Читать книгу A Beginner's History of Philosophy, Vol. 1: Ancient and Mediæval Philosophy онлайн

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“No man is happy; all are full of trouble.” “Each thinks to do the right, yet no one knows what will be the result of his doings, and no one can escape his destiny.” “The people by their own injustice destroy the city, which the gods would have protected.” “As opposed to these evils the first necessity is law and order for the state, contentment and moderation for the individual.” “Not wealth, but moderation, is the highest good.” “Superfluity of possessions begets self-exaltation.”

The Three Periods of Greek Philosophy

1. The Cosmological Period, 625–480 B.C.

2. The Anthropological Period, 480–399 B.C.

3. The Systematic Period, 399–322 B.C.

1. The Cosmological Period begins with the birth of Greek philosophical reflection (625 B.C.) and has a nominal ending with the Persian wars (480 B.C.). This does not mean that the interest of the Greeks in cosmology stopped in 480 B.C., but that it was no longer their prominent interest. Cosmology is the study of the reality of the physical universe (the cosmos). The particular cosmological question occupying the minds of the Greeks in this period may be stated thus: What, amid the changes of the physical world, is permanent? This will be seen to be a philosophical question and not the same as a question in natural science. The theatre of philosophical activity was the colonies and not the motherland. Two important aspects of this period must be considered besides the philosophical,—the political situation and the religious mysteries.