Questions tagged [ancient-philosophy]
Ancient philosophy consists, at least in the west, of the work by philosophers before around ~480 CE.
106
questions
-1
votes
1answer
35 views
Did alchemy originate from the ancient Greeks?
Did alchemy originate from the ancient Greeks? I heard alchemy is based on ancient Greek philosophy. Is this true?
0
votes
0answers
38 views
Is Thales's claim that everything starts with water/wetness, in ontological meaning, in agreement with his claim that: “Everything is full of gods”?
Thales claimed water as his arche, but Aristotle says that he also said that "Everything is full of gods". Are those two claims in agreement?
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Who first said that he who cannot govern himself cannot govern others?
What philosopher said that he who cannot govern himself cannot govern others?
I heard that Foucault said something similar, but surely Aristotle or even King Solomon may have said something similar.
1
vote
1answer
340 views
I am looking for a parable that tells about a tyrant and an honest poor man
Brief paraphrase: In a certain city there lived a tyrant and a poor man, the tyrant did not know about his tyranny and believed that he was doing the right thing, the poor man saw the tyrant's ...
1
vote
1answer
73 views
What is known of Anaximander's reasoning behind his belief that the Earth floated?
Anaximander was the first philosopher (at least that I know of) to argue that the Earth floated in space without support and without being enveloped by the cosmic ocean. I have heard his reasoning for ...
5
votes
1answer
265 views
Does the Platonic triad originate with Plato?
A Platonic triad of Good, True, and Beautiful is something I run into online and in popular philosophy books. For example: https://catholicgnosis.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/the-platonic-triad/
It's been ...
2
votes
0answers
41 views
Number of causes in Porphyry
Aristotle proposed a well known and much studied doctrine of Four causes. Seneca the Younger in the first years of the new era wrote that his quintam Plato adicit exemplar, quam ipse idean vocat (as ...
2
votes
1answer
44 views
Where in Aristotle's Topics did he say there's no exact/clear way to distinguish two concepts?
I've heard that Aristotle supposed in his Topics that there's no exact/clear way to distinguish two concepts. What exactly did he say?
4
votes
2answers
165 views
Why did Aristotle claim we can't wish our friends be gods?
Aristotle asks at the close of Book VIII, Chapter 7 of the Nicomachean Ethics: Can one wish their friend the highest good, namely, to be a god? He seems to provide several reasons to think not.
...
1
vote
1answer
213 views
Academic consensus on Egypt as origins/impetus of Ancient Greek philosophy
My question concerns the thesis about the controversial thesis about Ancient Egypt being the origins or the cause of Ancient Greek philosophy.
I understand that the pendulum has swung on this issue ...
3
votes
1answer
57 views
Plato Symposium - Is Socrates's Response to Agathon Warranted?
I'm reading Plato's symposium and I had a question about the section 199b - 201c where Socrates responds to Agathon. This comes after Agathon's speech, but before Socrates tells the tale of Diotima.
...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Original Text Sources for 2 Aristotle ideas - 1/ nous on nous , 2/ sprial of knowledge - which texts did Aristotle first mention these in?
I am trying to track down the first mention original sources of some ideas of Aristotle in philosophy that some philosophy professors made in some university lectures.
The first idea is
1/ Nous on ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
What is the most internally-consistent theory of forms?
I'm trying to construct a fictional reality out of the Socratic-era (ideally) theories of Forms, but every philosopher's attempt seems to have at least one fatal flaw (and most of them several big ...
1
vote
0answers
39 views
According to Plato, can there be forms for a certain class of particulars?
In the beginning of Parmenides, Plato seems to think that most, or possibly all, particulars do not have corresponding forms; but he is not very explicit about why. My question is, does it not make ...
2
votes
0answers
24 views
Apart from Religious content, what philosophical doctrines can be found in the Bible?
today i read the Eclesiastes, and found it quite alike of Stoicism, so i wondered, since the bible is just a compilation of books that are not necessarily related, i wanted to know what other ...
2
votes
1answer
173 views
The concept of nature in the Greek philosophy
My question is: Is it possible to point to a development in the concept of "nature" in the period between pre-Socratic philosophers and Aristotle (inclusive)?
Thank you very much.
3
votes
1answer
111 views
What percentage of extant Greek texts from Antiquity constitute philosophy?
I recently asked on Literature Stack Exchange, What percentage of clay tablets found in Mesopotamia contain literature?
and was only able to define an upper limit 4% literature in the overall corpus ...
5
votes
3answers
367 views
“Corresponding behaviour” in text on Socrates' philosophy
I don't know if this is the right place to post this question, but as I was reading Diogenes Laertius' 'The Life of Socrates', I came upon the following line:
"He recommended to the young the ...
10
votes
3answers
4k views
“There is no difference, if no difference can be detected”
As far as I remember there was an ancient philosopher who said something like "there is no difference (between two objects) if no difference can be detected", but I don't remember who was that and how ...
0
votes
1answer
144 views
I'm trying to identify a rhetorical device
I already asked this question on the writing forum, but I suppose the subject matter is better suited here.
Once again, I am writing a commentary on the book of Galatians, while employing a socio-...
0
votes
1answer
45 views
Are there any Good Compilations of Socrates?
Fellow Thinkers, does anyone know of a book that has compiled all the main sources that we know Socrates from (Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes, ...)?
Thank you for your time. - SDH
1
vote
0answers
95 views
What are some arguments against the third man argument?
I'm working on a paper concerning the third argument. I have my own solution in mind but I need other arguments to refute so that I can then move onto my argument. I found another thread on this topic ...
3
votes
1answer
598 views
What are the important questions about pre-socratic philosophy?
I am self-studying pre-socratic philosophy. I want to know what are the relevant questions that I need to ask to myself. The idea is to ensure that I understood the important parts of this period in ...
7
votes
1answer
171 views
Are there any ancient Greek philosophers with a 'complete' philosophy that never made it to prime time?
There are at least a couple-dozen Greek Philosophers (in my estimation) whose ideas were both popular and comprehensive enough that they were taught throughout antiquity. Pythagoras, Democritus, Plato,...
2
votes
1answer
125 views
Where can I access or purchase Aristotelis Opera (edited by Immanuel Bekker)?
I have been trying to find the following as I am very interested in reading Aristotle in the original Greek:
Aristotle. Aristotelis opera. Edited by Immanuel Bekker, Christian August Brandis, and ...
1
vote
1answer
116 views
For Aristotle, how and why does friction generate heat?
I'm still a bit new to Aristotle, so this question may be imperfect:
In Meteorology, Aristotle uses friction to explain how the sun generates heat. Although it's composed of aether, and not fire, ...
2
votes
0answers
111 views
Is there any evidence that Nietzsche read anything by Zarathustra?
Here are two verses of Zarathustra from his Gathas published in the The Hymns of Zoroaster: A New Translation of the Most Ancient Sacred Texts of Iran by M. L. West:
40.10
And that reward, Mindful ...
3
votes
1answer
125 views
Random Emergence
In De Caelo 300b, Aristotle introduces the idea of the random emergence of the natural:
"it is possible that with this disorderly motion some of the elements might have unified in those combinations ...
4
votes
2answers
597 views
Allegory of the cave and Forms?
In my philosophy class, the professor told us about the allegory of the cave and how it relates to the Forms. From what I understood, regular people only see shadows of the Forms; but by doing ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
What sort of philosophy does this come into?
Okay so I'm going to have a very hard time trying to convey what I want to because I myself am unsure on how to frame this question.
Is there any philosophical branch that deals with 'binarial' ...
2
votes
0answers
49 views
Does the concept of Axis Mundi imply the idea of a symmetric universe?
In the mythologies of many cultures the universe is thought to have a center ( i do not mean the geographical concretisations which are obviously not accurate, i mean the philosophical conception ) ...
3
votes
3answers
567 views
Did Ancient Greeks believed that only God can give Agape Love, the unconditional love for everyone?
Ancient Greeks defined love as 6 different types.
Eros, Philia, Ludus, Agape, Pragma, Philautia.
Agape love is Unconditional Love.
Can God only give Agape Love, the unconditional love for everyone?
...
0
votes
1answer
112 views
How similar were Epicureans and Stoics to Buddhism on suffering?
One of the main goals of the Buddhist philosophy/religion is to be free of suffering.
Buddhism identifies ego, desire, non acceptance of impermanence, ignorance and all negative emotions(because the ...
4
votes
1answer
61 views
Which ancient Greeks are known to have commentated on Zeno's Paradoxes?
The Stanford Encycl. of Philosophy mentions that we know of Zeno's work only through various secondary sources, "principally through Aristotle and his commentators."
I was wondering, which other ...
3
votes
1answer
70 views
Which works of Plato and Aristotle (Ancient Greek if there is more worth it) should I read to get a context to study Continental Rationalism?
I'm trying to get a better ground to get into Continental Rationalism between Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, etc. I read on the Plato Encyclopedia of Philosophy that Plato and Aristotle influenced them, ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
How does one understand the second and third triad in Hegels Logic?
The first dialectical triad in Hegels Logic and put in a mathematical form is
Being + Nothing = Becoming
Although a strange sum, I find this understandable. His second dialectical triad takes the ...
4
votes
3answers
130 views
Do wholes tell us what the parts are?
According to one reading of the atomic hypothesis it is parts that are fundamental and they tell us what wholes are, and in fact, what wholes are possible. For example:
A tree is made up of roots, ...
5
votes
4answers
421 views
Dasein and know thyself
Socrates famously asked the question 'know thyself'.
When I first read of this it impressed me. It seemed like an important question. What could be more important than knowing your own self? It seems ...
1
vote
1answer
248 views
Is there an ur-philosophy behind the philosophy of Pythagoras and Lao Tze Tung?
Chapter forty-two of the Dao De Jing has the following:
The Dao engenders One
One engenders Two
Two engenders Three
And Three engenders the many myriad things
This looks rather like how ...
1
vote
0answers
111 views
Some similarity of Leibniz and Anaxagoras
As early as 1666 Leibniz was able to compose "A Conjecture Why It Seems That Anaxagoras Could Have Said That Snow Is Black" (A II, 1, 4-5). Later, as a librarian, he became extraordinarily well read ...
1
vote
1answer
202 views
What is the meaning of the quote from Anaxogoras? “even those who have occasion for a lamp supply it with oil.”
According to Plutarch, When Pericles heard that Anaxagoras was starving himself, Pericles approached Anaxagoras begging him to stop starving himself since if Anaxagoras were to die,Pericles will lose ...
2
votes
1answer
108 views
The clay theory of the universe
The Aristotelian notion of hylomorphism involves the form/matter duality where the matter in question is not the atomist conception we learn in physics, but a kind of primordial clay that all forms ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
According to Aristotle, can knowledge of geometry exist outside of particular subjects?
In the Categories, Aristotle gives the example of Socrates' knowledge of grammar for something that is 'present in' a subject, i.e. inseparable from it. That makes sense to me: if Socrates dies, his ...
3
votes
1answer
323 views
Why does Philo skip Genesis 1?
In Νόμων Ἱερῶν Ἀλληγορίαι, (Legum Allegoriæ), Stoic Philosopher Philo of Alexandria sets out to make an allegorical commentary on Genesis 2-3. Why does Philo choose to pick up with chapter 2 instead ...
5
votes
1answer
428 views
Marsilio Ficino' commentary on the Symposium on Love guidance
Is Marsilio Ficino's commentary on the Symposium on Love a good book to read alongside the Symposium for someone who is reading the Platonic dialogue?
Does it give a good understanding of the ...
6
votes
1answer
683 views
Why is it true that anything that changes must be divisible according to Aristotle?
Aristotle states in Physics 6:4:
Further, everything that changes must be divisible. For since every
change is from something to something, and when a thing is at the goal
of its change it is no ...
4
votes
1answer
167 views
Does Aristotle think universals are identical to particulars?
In this passage: (Physics 189a7-9)
For that which is universal is more easily known in the former way, since accounts are of what is universal, and that which is particular in the latter, since ...
4
votes
2answers
256 views
What does Timaeus mean in this saying?
The proportion perfectly achieves this goal. For, when three numbers, three masses or three forces whatever, the mean is to the last what the first is to the mean and to the first what the last is to ...
3
votes
0answers
355 views
How did the philosophy of Ancient Greece influence Ancient Rome?
Mostly, I'm curious about the lasting impacts of classical philosophy, but in the name of brevity and specifics I'll confine my question to the influence classical Greek philosophy had on the next ...
2
votes
2answers
359 views
Why cannot matter be infinitely divisible according to Plato?
Why cannot matter be infinitely divisible, according to Plato?
Thanks in advance!
