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The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lore.
- Historical Overview
- Philosophy in Egypt & Mesopotamia
- Indian Philosophy
- Persian Philosophy
- Chinese Philosophy
- Greek Philosophy
- Branches of Philosophy
- Conclusion
A philosophical system may develop independently but usually is a response to religion; when religion fails to fully answer a people's questions or address their needs, the people turn to philosophy. People's existential questions traditionally have been answered by the development of religious systems which assured them of the existence of superna...
The earliest philosophical system seems to have developed in Egypt as a response to the religious vision of a paradise after death known as the Field of Reeds, a mirror image of one's life on earth, where the souls of the justified dead would live eternally. The question which seems to have inspired Egyptianphilosophy is how one should live in orde...
In India, philosophy developed in response to the Vedas, the scriptures of Hinduism (known as Sanatan Dharma, “Eternal Order”, to adherents), in the form of the Upanishads (the earliest written c. 800-500 BCE). The Vedas were understood as the emanations of the Universe, the literal words of God, and the Upanishadswere composed to clarify and expla...
Persian philosophy was almost certainly already developed before c. 1500 BCE as evidenced by the Avesta (Zoroastrian scriptures) which draws on concepts from the polytheistic Early Iranian Religion. Zoroaster conceived of a new religious paradigm of a single god, Ahura Mazda, creator and sustainer of the universe, whose supernatural adversary was A...
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China were times of chaos as the Zhou Dynasty was declining, and Chinese philosophy was developed in response to this disorder. The early texts of Confucianism are thought to have been composed during the Zhou Dynasty and later developed by the sage Confucius (l. 551-479 BCE). Confuciani...
Greek philosophy began in the 6th century BCE with Thales of Miletus who initiated it with the question “What is the basic 'stuff' of the universe?” (Ancient Philosophy, 8). Thales' inquiry seems an anomaly because of the religious beliefs of his time which seem to have been meeting the needs of the people. Ancient Greek religionheld that the gods ...
The areas of interest of modern-day philosophy apply equally to the East and West but the names by which they are known were developed by the Greeks. Although various schools may break some into sub-sections, the branches of study are: Metaphysics – The Study of Existence, so named for Aristotle's work on the subject. Far from being a definitive te...
Plato attributed the vision of his philosophy to his teacher, Socrates, who wrote nothing himself. Almost all of what is known of Socrates' life and teaching comes from Plato and another of Socrates' students, Xenophon (l. 430 - c. 354 BCE). Whether Plato's work accurately reflects Socrates' teachings is unknown and will never be known, but scholar...
- Joshua J. Mark
Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE with the pre-Socratics. They attempted to provide rational explanations of the cosmos as a whole. [43] The philosophy following them was shaped by Socrates (469–399 BCE), Plato (427–347 BCE), and Aristotle (384–322 BCE).
Sep 15, 2024 · philosophy, (from Greek, by way of Latin, philosophia, “love of wisdom”) the rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality as a whole or of fundamental dimensions of human existence and experience.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Explore the timline of Philosophy. The word philosophy comes from the Greek philo (love) and sophia (wisdom) and so is literally defined as “the love of wisdom”. More broadly understood, it is the study of the most basic and profound...
- Joshua J. Mark
- Content Director
The Age of Reason of the 17th Century and the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th Century (very roughly speaking), along with the advances in science, the growth of religious tolerance and the rise of liberalism which went with them, mark the real beginnings of modern philosophy.
Jaspers observed that this “axis” of the emergence of philosophical thought occurred during a somewhat well-defined period, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, in multiple locations around the world, principally the Mediterranean region, Mesopotamia, India, and China.
