Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Chronology
- Map of the ancient Mediterranean
- 1 Mapping the territory
- 2 Language, logic and literary form
- 3 Cosmologies
- 4 Pagan monotheism
- 5 Souls and selves
- 6 Believing, doubting and knowing
- 7 Leadership, law and the origins of political theory
- 8 Ethics, goodness and happiness
- Epilogue
- Appendix: Sources for Greek philosophy
- Glossary of Greek philosophical terms
- Notes
- Further reading
- Index of passages
- Index
1 - Mapping the territory
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Chronology
- Map of the ancient Mediterranean
- 1 Mapping the territory
- 2 Language, logic and literary form
- 3 Cosmologies
- 4 Pagan monotheism
- 5 Souls and selves
- 6 Believing, doubting and knowing
- 7 Leadership, law and the origins of political theory
- 8 Ethics, goodness and happiness
- Epilogue
- Appendix: Sources for Greek philosophy
- Glossary of Greek philosophical terms
- Notes
- Further reading
- Index of passages
- Index
Summary
When, at the opening of his Metaphysics, Aristotle mused on the origins of philosophy, he characterized the philosopher by his ability to generalize, to abstract universal principles from individual instances, and to cope with problems beyond the comprehension of the average mind. He further contrasted the man of experience who knows facts with the man of wisdom who asks “Why?”, and suggested that it was through curiosity that individuals now and in the beginning became philosophers, first asking the obvious questions, and then gradually worrying about more complex issues (Metaphysics 982b12). Aristotle goes on to suggest that there is an inborn craving for knowledge – not for practical purposes but for its own sake – and that in its pursuit the most satisfying human life is to be found.
Such a philosophical way of thinking came into the public domain in the early sixth century BCE, and in a specific area, namely the islands and western coast of Asia Minor, known collectively as Ionia. Mutual exchanges between Ionia and the older civilizations of the Babylonians, Hebrews, Phoenicians and Egyptians had increased in the sixth century BCE with trade expansion, the spread of Greek colonies and the inexorable westward encroachment of Persian power. Political movements in the Greek world generally, together with the emergence of city-tate democracies, fostered independent argument, reflection and decision-making, as constitutions and laws were hammered out within the polis, rather than being externally imposed.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Introducing Greek Philosophy , pp. 1 - 40Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2009