Philosophy is a word that is translated from ancient Greek literally means "love of wisdom." This teaching arose many thousands of years ago and gained particular popularity in Hellas. Greek (and later Roman) philosophy developed under the influence of both mythology and science at that time.
However, not only in the ancient world such a worldview system developed. The ancient
inhabitants of India and the Chinese also had their own philosophy. In particular, Buddhism first emerged as the teachings of Prince Gautama and only much later acquired the form of religion. The thoughts of Lao Tzu and the sage Confucius still affect the minds of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom.
The history of philosophy is a discipline that studies the stages of development of this science. It reveals the links between the individual schools of this teaching. The history of philosophy as a separate discipline arose as early as antiquity and was a critical analysis of the views of predecessor thinkers. The first such descriptions should be considered the works of Aristotle. He left the descendants a wide panorama of the views and thoughts of his compatriots. After him, such skeptic philosophers as Sextus Empiricus and Diogenes of Laertes were engaged in similar work . The works of these authors are outstanding monuments of the literature of the time, but they do not differ in either systematic or chronological sequence in the description of events.
The history of philosophy received a new impetus in development in the Middle Ages and especially in the subsequent Renaissance. At first it was a work with the works of the first apologists of Christianity, a reconstruction of their ideas. Subsequently, the views of the ancient sages, Plato and Aristotle, became of particular interest. Since in the
Middle Ages philosophy was closely connected with the teachings of the church, Aristotle was even elevated to the rank of saint, despite the fact that he was a pagan. However, in the Renaissance, religion was gradually losing its position. Philosophy at that time developed in close connection with art. In shaping the views of humanists, an aesthetic approach dominated. And the philosophy of the so-called New Time (seventeenth century) was based largely on science. This, in particular, determined the approach of the humanists
of the Enlightenment, whose activities were often aimed at criticizing theology and religion.
Gradually, new disciplines appeared in European universities. In particular, training courses on the history of philosophy. However, they were superficial and did not provide the necessary amount of knowledge. The most systematic history of philosophy in summary has emerged from the pen of the famous thinker Hegel. The ideas of this scientist influenced to a large extent the development of the whole discipline. Hegel believed that, in general, the history of philosophy is a reflection of a systematic and consistent process in which the best thinkers of the past and present participated. His ideas were picked up by a new galaxy of researchers. By the end of the nineteenth century, the history of philosophy had finally taken shape in a separate, full-fledged discipline. In particular, this is the achievement of scientists such as Fisher, Erdman, Zeller.
The modern history of Western philosophy includes not only the systematization of ancient works, but also the search for philosophers of the Renaissance and our time. This discipline ensures the accumulation and preservation of knowledge that has survived to this day. In particular, she studies Indian, Chinese, antique philosophy. In addition, it provides a kind of generational connection. Thinkers of the past, as well as their works, are becoming the subject of intellectual research for the latest philosophers.