Philosophy Timeline - The Journey of Human Thought

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Pre-Socratic

From myth to nature

What is the cosmos made of? Is change real or illusion?

In Greek colonies of Ionia and Magna Graecia, trade, seafaring, and contact with older civilizations (Egypt, Babylon) fostered curiosity about the natural world. Myths no longer satisfied—people wanted explanations that worked like early science. The shift: from divine stories to rational inquiry about the basic stuff of the cosmos.

Thales of MiletusHeraclitusParmenides of EleaPythagorasEmpedocles of AcragasDemocritus of Abdera

Heraclitus: Reality is flux — constant change

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🎯 Core Ideas:

• Milesian School - represented by Thales: Water is the primal substance

• Flux Philosophy - represented by Heraclitus: Everything flows; 'You cannot step into the same river twice'

• Eleatic School - represented by Parmenides: Only unchanging being is real; change is impossible

• Pythagoreanism - represented by Pythagoras: Numbers and harmony structure reality

• Pluralism - represented by Empedocles: Four roots (earth, air, fire, water) mix by Love and Strife

• Atomism - represented by Democritus: Atoms and void explain plurality and change

🔗 Connections:

First move from myth to reason; foundation for science and metaphysics.

🌊 Today's Echo: Physics and cosmology still ask what is the fundamental 'stuff' of reality.

💭 Think about it: If everything changes, can we ever have certain knowledge?

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Classical Greek

Ethics, logic, and knowledge

How should we live? What is true knowledge?

In Athens' golden age of democracy, war, and public debate, questions shifted from cosmic elements to human life: justice, truth, and how to live in the city. Political turmoil (Peloponnesian War, trial of Socrates) forced reflection on values and knowledge. Philosophy moved from nature to ethics, politics, and systematic logic.

SocratesPlatoAristotleProtagorasDiogenesAristippus of Cyrene

Plato's Cave: We mistake shadows for reality

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🎯 Core Ideas:

• Socrates: Virtue comes through knowledge; the unexamined life is not worth living

• Plato: Theory of Forms; truth beyond appearances (Allegory of the Cave)

• Aristotle: Virtue as the golden mean; logic; systematic natural science

• Sophism - represented by Protagoras: 'Man is the measure of all things' – truth is relative to individuals and cultures; skilled in rhetoric and argumentation for civic success

• Cynicism - represented by Diogenes: 'I am a citizen of the world' – radical rejection of social conventions, living according to nature with complete honesty and simplicity

• Cyrenaicism - represented by Aristippus: Immediate physical pleasure is the only certain good; focus on present enjoyment over future consequences

🔗 Connections:

Shifted philosophy to human ethics and systematic reasoning.

🌊 Today's Echo: Socratic questioning shapes education and law; Aristotle's logic underpins science.

💭 Think about it: Are you living in Plato's cave? What shadows might you mistake for reality?

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Hellenistic & Roman

Philosophy as therapy

How can we live well in a turbulent world? Can certainty be reached?

After Alexander's empire and the rise of Rome, the independent city-state declined. People felt powerless under vast empires. Philosophy shifted from civic duty to personal survival and inner freedom. Instead of metaphysics, focus moved to ethics as therapy: how to achieve tranquility, freedom from fear, or acceptance of fate.

Zeno of CitiumEpicurusPyrrho of ElisPlotinusSenecaEpictetusMarcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius: 'You have power over your mind, not outside events.'

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🎯 Core Ideas:

• Stoicism - represented by Zeno: Live according to nature; virtue is the only good; control what you can

• Epicureanism - represented by Epicurus: Seek sustainable pleasures, especially friendship and inner tranquility; freedom from fear of gods and death through understanding nature

• Skepticism - represented by Pyrrho: Suspend judgment (epoché) on all claims to knowledge to achieve tranquility (ataraxia); 'perhaps' and 'no more this than that'

• Neoplatonism - represented by Plotinus: All reality emanates from 'the One' — a bridge to medieval theology.

🔗 Connections:

Shift from civic virtue to inner therapy; influenced early Christianity.

🌊 Today's Echo: Stoicism informs modern resilience and cognitive therapy.

💭 Think about it: Would you be calmer if you only focused on what's in your control?

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Medieval Scholasticism

Faith meets reason

Can faith and reason coexist? How do we reconcile divine revelation with Aristotelian logic?

With Christianity's rise and the preservation of Greek texts through Islamic scholars, medieval thinkers faced a challenge: how to integrate faith with newly recovered Aristotelian philosophy. Universities emerged as centers of learning where theology met rigorous logical analysis.

Thomas AquinasAugustine of HippoAverroesMaimonidesDuns ScotusWilliam of Ockham

Aquinas: Reason and faith are both paths to truth

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🎯 Core Ideas:

• Scholasticism: Systematic theology using Aristotelian logic and debate methods

• Natural Law: Universal moral principles discoverable through reason

• Divine Command Theory: Moral obligations come from God's commands

• Problem of Universals: Are abstract concepts like 'humanity' real or just names?

🔗 Connections:

Synthesized classical philosophy with Christian theology; established university education.

🌊 Today's Echo: Debates about science vs. religion; natural law theory in jurisprudence.

💭 Think about it: Can you prove God's existence through reason alone?

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Renaissance & Scientific Revolution

Humanism and natural philosophy

What can humans achieve through reason and observation? How should we study nature?

The rediscovery of classical texts, the printing press, and new mathematical tools revolutionized how humans saw themselves and nature. Humanism emphasized human dignity and potential, while the Scientific Revolution challenged medieval cosmology with observation and experiment.

Niccolò MachiavelliFrancis BaconGalileo GalileiPico della MirandolaErasmusMichel de Montaigne

Pico: Human dignity lies in our capacity for self-determination

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🎯 Core Ideas:

• Humanism: Human dignity, individual potential, and secular learning

• Empirical Method: Knowledge through observation and experiment

• Political Realism: Politics based on power, not just moral ideals

• Skeptical Inquiry: Question traditional authorities and beliefs

🔗 Connections:

Transition from medieval to modern worldview; foundation of scientific method.

🌊 Today's Echo: Human rights, scientific method, separation of politics from religion.

💭 Think about it: Should political leaders be judged by results or moral intentions?

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