The Product of Ancient Greek Philosophy

A distinct feature of the human complex is the idea that we are curious and constantly

trying to find reason and purpose. What is the purpose of life? What is the origin of our being? Is

there a better way of explaining how the known world exists than the stories that have been

passed down to us. These and many other questions were true of some of the ancient Greeks

hundreds of years before common era. They sought to break the mold of what was considered

truth in their time and place by providing logical explanations for the world around them and

how one should conduct themselves in that world, which would bring about and fuller life, a

more robust community and a stronger government. This paper will detail the philosophies of

Xenophanes through Plato, spanning roughly 250 years and understanding their impact on

philosophy for time to come.

To better understand ancient greek philosophy one must understand the climate of

thinking that was present during this time. Today, in the western world, a child would be brought

up attending school for the first eighteen years of life being exposed to mathematics and the

sciences having a general understanding of the natural world, how living things sustain life, a

working concept of the cosmos and so on. This is not the case for the ancient greek world.

Education would be provided only to the elite and void of 2,500 years of progress that we have

today. The world and the cosmos were a black box which little was known of their functionings.

To explain the miracle that was the world around them they gave credit to the mythological gods.

These gods were merely superhuman in the sense that they bore many of the physical and

emotional characteristics of humans. They did not entirely transcend the human condition and

exhibit infinitely or even vastly better character than did humans, they possessed human-like
bodies and lived in a physical location. It was these gods that were the cause of the world and

cosmos. Xenophanes, an ancient greek philosopher, noted the type of character that the gods

exhibited, “…Homer and Hesiod have attributed to the gods all things that are blameworthy and

disgraceful for men: stealing, committing adultery, deceiving each other.”1

For the thinking, progressive mind this was a problem. How could it be that creatures

similar to us are responsible for the world that we inhabit? This question puzzled one mind in

particular. Xenophanes of Colophon was reported to have said, “Now if cattle, horses, or lions

had hands and were able to perform works like men, horses like horses and cattle like cattle

would draw the forms of gods, and make their bodies Just like the body each of them had.”2 In

his mind we had created gods similar to us, not other way around. It was concepts like this that

paved the way for philosophy to take hold in the ancient greek world because it catered to the

idea that we could come to understand the world in a rational way if we thoughtfully observe

one’s surroundings.

As history continues we see the pursuit of explaining the natural and social world from

Parminedes, Socrates and Plato. Each philosopher tried to challenge the status quo in their own

respect. Each philosopher seemed to be burdened with a thought or project that they could not

help but to pursue and ask deep questions about. As for one of these philosophers, Socrates, was

so compelled by the need to pursue his project that it would lead to his conviction and sentence

of death in the face of the ruling powers.

1Daniel W. Graham The Texts of Early Greek Philosophy: The Complete Fragments and
Selected Testimonies of the Major Presocratics (Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011) 1.
2 Daniel W. Graham The Texts, 1.
 Parminedes is said to have, “radically transformed the early philosopher’s interest in

cosmology, the study of the universe as a rationally ordered system (cosmos), into ontology, the

study of being.”3 Parminedes crafted the logical argument for that which is and that is which is

not. He concluded that which is not, is nothing, and has no place is reality. That which is, is

being, and being is a fundamental, eternal essence that is not perceived by the senses. This

argument refuted that things change, it argued that things only have the appearance of change.

This was important for its time because it was an attempt to rationally and thoughtfully question

the origin of the natural world and to give reason about how things are ordered instead of trusting

a supernatural explanation that could not be logically reasoned.

Socrates did not set out to tackle the cosmological argument as did Parminedes but chose

to focus his work on moral code and ethics. Socrates’ maxim was to “know thyself”, this would

mean deep reflection of oneself and how a person ought to live. In his view, a life that was not

spent in reflection and careful observation is not a life that is valuable. Virtue and wisdom were

the prize of a thoughtful life and this would lead to a quality society and a better community.

Socrates gave a way for moral and ethical philosophy to take root which was in contrast to the

culture of the time that valued sportsmanship and being a fierce warrior as being the pinnacle of

human achievement. Socrates would direct his pupils to discover what he believed to be truth not

by lecturing from a podium for hours on end but rather engaging with the student in a series of

questions. This method of instruction would come to be known as the “Socratic Method.”

Plato continued the ontological project that Perminedes had been working on an

introduced the idea of the Forms which Plato would go on to explain as the eternal essence of a

3Douglas J. Soccio, Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy (Boston, MA: Cengage

Learning, 2016), 66.
thing. For example, a horse has the essence of horse-ness that transcends the physical space of a

horse. It’s true essence is beyond itself and gives it it’s being. This idea of the Forms was to help

solidify the notion of absolute truth in the face of the popular relativism of his time. Relativism

thought that there was no absolute truth but rather that truth varies from one community to

another as a set of changing, developing cultural norms. Furthermore, Plato also developed a

philosophy of politics. He believed that the best form of government to be a hierarchy with a

philosophically minded king. This, in his mind, would be the most successful type of

government but, he admitted, could end in a tyranny if the top leader were to be corrupt.

Each one of these philosophers directly or indirectly argued for a type of universal truth

and explanation of reality. They made arguments for truth as a means of something that was

ultimate and transcends the human experience but is also tangible in the way that it could be

expressed through action and choice.

Though these four examples of ancient greek philosophers were not entirely unified on

their philosophies with one another nor did they all set out to accomplish the same specific goal,

what they did accomplish was building the first foundation for the western philosophical

tradition. They had successfully moved away from the dogma of the mythical gods to a rational

explanation of the world around them. This would set the scene for others to come behind them

and build on and challenge their process for the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom and

understanding.
 Bibliography

Graham, Daniel W. The Texts of Early Greek Philosophy: The Complete Fragments and

Selected Testimonies of the Major Presocratics. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,

2011.

Soccio, Douglas J. Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy. Boston, MA:

Cengage Learning, 2016.