The Ionian Scientists and the Beginning of Scientific Philosophy
Science began in
Asia Minor. This included the islands and coastal region of what is
now part of Turkey. This area first saw an influx of peoples from
Asia; then, in the 7th Century BC, a large number of
Greeks moved from the mainland to this region, now known as Ionia.
This new society of mixed Greeks and “barbarians” settled the
islands, the coastline territories, and created ten small cities
which formed a loose confederation.
Ionia
was famous for the development of construction, metal work, new tools
and processes, and scientific medicine. This innovation was possible
as the dominant imperial political forces of Egypt and Mesopotamia
had withdrawn, taking with them their hierarchical political systems
and centralized state religion.
The
Philosophers
Thales
– 624 – 546 BC lived in Miletis and is seen as the first Greek
philosopher, a mathematician, astronomer, and naturalist. He
predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC. A materialist, he
proposed that water was the source of all life in the universe.
Anaximander--
610 – 546 BC lived in Miletus. A colleague of Thales, he searched
for an explanation of the origin of the universe, asserted that there
were laws that determined the real world, and they were not due to
gods. He wrote on astronomy, geometry and geography.
Anaximenes
– 585 – 528 BC The third celebrated scientist also lived in
Miletis. A naturalist, he tried to discern the origin of the Earth
and the universe. He rejected the view of the idealists, that it was
due to the gods or a supreme being.
Heraclitus
– 504-- 480 BC Born at Ephesus, he is not normally seen as a
member of the Ionic philosophers. But he was a materialist, who
argued that the world and universe were not created by a god but had
always existed. He is best known for insisting that change is a
constant reality, probably because of the unity of opposites. The
universe moves in one direction, but humans see little change.
Anaxagoras
– 500 – 428 BC Born at Clazomenae, he is noted for his astronomy.
He moved to Athens where he lived for thirty years. A naturalist and
materialist philosopher, he argued that the sun was composed of red
hot minerals. In 467 BC a large meteorite broke off the sun, was
widely seen, and landed in Trace. When it cooled people found it was
hard rock similar to that found on Earth. He also insisted that the
Milky Way was nothing more than a collection of many stars.
In Athens, he was a good friend of Pericles. In 450 he was charged
by a high court for impiety. He was convicted and ostracised –
forced to go into exile.
Democritus
--460 – 370 BC Born at Abdera, Thrace. Taught by Leucippus he
supported the atomic theory identified with the Greek materialist
philosophers. He conducted many experiments with nature. He believed
that most humans did not have the capacity to understand materialist
philosophy; they were more easily impressed by prominent figures who
advocated for religious ideology.
Epicurus:
The Most Important Materialist Philosopher
Epicurus
was born at Samos in Ionia in 341 BC. He studied philosophy and at
age 30 moved with his followers to Athens. He established his school,
known as The Garden. But it stood in contrast to the schools for the
male oligarchs created by Plato and Aristotle. Epicurus was a
democrat, and The Garden was open to women, foreigners and slaves.
It also was home to an assortment of animals.
Little
remains of his work, as his writings were systematically destroyed by
Christian authorities. Diogenes Laertius (ca 200 AD) lists many
titles. His major work, On
Nature, consisted of 37
books (hand written scrols) He also wrote many brief summaries
–popular versions.
The
best source of his philosophy is seen as the long poem created by the
Roman poet, Lucretius, On
Nature, dated
sometime
in the first century BC. There was a broad popular movement in Italy,
an Epicurean movement that greatly concerned the Roman ruling class,
who were an oligarchy of large land owners whose agriculture was
based on slave labour. It is also known that all around the
Mediterranean area there were co-operative communities of his
followers that existed for hundreds of years until destroyed by
Christian Rome.
Epicurean
Basic Theory
The
universe has always existed as it is today. It consists of matter and
void. It is important to recognise that “nothing can be created
from nothing.” The universe is infinite: it does not have an edge
and has no limit. It consists of matter-- composed of atoms – and
the void in which matter moves. Because atoms and space are infinite,
a number of worlds like our Earth are likely to exist with similar
life.
How
can we determine scientific truth? We must depend on our senses: We
should not allow abstract reason to override what our senses tell us.
All reason depends on our senses; when the senses are in agreement
this guarantees their reliability.
Atoms
have different qualities of size, mass and shape. They are
indestructible. Democratis argued that atoms move downward in the
void in a strait line. But Epicurus argued if this were the case
human beings would not have free choice. But we see that humans and
other animals have free will. Therefore atoms must have the ability
to swerve.
Men
believe that the celestial bodies are divine, and based on religious
myths anticipate eternal suffering after death. To find freedom from
such fears we must trust our feelings and sense perceptions. Peace
of mind will only come when freed from these myths. We need to look
for plausible explanations supported by evidence. We should be
satisfied with what is seen to be probable based on our sense
perception of facts and evidence. If gods exist, there is no evidence
that they are involved in the lives of human beings.
Humans
and all animals seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. Humans should
seek good health and peace of mind. Seek a simple and plain life.
Prudence should be our guide. Self sufficiency should be a goal.
Seeking a rich life and sexual love can only bring anxiety. A wise
man is one who is happy with little. What is most important is
having good friends. Happiness comes to those who are able to put
aside religious myths and pursue natural philosophy.
The
rules for a just life did not come from religious myths but through
utilitarian experience. Natural justice was a product of human
beings who made a compact among themselves to prevent injury and to
promote mutual well being. There is no such thing as justice in the
abstract.
There
are four basic rules to follow to relieve human anxiety:
(1)There
are no divine beings that pose a threat to human beings.
(2)
There is no life after death.
(3)
What we need to survive in this life is easy to attain.
(4)
The pain we may experience does not last very long.
Religious
authorities were shocked by the argument that there was no afterlife.
But Epicurus argued that once dead there is no sense perception. We
already know what it will be like not to exist: what was it like
before we were born?
All
living things have a soul. It is the spark of life when life begins
and disappears with death. The soul is enclosed in the living body;
in human beings and animals it is responsible for sense-perception.
When the soul departs with death so does sense-perception.
Medicine
in Greece was practiced by materialists
 |
| The Hippocratic Corpus --Do No Harm |
Hippocrates,
460 – 380 BC
It
is not surprising that medicine in Greece was developed in Ionia. It
is usually identified with Hippocrates of Kos. The Ionian doctors
used the five human senses to examine their patients. Their
environment was analyzed. They examined what kind of work they did.
They compared their patients with others with similar issues. The
classic On Ancient
Medicine was
produced in the fifth century BC, the work of a number of doctors of
this school. Hippocrates, seen as the most important and influential
of the group, completely rejected the “medicine” practised by
the idealists, who claimed illnesses were caused by the Greek gods.
Summary:
The Core Values of Greek Democracy
Aristotle
and his students studied the constitutions of all the Greek city
states that had some form of democracy. He summarized the key
features of Greek democracy:
(1)
All citizens were to vote in elections and directly participate in
the process. All citizens were expected to actively participate in
the Assembly.
(2)
Any citizen could hold an official office. The preferred method of
selection was by lot –not election.
(3)
There were no property requirements for holding office.
(4)
A citizen should not hold the same office twice (except for the
military officers, who were elected).
(5)
The terms for holding an office should be short to allow broad
participation.
(6)
Judicial functions should be exercised by all citizens.
(7)
The Assembly should be the final authority on all matters.
(8)
There should be payment for all services.
(9)
Democracy is the opposite of oligarchy/aristocracy and normally is
rule by the common people.
Conclusion
It is not hard to discover that there are very few examples of Greek
democracy to be found in the entire world in modern times. A couple
of the Swiss Cantons still have Assemblies where citizens make
political decisions.
The
best example in modern times was the Paris Commune of 1871, which
lasted for only two months until it was crushed by the French and
German armies. At the time Karl Marx wrote that the Paris Commune
form of democracy would be the model of government after the
socialist revolution by the working class. But the Greek experiment
in democracy also demonstrated that it could exist only as long as it
was not destroyed by stronger forces from larger and more powerful
anti-democratic countries.
The
key principle of democracy is the acceptance of the equal value of
all members of a society. Once liberal individualism is introduced and accepted, radical change is inevitable, given the fact that human beings have unequal abilities. Society will move to an unequal hierarchical model, which is the norm today.
