Definition of Presocratic Philosophy

General features of pre-Socratic philosophy

The main concern of the representative philosophers of the period was the study of nature (physis), thought as a whole; His interests were in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, the geography, medicine and biology. In turn, under the influence of the sophists, they also investigated the field of epistemology and the semantics.

Among the pre-Socratic philosophers we can mention Thales of Miletus, Anaximander of Miletus, Anaximenes of Miletus, Xenophanes of Colophon, Pythagoras of Samos, Zeno of Elea, Empedocles of Acragas, Diogenes of Apollonia, Democritus of Abdera, Anaxagoras of Clazomene. Two of them were particularly relevant, given the influence of his ideas: Heraclitus of Ephesus and Parmenides of Elea.

The sources of the pre-Socratic philosophers that are preserved are indirect, usually, they were recovered through fragments cited by the ancient authors after them (such as Plato, Aristotle, Simplicio, etc.), and of testimonies about their lives.

mythological cosmogonies

The cosmogonic ideas about the structure of the world, which are at the base of the thought rather rationalistic philosophical ideas come, paradoxically, from mythological contexts. Thus, the stories of Homer and Hesiod's Theogony constitute privileged sources for Greek philosophical thought in its origins.

The Homeric, pre-philosophical conception of the soul (psyche), as an insubstantial breath that, as an influence, gives life to the body and survives in Hades after its death, is an antecedent of great importance in the later developments of Greek thought (which, in turn, has had a decisive influence on the history of Greek ideas). West). The Presocratic philosophies of Pythagoras, Thales, Anaximenes and Heraclitus are heirs to the Homeric conception in this regard.

In the same way, the rational efforts to explain the structure of the universe—as the development from a simple and unique origin—refer, also, to the previous poetic tradition.

Heraclitus of Ephesus

The stories that have come down to us about the figure of Heraclitus generally present him as a character misanthrope, who had a bad relationship with his fellow citizens, preferring to come and play with the kids. He was nicknamed "the dark one", due to his cryptic style of writing, associated with his "aristocratic" character. Only one book, On Nature, is attributed to him.

Heraclitus suggests that the Constitution of the world —ignored by the majority of men, who believe they have a particular thought— is essentially one and is explained in terms of the logos as the underlying principle of all things. The appearance plural of the universe is gathered into a coherent whole, of which men form a part and to which, then, they can logically access. Opposites are linked to a single invariable process and this is, in turn, marked by permanent transformation.

As he logos As the fire are figures that, in the different fragments, refer to said immanent principle that balances the plurality altogether, in greater harmony. In the image of the river, which has survived to this day under the idea that "no one can bathe twice in the same waters”, the concept of permanent change is illustrated as the only invariable principle, constitutive of reality.

Parmenides of Elea

The most significant work of Parmenides that has come down to us is his poem, which has laid the metaphysical and epistemological foundations that would later be taken up by Platonism. There, he proclaims that there are only two possibilities, two paths that thought can follow, both mutually exclusive: the path of be and the path of not to be.

The poem consists of an argument about the need to reject the second alternative, as it is unintelligible. Only the path of being is safe and leads to the truth, and we access it rationally, not through beliefs or the senses. The majority of men do not reach the knowledge of the truth —unique, perfect, invariable—, because they confuse both paths; however, in no case, what does not exist can be thought and, therefore, come to be, so that it can never be true.

Bibliography

Kirk, G. S., Raven, J. E., & Schofield, M. A. L. c. EITHER. L. m. (2008). The Presocratic Philosophers: Critical History with Selected Texts, trans. Jesus Garcia Fernandez, Madrid: Gredos.