History of Philosophy
The history of philosophy is closely linked to the emergence of religions and states in antiquity. Many authors agree that the interest in knowledge reached its peak in Greek cities, with a strong concentration in Athens. Thanks to this convergence, history accounted for figures such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Over time, the conceptual development of philosophy integrated the disruptive postulates of thinkers like Descartes, Leibniz, and Kant. These philosophers are commonly known as “Classics of philosophy”.
For a long time, philosophy encompassed all aspects of knowledge. However, as knowledge developed, the different sciences acquired their own identity and became autonomous. Nonetheless, philosophy maintained its ability to systematically address the broader and more general concepts about the world and the human being.
Like religion and mythology, philosophy seeks the essence of things, the origin and cause of fundamental phenomena, the explanation of their properties, movements, effects, and purpose. However, philosophy is distinguished by being a rational, coherent, and rigorous search.
“Philosophy is the systematic effort to find answers, to resolve the central mysteries of existence”.
Philosophy is a set of theoretical elements that necessarily reflect the social reality of each historical era and situation. As such a reflection, philosophy is influenced by the contradictory social, economic, and political interests of its time. Even escapism, the attempt to evade society’s reality, can be a way of expressing certain interests.
The word philosophy is composed of two Greek words: “phileo” (love) and “sophia” (knowledge or wisdom). Its literal meaning is “love of wisdom“, but it does not convey the main meanings of philosophy. There are different definitions of this discipline, as well as the reluctance of some philosophers to give a precise definition. In addition, the content of philosophy has changed from its inception to the present day. Today, philosophy is understood as a discipline of generalized concepts about the world and the place occupied by human beings in it. It is an attempt to understand the reality and the essence of the things of life and of the human being, to comprehend the meaning and purpose of existence.
Philosophy arises at the beginning of civilization, that is, during the predominance of the Asian mode of production or slavery in China, India, Egypt, and Greece. Specifically, it appears in Greece in the 7th century BC.
In previous social formations, corresponding to the times of the wild state and barbarism, abstract thought was manifested in religious mythology but not in philosophy. The necessary historical and social conditions were a higher degree of productivity of work, the separation of intellectual work from physical work, and the splitting of society into antagonistic classes with different conceptions of the world, life, and relations between human beings.
Tradition holds that mathematician Pythagoras was the first scientist to call himself a philosopher. The dominant concern of thinkers at that time was to explain the phenomena of nature.
The philosophical doctrine of nature was the first form of philosophical thought.
Plato said that the first virtue of the philosopher is to be amazed. Manuel García Morente observed in 1937 that a person who finds everything natural, easy to understand and obvious can never be a philosopher. It is necessary to be permanently restless, to be interested in everything, to have the attitude of a child, to be rigorous and accurate in thought.
Plato developed the Socratic method and converted it into dialectic (from the Greek “dialegomai”, which means dialogue). This implies not only asking but also dialoguing, and in this process to purify, to subject to criticism and to clarify the ideas that arise from the dialogue.
Aristotle relied on Plato’s dialectic, gave form and structure to the movement of intuitive reasoning and progress in the succession of affirmations and confirmations. The laws of this movement of rational thought, logic, are Aristotle’s philosophical method.
Philosophers have repeatedly focused on the method of philosophy, revaluing the discoveries of their predecessors, enriching them with their contributions, undertaking new paths and relying on the advances that science is conquering. In this way, they continue the incessant and insatiable philosophical search.
Western philosophy dates back to ancient Greece and is divided into four periods:
From the 6th century BC to the decline of the Western Roman Empire in the 6th century AD, this period encompasses many theses and arguments always trying to find the ultimate foundation of all things. In this period, there is an attempt to transcend the cosmovisions and mythologies that prevailed at the time. In this first period, a group of philosophers seeks explanations for the origin of the phenomenon of nature, calling this principle Arjé. Some of the outstanding philosophers in this period are:
In Ancient Philosophy, two major periods can also be distinguished: Greek philosophy and Roman philosophy. The period of Greek philosophy developed in Ancient Greece from the 6th century BC until the invasion of Macedonia by the Romans in 148 BC. After the invasion, the period of Roman philosophy began, lasting from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. These two periods are further divided into various stages.
Greek philosophy is generally divided into three stages, namely:
Roman philosophy is divided into two stages:
The period of medieval philosophy extends from the 5th century AD, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, to the 15th century, when the Byzantine Empire fell (1453). This period arose from the relationship between Christianity and Greek thought and developed in Europe and the Middle East.
The most discussed topics in this period were the relationship between reason and faith, the nature and existence of God, and the limits between human freedom and knowledge.
The main philosophers of this period were:
The period of modern philosophy covers from the beginning of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation to the last years of the 20th century. This period begins with Renaissance philosophy between the 14th and 15th centuries, giving way to modern thought inspired by Descartes
In this modern philosophy, at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 19th century, German idealism developed, of which we can mention:
Other currents of modern philosophy were: rationalism (between the 17th and 18th centuries) and empiricism.
The period of contemporary philosophy develops from the end of the 19th century, the 20th century and the 21st century, also known as the Contemporary Age. It originated in the mid-19th century and continues to the present, seeking to analyze the reality of man in its entirety. This period covers all philosophical thought developed after modern philosophy.
In this contemporary philosophy, two major currents emerge:
Each philosophical current gives rise to different schools and traditions. For example, from continental philosophy there are derived existentialism, post-structuralism, social constructivism, critical theory and postmodern philosophy. In analytical philosophy, on the other hand, we find schools and currents such as logical positivism (logical empiricism or neopositivism), naturalism, experimental philosophy, philosophy of language and pragmatism.
Among the main philosophers of contemporary philosophy of the 19th century, some of them can be highlighted:
In the 20th century, philosophy would continue with philosophers such as Sigmund Freud, Ernst Mach, Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertrand Russell, Simone De Beauvoir, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Albert Camus, Karl Jaspers, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper.
In conclusion, in the philosophical tradition from its origins to the present day, there have been a large number of philosophers and philosophical movements, so it was argued some of the main characteristics of the philosophical history.
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