The
Greek Explosion
If
we cast a glance to the entire gamut
of western history, we find that there
occurred two knowledge explosions; the
first is in Greece during the 6th century
BC and the second in Europe known as
the Renaissance in the sixteenth century.
The Greek explosion had affected the
whole word and gave striking advance
in mathematics and revolutionary theories
about matter and force.
Miletus,
the largest and most prosperous of Greek
cities of Ionia has the honor to be
the pioneering center of pre-Socratic
philosophy which mainly consists of
cosmology or philosophy of nature. Main
interest was in the word that surrounds
man the cosmos. Nature philosophy was
looking for underlying laws of nature.
Its concern was natural world and its
process, an attempt to understand the
actual process of change in nature by
studying nature itself was chief motive
of natural philosophy. Natural philosophers
were looking for certain basic substance
at the root of all changes which cause
all things change but itself remain
intact. It was natural philosophy which
paved way for liberating philosophy
from religion and thereby guided it
towards scientific reasoning as a result
this philosophy became precursor to
science.
Some
pre-Socratic philosophy or natural philosophers
(1)
Thales: He was born
in 625 BC in Miletus. He was a scientist
also and supposed to have introduced
Egyptian geometry in Greece. He also
discovered some of the theorems of the
first book of Euclid's elements. He
is also supposed to have predicted the
solar eclipse on May 28, 585BC and also
measured the Egyptian pyramids. He thought
there must be basic substances (components)
underlying all the changes. He said
water is the cause of all the change
in material universe, which without
changing itself change other elements
of the world. He asserted that this
material universe can be understood
with human mind. Human mind in this
world is quite intelligible said Thales.
There is nothing that a mind can not
understand. Can human mind itself be
understood? He thought this question
and pondered over it but could not solve
this question. Ultimately this remains
problem for him.
(2)
Anaximander: He is cartographer
who prepared maps and described about
different principles. He was of the
opinion that the substratum of things
was infinite or boundless from which
all things emanate and to which all
things return at last. He said this
world is full of contrary elements like
hot and cold, wet and dry, life and
death and so on. He regarded all things
are perishable in this word. For him
nothing is divine but matter alone.
(3)
Anaximenes: Similar to Thales
and Anaximander he thought about the
existence of an underlying substance
as the source of all natural changes.
He regards air or vapor as the substratum
and water as Condensed air and Fire
rarefied air. The there forms of water
gas, liquid and solid are progressive
stages of condensation.
(4)
Parmerides: He is a
founder of Eleatic school and he is
the most famous among his group of thinkers.
His major concepts are as follows-
–
Human reason is the primary source of
knowledge of the world. Knowledge through
senses is incorrect and misleading,
since it does not correspond with our
reason.
– This world is a continuous indivisible
plenum.
– Being is without beginning and
without end. It is indivisible and universal.
– Everything that exists had always
existed.
– Nothing actually changes.
(5)
Heraclitus:
He held the
views that reality is like an ever-flowing
stream and nothing is ever at rest for
a moment. The word is full of opposite,
the routine of the world moves ahead
with a constant interplay of those opposites.
Everything is changeable even we can
not cross the same river twice, it is
already changed. He had the conception
that the universal reason or logos or
God guides everything in nature.
(6) Empedolces:
He regards
that matter is immutable in its essence
but bodies are in a state of constant
change as their four constituent elements
or roots, earth, air, fire and water.
(7) Democritus:
He is an atomist
who gave the theory of Atom in the 6thBC.
He held the view that each object in
nature is made up of invisible tiny
particles called 'atoms' having eternal
and immutable attributes. The basic
cause of all change is atom. When atoms
are combined a shape or form takes place.
When form dissolves it becomes the atom
again. Later, it was proved that he
was wrong in his thinking that atoms
are uncuttable. During 20thC, science
has already proved that smallest unit
of atoms are electron, proton and neutron.
Any way the credit goes him as a profounder
of atomic theory.
Sophists
After natural
philosophy, Greek thought moves towards
man and society. Sophist's major concern
was 'man' and his place in society.
There were itinerant teachers and philosophers
who claimed to be wise and informed
persons and made their living by teaching
people about philosophy. They disregarded
traditional mythology and also rejected
futile philosophical speculations. They
gave birth to the philosophical concept
of skepticism. Protagoras is one of
the famous sophists who said 'man is
the measure of all things'. According
to him humans can not have definite
knowledge if God exits or not. His attitude
towards god is that or agonistic. He
regarded all morals and laws as only
relatively valid. Sophists believed
in no absolute ethical values but rather
relative value of morals. They seem
to be skeptical about human knowledge
of truth about nature and the cosmos.
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