The first significant stage in the history of the origin and development of philosophical thought is ancient philosophy. Its ancestors are the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the arsenal of thinkers of that time, the “tools” of cognition were subtle speculation, contemplation, and observation. Ancient philosophers were the first to set themselves eternal questions that concern a person: where does the beginning of everything around come from, the being and non-being of the world, the unity of contradictions, freedom and necessity, birth and death, the purpose of man, moral duty, beauty and exaltation, wisdom, friendship, love, happiness, dignity of a person. These problems are still relevant today. The basis for the formation and development of philosophical thought in Europe was precisely ancient philosophy.
The periods of development of the philosophy of antiquity
Consider what the main problems were solved by ancient philosophy, the stages of its development as a science.
In the development of ancient Greek and Roman philosophical thought, four important stages can be conditionally distinguished.
The first pre-Socratic period falls on the VII - V century. BC. It is represented by the activities of the Eleatic and Miletus schools, Heraclitus of Ephesus, Pythagoras and his students, Democritus and Leucipus. They dealt with the laws of nature, the construction of the world and space. The importance of the pre-Socratic period can hardly be overestimated, because it was the early ancient philosophy that had a great influence on the development of the culture, social life and political sphere of Ancient Greece.
A characteristic feature of the second, classical, period (V - IV centuries BC) is the appearance of sophists. They shifted their attention from the problems of nature and space to the problems of man, laid the foundations of logic and contributed to the development of rhetoric as a science. In addition to sophists, the early ancient philosophy in this period is represented by the names of Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Protogor. At the same time, Roman philosophy began to take shape, in which three main directions were determined - epicureism, stoicism and skepticism.
For the period from IV to II century BC. e. antique philosophy goes through the third, Hellenistic, stage of development. At this time, the first philosophical systems appeared, deep in content, new philosophical schools appeared - Epicurean, academic, inter-pathetics and others. Representatives of the Hellenistic period proceed to the solution of ethical problems and moralization precisely at a time when Hellenic culture is in decline. The names of Epicurus, Theophrastus and Carnead represent this stage in the development of philosophy.
With the beginning of our era (I-VI centuries), ancient philosophy enters its last period of development. At this time, the leading role in the ancient world belongs to Rome, under the influence of which Greece also appears. The formation of Roman philosophy is greatly influenced by the Greek, in particular, its Hellenistic stage. In the philosophy of Rome, three main directions are formed - epicureism, stoicism and skepticism. This period is characterized by the activities of philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, Protogor, Plato.
The third or fourth century is the time of the emergence and development of a new direction in ancient philosophy - Neoplatonism, the ancestor of which was Plato. His ideas and views largely influenced the philosophy of early Christianity and the philosophy of the Middle Ages.
Thus an ancient philosophy arose, the stages of development of which generated interesting ideas: the idea of a universal connection of all phenomena and things existing in the world, and the idea of infinite development.
It was in those days that the epistemological trends took shape - materialism and idealism. Democritus, being essentially a materialist, suggested that the atom is the smallest particle of any substance. This idea of his was ahead of centuries and millennia. Plato, adhering to idealistic views, created a dialectical doctrine of individual things and general concepts.
The philosophy of ancient times has become one of the independent forms of social consciousness. With its help, a holistic picture of the world was formed. Ancient philosophy allows us to trace the entire path of formation of theoretical thought, full of non-standard and bold ideas. Many of the questions that the ancient Greek and Roman philosophical minds tried to solve have not lost their topicality in our time.