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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
INTRODUCTION TO PRESOCRATICS
“The general public and scholars alike will find Introduction to Presocratics stimulating, engaging and exceptionally useful. Stamatellos’ intriguing and illuminating theme-based approach to this subject and his inclusion of a fresh translation of all the major fragments make this book a ‘must have’ for anyone interested in Presocratic philosophy.”
Robert D. Luginbill, University of Louisville
“An excellent introduction to early Greek philosophy – full of information, yet eminently readable and clearly organised. The thematic treatment brings new perspectives and fresh philosophical insights.”
Andrew Smith, University College Dublin
“Surveying the key surviving texts theme by theme sooner than man by man, Stamatellos offers the beginner clear and comprehensive insight into the compelling inquiries of the early Greek thinkers.”
Susan Prince, University of Cincinnati
“Giannis Stamatellos’ book is a very elegant and finely structured introduction to the fascinating beginnings of Western thought. He has succeeded in making a rather difficult and complex topic extremely accessible and stimulating.”
Mark Beck, University of South Carolina
Despite what is commonly taught, Western philosophy did not begin with Socrates. The roots of Western philosophy and science, in fact, run much deeper than this watershed philosophical figure – to a series of innovative Greek thinkers of the 6th and 5th century BCE. Introduction to Presocratics presents a succinct overview of early Greek thought by following a thematic exposition of the topics and enquiries explored by the first philosophers of the Western tradition. Ionian figures such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and Pythagoras are covered; Eleatics such as Parmenides and Zeno; and Pluralists or Neo-Ionians such as Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Democritus. Key areas of Presocratic philosophy are addressed, including principles, cosmos, being, soul, knowledge, and ethics. A brief account of the legacy and reception of the Presocratics in later philosophical traditions is also included. Also featured is an original translation of the main Presocratic fragments by renowned classics professor Rosemary Wright. Introduction to Presocratics offers illuminating insights into the true pioneers of philosophical thought in the Western tradition.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright page
DEDICATION
Preface
Chronology
Reference Guide to the Presocratics
Map
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Periods of Ancient Greek Philosophy
1.2 The Presocratics as Pioneers
1.3 Presocratic Historiography
2 THE PHILOSOPHERS
2.1 A Precursor: Pherecydes of Syros
2.2 The Ionians
2.3 The Pythagoreans
2.4 The Eleatics
2.5 The Pluralists
3 PRINCIPLES
3.1 Material Explanations
3.2 Formal Principles
3.3 One and Many
4 COSMOS
4.1 The Structure of the Cosmos
4.2 The Formation of the Cosmos
4.3 Cosmos and Harmony
5 BEING
5.1 Being and Not-Being
5.2 The Unity of Being
5.3 Paradoxes of Motion
5.4 Being and Infinity
6 SOUL
6.1 Life and Intelligence
6.2 Transmigration
6.3 Immortality and Time
7 KNOWLEDGE
7.1 Doubting the Gods
7.2 Human Knowledge
7.3 Truth and Wisdom
8 ETHICS
8.1 Heroic Ethics
8.2 Virtue Ethics
8.3 Atomic Ethics
9 CONCLUSION
Appendix A: Translation of the Main Fragments
Thales of Miletus
Anaximander of Miletus
Anaximenes of Miletus
Xenophanes of Colophon
Heraclitus of Ephesus
Parmenides of Elea
Zeno of Elea
Melissus of Samos
Empedocles of Acragas
Anaxagoras of Clazomenae
Leucippus and Democritus
Appendix B: The Presocratic Sources
Appendix C: The Presocratic Legacy
The Playwrights
Plato
Aristotle
The Hellenistic Age
Neopythagoreanism
Late Antiquity
The Middle Ages
The Renaissance
The Scientific Revolution
Modern Philosophy
Georg W. F. Hegel
Karl Marx
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Anglo-American Tradition
The Continental Tradition
Martin Heidegger
Modern Science and Mathematics
Karl Popper
The Psychoanalytic Tradition
Fine Arts
Modern Literature
Glossary of Greek Terms
Glossary of Philosophical Terms
Bibliography
Index
This edition first published 2012
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stamatellos, Giannis, 1970–
Introduction to Presocratics : a thematic approach to early Greek philosophy with key readings / Giannis Stamatellos.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-470-65502-3 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-0-470-65503-0 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Pre-Socratic philosophers. I. Title.
B187.5.S73 2012
182–dc23
2011045995
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-118-21758-0 (epdf)
ISBN 978-1-118-21759-7 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-118-21760-3 (mobi)
To Rosemary
Preface
The origins of Western philosophy and science can be traced back to the early Greek philosophers of the sixth and fifth century BCE, known as ‘Presocratics’ – that is, those who preceded Socrates. The main figures are Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, all three from Miletus, on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor; the widely traveled Xenophanes of Colophon; Heraclitus of Ephesus; Pythagoras from the island of Samos; Parmenides and Zeno, known as ‘Eleatics’ on account of their origin from Elea in south Italy; Melissus from Samos, also placed among the Eleatics for his support and adaptation of Parmenides’ arguments; and then, finally, the ‘pluralists’ (also called ‘Neo-Ionians’) – physicalists who posited more than one basic principle in their ontology: the Sicilian Empedocles; Anaxagoras of Clazomenae; and the ‘atomists’ – Leucippus and Democritus, both of them connected with Abdera in northern Greece.
This book aims to offer a concise philosophical introduction to the Presocratic thinkers and in doing so it follows a thematic exposition of the topics discussed by these Greek pioneers. It intends to show how Presocratic thinking formed, creating the early Greek philosophical tradition, and how one Presocratic responded to another. In this way it hopes to demonstrate their innovative philosophical explorations.
The book comprises of a series of short essays on six philosophical themes significant to Presocratic inquiry. The six themes are: principles, the cosmos, being, soul, knowledge and ethics. These themes emerge as important philosophical topics not only in the history of ancient Greek philosophy, but also in modern philosophical inquiries and they have been selected for this reason. They also indicate the wide range of philosophical interests found in the Presocratic tradition, which embraced the origins of cosmos and being, the nature of the soul, the foundation of human knowledge and the values of human life. However, as this is a short, introductory book, the analysis of each theme is not intended to be exhaustive. Nor are the selected themes the only ones discussed in the Presocratic tradition. Controversies that surround many of the issues related to Presocratic scholarship in each of these areas can only be hinted at, while signposts to further study can be found in the bibliography. Furthermore, this short study is of an introductory nature and the treatment of the six Presocratic themes is mainly doxographical. Hence this book does not address scholars and advanced students of ancient Greek philosophy; rather it targets non-experienced readers and people who are interested in Presocratic philosophy, hoping to motivate them into further reading and exploration of the early Greek philosophical tradition.
Within this framework, we begin with the role and importance of the Presocratic pioneers in ancient Greek philosophy and historiography (chapter 1); this is followed by a brief account of the life and work of individual thinkers (chapter 2). The first theme concerns the basic principles that the Presocratics postulated. Its presentation will take us into the material explanations of the Ionians, the Pythagorean apprehension of the formal principle, and the pluralistic approaches of Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus and Democritus (chapter 3). There follows a study of Presocratic cosmologies, contrasting the Ionian development of the Homeric image of the cosmos with the mathematical structure of the universe put forward by the Pythagoreans and with the pluralistic views of the universe that are found in later Presocratics (chapter 4). This leads into the subject of the nature of being itself, where particular emphasis will be placed on the main arguments of Parmenides’ controversial denial of non-being in favor of a unified, timeless and indestructible being; on Zeno’s famous paradoxes of motion and refutations of the plurality of being; and on Melissus’ notion of the infinity of being (chapter 5). The concept of the soul as source of life and intelligence is our next theme, and it includes a brief discussion of transmigration, time and immortality (chapter 6). Then we shall explore pioneering work on epistemology, work based on the early discrimination between truth, knowledge and belief, which is fundamental in this field; and here we have included a brief account of the Presocratics’ criticism of traditional polytheism, human knowledge and sense-perception (chapter 7). Chapter 8 is an introduction to Presocratic moral philosophy; it moves from the heroic ethics found in Homer to an early form of virtue ethics propounded by Heraclitus and Empedocles, and from there to Democritus’ ethics. A general conclusion is offered as the ending chapter of the book (chapter 9).
A translation of the main fragments by Rosemary Wright is offered in Appendix A for general reference. Two other appendices have been added: one on the Presocratic sources (Appendix B) and another on the legacy and reception of Presocratic philosophy in later thought and traditions (Appendix C). Finally, the book is supplemented with a glossary of Greek terms, a glossary of philosophical terms, and, of course, a general bibliography and an index.
I owe special thanks to Professor Leo Catana and to the Center for Neoplatonic Virtue Ethics (University of Copenhagen) for offering me an academic environment for this project and the opportunity to discuss topics in detail. I am also grateful to Professor Andrew Smith, Dr. Dionysis Mentzeniotis, Professor Evangelos Roussos, Evita C. Alexopoulos and my friend, Kostas Andreou, for their advice, help and encouragement. I am thankful to my student, Costas Kalogeropoulos, for designing the map. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance I have received from Galen Smith and Haze Humbert of Wiley-Blackwell; I am grateful for their patience and attention throughout the production of this book. I also thank the anonymous reviewers, whose critical comments and insights have brought many improvements. My wife Alexandra, my daughter Antonia, my son Aristoteles and my mother Antonia provide, as always, unstinting love and care. The volume is dedicated to Rosemary Wright for her inspired teaching, philosophical motivation and unconditional support over the past twelve years.
Giannis Stamatellos
Chronology
Reference Guide to the Presocratics
The Diels–Kranz (DK) edition of 1951 is the standard reference work in the field of Presocratic scholarship. The DK numbering system has remained the standard way of referring to the Presocratics, and it has been followed in this book. Testimonies form the A section, and fragments form the B section. For each Presocratic, A section material includes ancient accounts of his life, writings and doctrines, and B section material consists of the extant texts (longer or shorter fragments from a work, or just a few words or phrases quoted by someone else). Individual fragments and testimonials are numbered sequentially – and so are individual philosophers, who are designated by their sequential number. For example, Thales is number 11 in Diels–Kranz, so a reference to the third testimonial concerning his life would take the form DK 11A3.
In this book, for the sake of brevity, when a Presocratic is under discussion (or has already been named), this type of reference will be abbreviated to its A or B part; so DK 11A3 will become Thales A3, or simply A3. However, to make it easier for readers to connect quickly to the DK edition and find the reference in question easily, we attach here an alphabetical list of concordances between each name and the corresponding number in DK:
Alcmaeon24 (vol. 1)Anaxagoras59 (vol. 2)Anaximander12 (vol. 1)Anaximenes13 (vol. 1)Archytas47 (vol. 1)Democritus68 (vol. 2)Diogenes64 (vol. 2)Empedocles31 (vol. 1)Heraclitus22 (vol. 1)Leucippus67 (vol. 2)Melissus30 (vol. 1)Parmenides28 (vol. 1)Philolaus44 (vol. 1)Pythagoras14 (vol. 1)Thales11 (vol. 1)Xenophanes21 (vol. 1)Zeno29 (vol. 1)The Eastern Mediterranean in the Sixth and Fifth Century BCE
1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
1.1 Periods of Ancient Greek Philosophy
1.2 The Presocratics as Pioneers
1.3 Presocratic Historiography
Introduction
‘Ancient Greek philosophy’ is the general phrase used for the philosophical explorations of Greek thinkers who flourished approximately between the sixth century BCE and the sixth century CE. It is usually divided, conventionally, into four historical periods:
1 the Presocratic period (c. sixth to fifth century BCE)
2 the classical period (c. late fifth to fourth century BCE)
3 the Hellenistic period (c. late fourth to first century BCE)
4 the late Hellenistic and Roman period, which extends far into late antiquity (c. first century BCE to sixth century CE)
1.1 Periods of Ancient Greek Philosophy
The Presocratic period covers the Ionians: Thales (fl. c. 585 BCE), Anaximander (fl. c. 550 BCE), Anaximenes (fl. c. 545 BCE), Xenophanes (fl. c. 540 BCE) and Heraclitus (fl. c. 500 BCE); Pythagoras (fl. c. 540 BCE) and the early Pythagoreans, for instance, Alcmaeon (c. 500–450 BCE) and Philolaus (c. 470–385 BCE); the Eleatics, namely Parmenides (fl. c. 480 BCE), Zeno (b. c. 490 BCE) and Melissus (fl. c. 440 BCE); and later thinkers, usually classified as ‘pluralists’: Empedocles (c. 460), Anaxagoras (c. 450 BCE) and the early ‘atomists,’ Leucippus (fl. c. 450 BCE) and Democritus (b. c. 460 BCE ). Another important late Presocratic was Diogenes of Apollonia (b. c. 440 BCE).
The main figures of the classical period, which revolves around Athens, were Socrates (469–399 BCE), Plato (427–347 BCE) and Aristotle (384–322 BCE). Plato, the most famous follower of Socrates, established his own school, the Academy (c. 385 BCE), in northwest Athens; Aristotle, who was never an Athenian citizen, made extensive visits there and studied for 20 years in Plato’s school before setting up one of his own, the Lyceum (c. 335 BCE). Other influential thinkers of the classical period were the sophists, for instance Protagoras (fl. c. 460 BCE) and Gorgias (b. c. 480 BCE), who used to tour the Greek city states as independent teachers but were especially attracted to Athens. The sophists did not constitute an organized school of thought; rather they were professional intellectuals who used to teach rhetoric, politics and philosophy for a fee. They were strongly criticized for their views by Plato and Aristotle. Plato’s dialogue The Sophist includes a genuine critique of the sophistic movement, while Aristotle’s criticism can be found in his work Sophistical Refutations. Plato’s criticism is also expounded in dialogues such as Protagoras and Gorgias, named after famous sophists.
The Hellenistic period begins approximately after the death of Aristotle in 322 BCE and includes the following schools of philosophy:
1 The Stoic school (the “Porch,” Stoa), founded by Zeno of Citium (c. 334–262 BCE). Cleanthes (c. 330–230 BCE) and Chrysippus (c. 280–208 BCE) were the best known scholarchs (heads) of the Old Stoa after Zeno. Stoicism survived until and throughout the imperial times, with significant thinkers such as Seneca (c. 1–65 BCE), Epictetus (c. 55–c. 135 CE) and Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121– 180 CE).
2 The Epicurean school, known as the “Garden,” founded by Epicurus of Samos (341–270 BCE). Metrodorus (c. 331–278 BCE) and Hemarchus (d. 278 BCE) were eminent thinkers in Epicurus’ succession. The Roman poet Lucretius (c. 90–50 BCE) was an important later Epicurean.
3 The Skeptic school, which had two branches: Pyrrhonian and Academic. The original and more radical form of Skepticism was established by Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360–270 BCE), from whom its name derives. Academic Skepticism was a later and milder (compromise) development, related to Plato’s Old Academy in Athens, which went through a Skeptical phase and developed a probabilistic epistemology under the leadership of dialecticians such as Arcesilaus (c. 316–c. 241 BCE) and Carneades (214–129/8 BCE).
4 Finally, the Cynic school founded by Antisthenes of Athens (c. 445–c. 360 BCE), initially a student of Gorgias, but later a pupil and follower of Socrates. Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404–c. 323 BCE) was a follower of Antisthenes and probably the most popular of the Cynics.
The late Hellenistic and Roman period, which extends far into late antiquity, includes the philosophers and the philosophical schools that flourished in the Roman Empire (c. 250 and 750 CE). During this period there was a revival of classical philosophy, which was mainly preoccupied with the careful study and systematic commentary of the works of Plato and Aristotle. The most important names here are Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. c. 200 CE), Plotinus (204–270 CE), Porphyry (c. 232– c. 305 CE), Iamblichus (d. c. 326 CE), Proclus (412–385 CE), Damascius (c. 460–538 CE) and Simplicius of Cilicia (fl. c. 530 CE).
Damascius was the head of the Platonic Academy in Athens at the time of its closure by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 529 CE. Whereas this date is usually considered to mark the end of ancient Greek philosophy, it should not be understood as the immediate ending of the activities of ancient Greek thinkers. As it is reported in Agathias’ Histories 2.30–1, Damascius and another six philosophers of the Academy, including Simplicius, migrated to Persia and joined the court of King Chosroes I (r. 531–579 CE), in order to continue their philosophical activities. However, they were quickly disappointed and returned to Athens, as Agathias notes, where they enjoyed freedom from persecution after a treaty that Chosroes concluded with Rome in 532 CE. In recent studies it has been alternatively supported that the aforementioned philosophers moved to Harran, where they joined a Platonic Academy that played a significant role in the transmission of Greek philosophy to the Islamic world. The case has also been made that Simplicius, and probably other philosophers, moved to Alexandria, where Christian Neoplatonists worked systematically on commentaries to Aristotle. The school of Alexandria, as it is known today, seems to have been active until 641 CE, when the city was captured by the Muslims.
1.2 The Presocratics as Pioneers
Why did philosophy emerge in the Greek city states of Ionia in the east and in Magna Graecia (south Italy and Sicily) during the sixth century? There were a number of contributing factors, such as the early travels and explorations of the Greeks in the Mediterranean world, the special character of Greek polytheism, the emerging social structure of the polis and the development and promulgation of the Greek language in written texts.
Trade and Travel
The Greeks of the sixth century BCE came in contact with other civilizations such as the Babylonian, the Hebrew, the Phoenician and the Egyptian. They traveled to Egypt and the Near East, engaged in trade or colonization, and, as a result, came across other customs and traditions, exchanging experiences, goods and ideas. This exchange and exploration contributed to the open-minded, pluralistic and comparative investigation of early Greek philosophy.
Religion
Ancient Greek religion was primarily a religion of cult practices, and not just a corpus of myths or a canon of sacred texts. It was an open-ended and multi-divergent narrative about the Olympian gods, without a strict or authoritative priesthood. The unrestricted character of Greek polytheism permitted to some extent divergent theoretical approaches and philosophical interpretations about the cosmos and the gods.
Language
The Greek alphabet and syntax eased the way for precision and communication in abstract and categorical thinking. Medical and mathematical treatises appeared alongside texts on geography and astronomy or the great work of Herodotus, the ‘father of history.’ Despite considerable dialect variations, these works became generally available, in a common and unifying Greek language, used both privately and publicly.
Society
The political and social structure was also important for early Greek philosophical inquiry and dialogue. In the sixth century BCE political movements in the Greek world generally, together with the emergence of city state democracies in particular, fostered a plurality of practices and customs and promoted critical reflection, independent argument and decision-making.
Education
Literary education in the Greek world was based on the epic poetry of Homer (the Iliad and the Odyssey) and Hesiod (roughly the Theogony and the Works and Days). Epic poetry was used as an authoritative voice to express human heroism, divine activity and the structure of the natural world. Lyric poets later turned to analyzing their conflicting emotions and, in a more private setting, raised awareness of the self. Greek education and culture encouraged questioning and a dialogue on various topics. Against this background, the Presocratics further evaluated, criticized and developed traditional worldviews and beliefs about the nature of the cosmos and of human life.
Competition
The ancient Greeks promoted the spirit of competition in such athletic events as the Isthmian, Nemean, Pythian and the Olympic games. The games included exhibitions in music and poetry, while the tragedians competed for prizes on a regular basis. The best competitors were excellent not only in physical skills, but also in intellectual abilities and talents. A spirit of intellectual competition and challenge can be found in the arguments and counter-arguments of the Presocratic thinkers.
Critical Dialogue
The early Greek thinkers were in a critical, yet creative philosophical dialogue with their teachers and disciples. Anaximander challenged the cosmological views of his compatriot Thales, while Anaximander was in turn criticized by his pupil Anaximenes. Heraclitus disdained the wide learning of Pythagoras and Xenophanes; he was followed by Parmenides, who refuted Heraclitus’ own theory of becoming and Ionian material monism. Zeno’s paradoxes of motion and the infinite divisibility of matter were tackled in different ways by Empedocles and Democritus, while Anaxagoras’ theory of mind was specifically criticized by Socrates as inadequate and disappointing.
Expression
Prose became the new medium of expression for most of the Presocratics. Pherecydes of Syros seems to have been the first to compose a work in prose in a philosophical context, which was probably contemporary with Aesop’s Fables, while in the sixth century Anaximander and Anaximenes wrote their books On Nature in prose, as a medium more suited to its subject matter than the elegant poetic style of Homer and Hesiod. However, some Presocratics such as Xenophanes, Parmenides and Empedocles rejected the new medium of prose and went back to the meter and style of earlier formal poetry, adapting it to their ways of thinking.
1.3 Presocratic Historiography
The adjective ‘Presocratic’ (Vorsokratiker in German) is a term introduced by German scholars of the nineteenth and early twentieth century to denote, historically and philosophically, the period before Socrates (469–399 BCE). Whereas from a historical perspective the term ‘Presocratics’ identifies those thinkers who lived before the time of Socrates, from a philosophical perspective the Presocratic tradition contains a lot more than the ‘naturalistic tradition’ that precedes the anthropocentric spirit of Socrates’ ethical teaching. Earlier ethical inquiries can be found in Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Empedocles and the Pythagoreans. Moreover, Presocratic thinkers did not all have the same philosophical views. For instance, Parmenides’ theory of being contrasts Heraclitus’ theory of becoming, while the materialism of the early atomists is quite different from the material monism of the Milesian thinkers. Thus it could be suggested that the phrase ‘early Greek philosophers’ might be more appropriate in the light of these philosophers’ intellectual innovation.
In modern Presocratic scholarship two tendencies can be identified: (1) the historico-philosophical approach, which begins with such German scholars as Zeller, Nestle, Diels and Kranz; and (2) the analytical approach, which includes British and American scholars such as Burnet, Cornford, Cherniss, Dodds, Vlastos, Owen and Barnes. The former is an approach in the continental tradition, incorporating elements of Hegelian dialectical historicism and phenomenology; the latter follows a line of philosophical argumentation and formal logic inaugurated by G. E. Moore, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. However, it has to be noted that in recent Presocratic studies these two tendencies have merged into a project of historical, philosophical and anthropological exploration of early Greek philosophical tradition.
Modern interest in early Greek philosophy can be traced back to 1573, when Henri Estienne (better known under his Latinized name Stephanus) collected a number of Presocratic fragments in Poesis philosophica. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century there were available editions on Empedocles and Parmenides. In the early nineteenth century Simon Karsten edited the three philosophers who wrote in verse: Xenophanes, Parmenides and Empedocles. In 1838 Ritter and Preller published the first edition of Historia philosophiae Graecae (the tenth and last edition appeared in 1934), which included the Presocratics.
Eduard Zeller was the first scholar to study the Presocratics systematically, which he did in his massive and influential history of Greek philosophy Die Philosophie der Griechen (1844–1852). His exposition followed a historical classification, reflected in its division into three volumes. Volume 1 dealt with the Presocratics, from Thales to the sophists (Vorsokratische Philosophie); volume 2 was devoted to philosophers of the classical period, from Socrates to Aristotle; and volume 3 embraced the entire Hellenistic period and beyond, going from the early third century BCE until late antiquity (sixth century CE). Zeller’s book went through many editions.
In 1879 the German scholar and classicist Hermann Diels published another monumental and hugely influential book: Doxographi Graeci, a collection of those ancient sources that included summaries of the views of early Greek thinkers; such views are found particularly in authors of the Hellenistic and Roman period (like Plutarch or Galen) and of late antiquity in general, but also in mainstream classical philosophers (like Plato and Aristotle). Diels is also the one who coined the term “doxography” from the Greek doxa (“opinion,” “view”). His research focused on topics concerning physics and metaphysics – theology, cosmology, astronomy, meteorology, biology – but not on ethics. In 1883, F. W. A. Müllach edited the Fragmenta philosophorum Graecorum, which included a number of Presocratic fragments with a Latin translation and, occasionally, a short commentary. In 1887 Paul Tannery, in his book Pour l’Histoire de la science hellène, set the Presocratics in a scientific framework. The first English “textbook” on the Presocratics, Early Greek Philosophy, had been published only five years before, in 1892. It was written by the famous Scottish scholar John Burnet. The first complete edition of the Presocratics, however – Diels’ monumental Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker – appeared only in 1903. In 1934 Diels’s pupil Walhter Kranz prepared a fifth edition of it, and in 1951 he published the sixth and final edition, which included revisions and corrections in the form of supplementary notes in each of the three volumes. This Diels–Kranz (DK) edition of 1951 became the standard reference work in the field of Presocratic scholarship.
2
THE PHILOSOPHERS
Introduction
2.1 A Precursor: Pherecydes of Syros
2.2 The Ionians
2.3 The Pythagoreans
2.4 The Eleatics
2.5 The Pluralists
Conclusion
Introduction
Presocratic philosophy began in the Greek city states of Ionia, moved to south Italy and Sicily, and ended in Athens and Thrace. Miletus was the native city of Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes; Colophon, that of Xenophanes; Ephesus, that of Heraclitus; Samos, that of Pythagoras and Melissus; Elea, that of Parmenides and Zeno; Acragas in Sicily, that of Empedocles; Clazomenae, that of Anaxagoras; Abdera, that of Leucippus and Democritus. Anaxagoras and Democritus went to Athens and possibly met Socrates there.
2.1 A Precursor: Pherecydes of Syros
Pherecydes of Syros (born c. 600 BCE) should be considered as an important forerunner of Presocratic thought. He seems to be the first thinker who attempted a proto-cosmological explanation of the creation myth. At Metaphysics 1091b, Aristotle states that Pherecydes is a philosopher who “blends” the mythical with the non-mythical. In Heptamychia – probably the first work in prose in Greek literature – Pherecydes claimed that, at the beginning of the cosmos, three primary, everlasting and self-creative principles existed: Zeus, Chronos (“Time”) and Chthonie (the Ionic form of the feminine Chthonia, “Earth”) (B1).
2.2 The Ionians
Thales of Miletus (fl. c. 585 BCE) is regarded as the founder of Western philosophy. He was the first thinker who tried to explain nature in a non-mythical discourse by introducing material monism as an explanation of the cosmos. He is also regarded as the sage who introduced the Delphic saying “know thyself” (A1 and A2). Whereas Thales was an admired figure in antiquity, only a few testimonies survive concerning his life and work. Some ancient authors ascribe to him the work Nautical Star Guide, while, according to some others, he wrote two more works: On the Solstice and On the Equinox (A1). Thales was an avid traveler and Herodotus provides important evidence for his activities as statesman and engineer (A6). He was also a mathematician and geometer and, as Heraclitus testifies, the first who worked on astronomical problems (B38). According to later testimonies, Thales would have foretold the eclipse of the sun in 585 BCE (A2); diverted the river Halys, so that Croesus’ army could cross it (A6); and measured the pyramids of Egypt by using their shadow (A1, A21). As a mathematician, Thales is acknowledged by Proclus (following Eudemus) as the discoverer of a number of theorems (A20).
Anaximander (fl. c. 550 BCE) was a pupil of Thales. He studied the natural phenomena and made the first comprehensive attempt to explain the origins both of animal species and of the cosmos as a whole. He thought that the first living organisms were generated from moisture that the sun caused to evaporate, while humans were born from a fish-like creature of a different kind (A30). Anaximander wrote a book in prose entitled On Nature, but unfortunately only a few lines of it are preserved. Most of our information on him comes from later sources such as Aristotle, Theophrastus, Pseudo-Plutarch and Simplicius. His thought apparently encompassed significant theories in the fields of cosmology and biology. He was considered the first to draw a map of the inhabited world, perhaps on a tablet, and he was credited with explaining phenomena like winds, rains, or earthquakes in non-mythological language (A1, A6).
Anaximenes (fl. c. 545 BCE) was a pupil of Anaximander. He is the third and the last of the Milesian philosophers. Only a few sources concerning his life and activities survive. He wrote a book in prose, probably within the same framework of natural philosophy as that of Anaximander, but in ‘simple’ language, as the report goes (A1). Anaximenes was interested in cosmology and meteorology, and some of his ideas in these areas survive. His natural philosophy influenced some later Presocratics, Diogenes of Apollonia in particular (fl. c. 410–322 BCE).
Aristotle said that Xenophanes (fl. c. 540 BCE) was the first “who looked up at the sky and had a theory of everything” (Metaphysics 986b). Xenophanes was born in Colophon, an Ionian Greek city of Asia Minor, but he emigrated to the West – to Sicily or southern Italy (A1). For this reason he was probably related to the Pythagoreans and the Eleatics, even though there is no significant evidence in support of this view (A29). Xenophanes seems to have lived a long life; in his own words, “already there are seven and sixty years tossing my thought up and down the land of Greece; and from my birth there were another twenty-five to add to these … ” (A1).
Xenophanes introduced a new kind of philosophical poetry, which could be regarded as a response to the philosophical prose of the Milesians. In particular, he wrote didactic poetry in epic meter, elegiacs and iambics; and he also wrote satirical poems in hexameter, known as Silloi. Xenophanes criticized Homer and Hesiod for the immorality of their myths (B12). In the extant lines of his work one can observe philosophical inquiries on ethics, divinity and the physical structure of the cosmos.
Heraclitus (fl. c. 500 BCE) was born in Ephesus. He wrote a single book with the title On Nature (A1). Heraclitus dedicated and placed his book in the temple of Artemis, as a city treasure to be safeguarded. In the surviving fragments of his work we can appreciate a man of strong and independent philosophical spirit, who speculated on physics, ethics and politics. However, Heraclitus was known in antiquity as “the obscure philosopher,” on account of the ambiguity of his thought and enigmatic character of his language. His book was obscure on purpose, so that only those of rank and influence may have access to it. This explains Socrates’ alleged statement about Heraclitus’ book: “the concepts I understand are great, but I believe that the concepts I can’t understand are great, too. However, the reader needs to be an excellent diver, like those from Delos, to get to the bottom of it” (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers 2.22).
2.3 The Pythagoreans
Pythagoras (fl. c. 540 BCE) was born on the island of Samos and traveled, it was said, for many years in Egypt and the orient, being influenced by oriental thought. Driven out by Samos’ tyrannical rule, Pythagoras migrated to south Italy around 532 BCE. He established in Croton a school of his own, which had both philosophical and political aims. Pythagoras is one of the most enigmatic figures of antiquity. Much of the information we have on his life and activities is dubious and comes from two very late biographies (or rather hagiographies): Porphyry’s Vita Pythagorae and Iamblichus’ De vita Pythagorica. According to these Neoplatonic sources, Pythagoras’ students were divided into two groups: those who had permission only to attend and ‘listen to’ his lectures – the akousmatikoi – and those who could participate in the inner-circle ‘lessons’ of the school – the mathematikoi.
