often given to the so-called Seven Sages of 7th and 6th Century B.C. Greece
(see below), but also to many other early Greek philosophers who were more
concerned with Man himself and how he should behave than with big questions
about the Universe. Rather than a well-defined school or movement, however, it
is more of a loose grouping of like-minded individuals.

The term "sophism" comes from the Greek "sophos" or "sophia" (meaning "wise"
or "wisdom"), and originally referred to any expertise in a specific domain of
knowledge or craft. After a period where it mainly referred to poets, the word
came to describe general wisdom and, especially, wisdom about human affairs.
Over time, it came to denote a class of itinerant intellectuals who taught courses
in "excellence" or "virtue", (often charging high fees for it), who speculated about
the nature of language and culture, and who employed rhetoric to achieve their
purposes (which was generally to persuade or convince others).

Sophists held ​relativistic views on cognition and knowledge (that there is no

absolute truth, or that two points of view can be acceptable at the same time),
skeptical views on truth and morality, and their philosophy often contained
criticisms of religion, law and ethics. Many Sophists were just as religious as most
of their contemporaries, but some held ​atheistic or ​agnostic views. Typical Sophist
quotations include "Man is the measure of all things" (​Protagoras​) and "Justice is
nothing other than the advantage of the stronger" (Thrasymachus, c. 459 - 400
B.C.).

Sophists had considerable influence in their time, and were largely well-regarded.
They were generally itinerant teachers who accepted fees in return for instruction
  
in oratory and rhetoric, and they emphasized the practical application of rhetoric
toward civic and political life. Their cultural and psychological contributions
played an important role in the growth of democracy in Athens, not least through
their rhetorical teaching, their adoption of ​Relativism and their ​liberal and
pluralistic acceptance of other viewpoints. Sophists were also some of the world's
first lawyers, making full use of their highly-developed argumentation skill.

The early Sophists claimed that they could find the answers to all questions,
which, along with their practice of taking fees and their questioning of the
existence and roles of traditional deities, led to popular resentment against
Sophist practitioners, ideas and writings. Some writers have included ​Socrates as
a Sophist, although he was scrupulous in accepting no fees and making no claims
of superior wisdom, and his most illustrious student, ​Plato​, depicts ​Socrates as
refuting the Sophists in several of his "Dialogues".

It is ​Plato who is largely responsible for the modern view of the Sophist as a
greedy and power-seeking instructor who uses rhetorical sleight-of-hand and
ambiguities of language in order to deceive, or to support fallacious reasoning.
Plato was especially dismissive of ​Gorgias​, one of the most famous and successful
of the early Sophists. Sophism was thought capable of perverting the truth
because it emphasized practical rhetoric rather than virtue, and taught students
to argue any side of an issue. In most cases, our knowledge of Sophist thought
comes down to us from fragmentary quotations that lack context, many of these
from ​Aristotle​, who, like his teacher ​Plato​, held the Sophists in slight regard.

Owing largely to the influence of ​Plato and ​Aristotle​, philosophy came to be

regarded as distinct from Sophism, which gradually became synonymous with the
practical discipline of rhetoric, so that, by the time of the Roman Empire, a
Sophist was simply a teacher of rhetoric or a popular public speaker. Indeed, for a
time, Sophists started to suffer persecution, threats and even assassination. In its
  
largely derogatory modern usage, "sophism" (or "sophistry") has come to mean a
confusing or illogical argument used to deceive someone, or merely philosophy or
argument for its own sake, empty of real content or value.

The Seven Sages of ancient Greece were seven wise men (philosophers,
statesmen and law-givers):

● Thales of Miletus​, famous for his maxim "To bring surety brings ruin".

● Solon of Athens (c. 638 - 558 B.C.), famous for his maxim "Know thyself".

● Chilon of Sparta (6th Century B.C.), famous for his maxim "Do not let one's
tongue outrun one's sense".

● Pittacus of Mytilene (c. 640 - 568 B.C.), famous for his maxim "Know thine
opportunity".

● Bias of Priene (6th Century B.C.), famous for his maxim "All men are
wicked".

● Cleobulus of Lindos (died c. 560 B.C.), famous for his maxim "Moderation is
impeccable".

● Periander of Corinth (7th Century B.C.), famous for his maxim "Forethought
in all things".

Other well-known Sophists include ​Protagoras​, ​Gorgias​, Prodicus (c. 465 415 B.C.),
Hippias (c. 460 - 399 B.C.), Thrasymachus (c. 459 - 400 B.C.), Lycophron (3rd
Century B.C.), Callicles (5th Century B.C.), Antiphon (c. 480 - 411 B.C.) and Cratylus
(5th Century B.C.).
  
Stoicism
Stoicism is a ​Hellenistic school of philosophy, developed by the Greek philosopher
Zeno of Citium around 300 B.C., which teaches the development of self-control
and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions in order to develop
clear judgment and inner calm and the ultimate goal of freedom from suffering
(see the section on the ​doctrine of Stoicism​ for more details).

Stoicism is not just a set of beliefs or ​ethical claims, however, but rather a way of
life, involving constant practice and training, and incorporating the practice of
logic, Socratic dialogue and self-dialogue, contemplation of death, and a kind of
meditation aimed at training one's attention to remain in the present moment.

Stoicism was originally based on the moral ideas of the ​Cynic school (​Zeno of
Citium was a student of the important Cynic Crates of Thebes), and toned down
some of the harsher principles of ​Cynicism with some moderation and real-world
practicality. During its initial phase, Stoicism was generally seen as a
back-to-nature movement, critical of superstitions and taboos (based on the Stoic
idea that the law of morality is the same as Nature).

Zeno​'s successor was Cleanthes of Assos (c. 330 - 230 B.C.), but his most
influential follower was Cleanthes' student Chrysippus of Soli (c. 280 - 207 B.C.),
who was largely responsible for the molding of what we now call Stoicism. He
built up a unified account of the world, consisting of formal logic, materialistic
physics and naturalistic ethics. The main focus of Stoicism was always ​Ethics​,
although their logical theories were to be of more interest for many later
philosophers.
  
Stoicism became the foremost and most influential school of the Greco-Roman
world, especially among the educated elite, and it produced a number of
remarkable writers and personalities, such as Panaetius of Rhodes (185 - 109
B.C.), Posidonius (c.135 - 50 B.C.), Cato the Younger (94 - 46 B.C.), Seneca the
Younger (4 B.C. - A.D. 65), ​Epictetus​ and ​Marcus Aurelius​.
  
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