Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Robert Guisepi
1998
least the
6th century onward, many Greek thinkers attempted to generate
philosophical
systems separate from a primarily religious base. The attempt to
understand
humankind, society, and nature by rational observation and deduction
became
one of the hallmarks of Greek and Hellenistic culture. The approach
was not
entirely dissimilar from that of Confucianism in China, but it had
different
specifics and a different and wider-ranging scope.
Many thinkers sought to generate ethical systems on the basis of
rational
definitions of right and wrong and some sense of the purpose of life
on earth.
Socrates (born in 465 B.C. and the tutor of Plato, who in turn would
teach
Aristotle) urged people to consider the bases of right action in terms
of
rational reflection on goals and consequences; in contrast to earlier
Middle-Eastern traditions, he thus formulated secular criteria, rather
than
devising rewards and punishments from an otherworldly system.
Aristotle,
perhaps the most important of the Greek philosophers, maintained
this ethical
system through stressing the importance of moderation in human
behavior
against the instability of political life in Athens and the excesses of
the
gods.
During the Hellenistic period other ethical systems were devised.
Thus a
group called the Stoics emphasized an inner moral independence to
be
cultivated by strict discipline of the body and personal bravery. These
ethical systems were major contributions in their own right, attracting
many
disciples and generating much literary debate; they also would, later,
be
blended with Christian religious thought.
Greek philosophy further devoted much attention to defining
appropriate
political structures. Various constitutional systems were discussed,
often in
light of ongoing political disputes between Athens and Sparta. The
Athenian
philosopher Plato, in the 5th century, devised an ideal government
structure
in which philosophers would rule. Most Greek political theory stressed
the
importance of balance with due outlet for aristocratic principles and
some
popular contribution. Again, religious justifications for political
behavior
were played down in favor of arguments in terms of utility and
practicality or
more general definitions of justice. It was in this vein, also, that
philosophers, such as Aristotle, discussed social topics such as slavery
or
the conditions of women (providing vigorous defenses for the
inevitability and
usefulness of slavery and for family structures that would assume
women's
inferiority).
The idea of a philosophy separate from official religion, though not
necessarily hostile to it, also encouraged considerable emphasis on
the powers
of human thought. In Athens, Socrates encouraged his pupils to
question
received wisdom on the ground that the chief human duty was "the
improvement
of the soul." Socrates himself ran afoul of the Athenian government in
the
aftermath of the tensions of the Peloponnesian War, for he seemed to
be
undermining political loyalty itself with his constant questions. But the
Socratic principle of thinking things through by means of skeptical
questioning, rather than assuming on the basis of authority or faith,
became a
recurrent strand in classical Greek thinking and education and was
part of its
heritage to later societies. Socrates' great pupil, Plato, accentuated
the
positive somewhat more strongly in suggesting that human reason
could approach
an understanding of the perfect forms - the absolutely True, Good,
and
Beautiful - that he believed underlay nature. Thus a philosophical
tradition
arose in Greece that tended to play down the importance of human
spirituality
in favor of a celebration of the human power to think. The result bore
some
similarities to Chinese Confucianism, though with greater emphasis
on
skeptical questioning and abstract speculations about the basic
nature of
humanity and the universe.
Greek interest in rationality carried over into inquiry into the
underlying order of physical nature. The Greeks were not great
empirical
scientists. Relatively few new scientific findings emanated from
Athens,
though philosophers such as Aristotle did collect large amounts of
biological
data. The Greek interest lay in speculations about nature's order, and
many
non-Westerners believe that this tradition continues to inform what
they see
as an excessive Western passion for seeking sweeping rationality in
the
universe. Greek belief in rational theorizing produced widespread
philosophical commitment to a scientific method that would combine
empirical
data with general concepts. In practice, the Greek concern translated
into a
host of theories about the motions of the planets and the organization
of
elemental principles of earth, fire, air, and water, and into a
considerable
interest in mathematics as a means of rendering nature's patterns
comprehensible. Greek and later Hellenistic work in geometry was
particularly
impressive, featuring among other achievements the basic theorems
of
Pythagoras and Euclid's compendium of geometry.
Scientists in the Hellenistic period added some important empirical
contributions, especially in studies of anatomy; medical treatises by
Galen
were not improved upon in the Western world for many centuries.
Less
fortunately, the Hellenistic astronomer Ptolemy formalized an
elaborate theory
of the sun's motion around a stationary earth; this new Hellenistic
theory
contradicted much earlier Middle Eastern astronomy, which had
recognized the
earth's rotation. The idea of an earth-centered universe seemed to
explain
many observed phenomena, including eclipses, and this fact along
with the
sheer reputation of Greek science assured that Ptolemy's theory was
long taken
as fixed wisdom in Western thought. (Ptolemy's views followed those
of
Aristotle. Aristotle had combined what he thought were observed data
plus
rationalistic deductions about nature's properties - the earth's core is
heavier than its shell and so must be the center of the system - to
prove that
the sun and the planets revolved around the earth.)
Other Hellenistic scientists added more constructively to the
observations about planetary motion. Archimedes (c. 287-212 B.C.)
wrote about
mathematics and the measurement of water power. He devised pulley
systems to
pump out flooded ships and fields and invented novel kinds of
fortifications.
Other Hellenistic scientists, using dissection on the corpses of
criminals,
made important discoveries about digestion and the vascular system.
The Arts
Despite the importance of the rationalist tradition, science and
mathematics loomed far less large than art and literature in
conveying key
cultural values in Greek and Hellenistic culture. The official religion
inspired themes for artistic expressions and justifications for temples,
statues, and plays devoted to the glories of the gods. But the humancentered
qualities of the Greeks also showed through, as artists emphasized
the beauty
of realistic portrayals of the human form and poets and playwrights
used the
gods as foils for inquiries into the human condition.
[See Temple Of Poseidon, Calauria: Scene of the death of
Demosthenes, Temple
of Poseidon, Calauria.]
All the arts received some attention in classical Mediterranean
civilization. Performances of music and dance were vital parts of
religious
festivals, but their precise styles have not been preserved. Far more
durable
was the Greek interest in drama, for plays took a central role in this
culture. Greek dramatists worked both on comedy and on tragedy,
indeed making
a formal division between the two approaches that is still part of the
Western
based on a vast Greek library. Older stories and plays were preserved
and
analyzed, often with great intelligence. Historical information was
elaborated, and historical biography came into its own. There were
also many
disputes, some learned and some very petty, about the principles of
literary
excellence. But there was little new drama produced.
Greek art and sculpture continued to dominate Hellenistic output, and
the
commercial wealth of the early Hellenistic kingdoms encouraged a
vast amount
of new building and decoration. While no new styles emerged, there
was some
movement toward more sentimental, emotional statuary.
Hellenistic intellectuals, in addition to their concerns with ethical
systems, concentrated heavily on developing new knowledge in
science and
mathematics. Alexander and the Hellenistic dynasty in Egypt
encouraged this
work, and the expansion of cultural exchange in the Mediterranean in
the
Middle East also encouraged new research. Hellenistic thinkers thus
preserved
Greek scientific achievements and added significant new elements.
Their work
provided most of the scientific learning available to the Western world
for
almost 2000 years, and it also set a durable basis for scientific
research in
the Middle East and North Africa. Astronomical charts and maps
improved
greatly, despite the confusion about the Earth as the center of the
universe.
Geography also improved, and one scientist was able to calculate the
circumference of the Earth within 200 miles. In biology and medicine,
however,
there was little advancement, beyond summing up Greek research in
textbook
fashion. Interest in astrology and magic in fact increased. And in
general,
partly because of political decline, Hellenistic science won few new
achievements after the end of the third century.
Thus, along with an understanding of the main Greek-Hellenistic
cultural
emphases as they added up over time, a grasp of changing strengths
is also