History of philosophy

Subsequent philosophical developments covered a wide range of topics including the nature of reality and the mind, how people should act, and how to arrive at knowledge.

In early Chinese philosophy, Confucianism explored moral virtues and how they lead to harmony in society while Daoism focused on the relation between humans and nature.

It reflects on the arguments presented for these positions and assesses their hidden assumptions, making the philosophical heritage accessible to a contemporary audience while evaluating its continued relevance.

This period is conventionally considered to have ended in 529 CE when the Platonic Academy and other philosophical schools in Athens were closed by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, who sought to suppress non-Christian teachings.

[21] Aristotle (384–322 BCE), who began as a student at Plato's Academy, became a systematic philosopher whose teachings were transcribed into treatises on various subjects, including the philosophy of nature, metaphysics, logic, and ethics.

[32] The later part of the medieval period was dominated by scholasticism, a philosophical method heavily influenced by Aristotelian philosophy and characterized by systematic and methodological inquiry.

[48] Another key transitional figure was Galileo Galilei (1564–1642 CE), who played a crucial role in the Copernican Revolution by asserting that the Sun, rather than the Earth, is at the center of the Solar System.

The second half of this period saw the emergence of the Enlightenment movement, which used these philosophical advances to challenge traditional authorities while promoting progress, individual freedom, and human rights.

[63] Among the most influential philosophical schools of this period was German idealism, a tradition inaugurated by Immanuel Kant, who argued that the conceptual activity of the subject is always partially constitutive of experience and knowledge.

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854) rejected this focus on the ego, instead proposing a more abstract principle, referred to as the absolute or the world-soul, as the foundation of both consciousness and nature.

Nietzsche used this concept to critique many religious and philosophical ideas, arguing that they were disguised attempts to wield power rather than expressions of pure spiritual achievement.

His student John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) became one of the foremost proponents of utilitarianism, further refining the theory by asserting that what matters is not just the quantity of pleasure and pain, but also their quality.

James argued that the meaning of an idea consists of its experiential consequences and rejected the notion that experiences are isolated events, instead proposing the concept of a stream of consciousness.

[93] The second half of 20th-century continental philosophy was marked by a critical attitude toward many traditional philosophical concepts and assumptions, such as truth, objectivity, universal explanations, reason, and progress.

[97] The early Arabic intellectual tradition before the classical period was characterized by various theological discussions, primarily focused on understanding the correct interpretation of Islamic revelation.

He concluded that logic is universal and forms the foundation of all language and thought, a view that contrasts with certain passages in the Quran that assign this role to Arabic grammar.

[102] Avicenna (980–1037) drew on the philosophies of the Ancient Greeks and Al-Farabi to develop a comprehensive philosophical system aimed at providing a holistic and rational understanding of reality that encompasses science, religion, and mysticism.

This intuition, according to Al-Ghazali, relied on direct personal experience and spiritual insight, which he considered essential for attaining a deeper understanding of reality.

Al-Ghazali's skepticism regarding the power of reason and the role of philosophy played a significant part in this development, leading to a shift in focus towards theology and religious doctrine.

[111] Indian philosophy is characterized by a deep interest in the nature of ultimate reality, often relating this topic to spirituality and asking questions about how to connect with the divine and reach a state of enlightenment.

Orthodox schools typically accept the authority of the Vedas, the religious scriptures of Hinduism, and tend to acknowledge the existence of the self (Atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman).

These movements agreed with certain Vedic teachings about the cycle of rebirth and the importance of seeking liberation but rejected many of the rituals and the social hierarchy described in the Vedas.

Another central tenet of Jainism is the doctrine of non-absolutism, which posits that reality is complex and multifaceted, and thus cannot be fully captured by any single perspective or expressed adequately in language.

Nyaya is particularly known for its theory of logic, which emphasizes that inference depends on prior perception and aims to generate new knowledge, such as understanding the cause of an observed phenomenon.

[127] Another significant development in this period was the emergence of the Navya-Nyāya movement within the Nyaya school, which introduced a more sophisticated framework of logic with a particular focus on linguistic analysis.

[128] The modern period in Indian philosophy began around 1800 CE, during a time of social and cultural changes, particularly due to the British rule and the introduction of English education.

To illustrate the concept of wu wei in daily life, he used the example of a butcher who, after years of practice, could cut an ox effortlessly, with his knife naturally following the optimal path without any conscious effort.

[144] The later part of the Qing dynasty and the subsequent modern period were marked by an encounter with Western philosophy, including the ideas of philosophers like Plato, Kant, and Mill, as well as movements like pragmatism.

Ancient Japanese philosophy was shaped by Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, which included a form of animism that saw natural phenomena and objects as spirits, known as kami.

Philosophical ideas concerning the nature of reality and the role of humans within it can be found in the region's indigenous civilizations, such as the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca.