The Philosophy Book
Page 42
See also: Thales of Miletus • Heraclitus • Parmenides
ZENO OF ELEA
c.490–430 BCE
Little is known about Zeno of Elea, other than his paradoxes of motion, which are mentioned by Aristotle. Zeno is thought to have produced more than 40 of these, although only a few survive. In them, he defended the claim of his teacher Parmenides that the changing and varied world we perceive around us is not reality—which is in fact motionless, uniform, and simple. Movement, Zeno believed, is an illusion of the senses. Each of his paradoxes began from the position that he wished to refute—that movement, and hence change, is real—then continued by revealing the contradictory consequences that lead to the rejection of this notion.
See also: Heraclitus • Parmenides • Aristotle
PYRRHO
c.360–272 BCE
Pyrrho was born on the Ionian island of Elis. He was exposed to Asian culture while serving on Alexander the Great’s military campaigns, and was also the first noted philosopher to place doubt at the center of to his thinking. Pyrrho treated the suspension of judgment about beliefs as the only reasonable reaction to the fallibility of the senses, and to the fact that both sides of any argument can seem to be equally valid. Pyrrho left no writings, but he did inspire the Skeptical school in ancient Greek philosophy, which developed the idea that the suspension of belief leads to a tranquil mind.
See also: Socrates • Al-Ghazâlî
PLOTINUS
c.205–270 CE
Born in Egypt, Plotinus studied in Alexandria, then considered the intellectual hub of the world. He later moved to Rome, where he taught his own brand of Platonism, known as Neo-Platonism. Plotinus divided the cosmos into layers, with the indefinable source of all being—the “One”—at the top, followed by Mind, Soul, Nature, and finally the Material World. He believed in reincarnation and the immortality of the soul; by striving for enlightenment individuals could achieve mystical union with the “One”, and so escape the cycle of rebirth. His ideas, presented in the Enneads, were widely influential, particularly those that supported Christianity, which was taking root in the Roman Empire at the time.
See also: Siddhartha Gautama • Plato
WANG BI
226–249 CE
In 220 CE, the ruling Chinese Han Dynasty collapsed, heralding an era of moral confusion. Philosopher Wang Bi helped to bring order to this chaos by reconciling two dominant schools of thought. He argued that Daoist texts should not be read literally, but more like works of poetry, thus making them compatible with the highly practical Confucian ideals of political and moral wisdom. His fresh appraisals of Daoism and Confucianism ensured the survival of both, and paved the way for the spread of Buddhism across China.
See also: Laozi • Siddhartha Gautama • Confucius
IAMBLICHUS
c.245–325 CE
A Syrian Neo-Platonist philosopher, Iamblichus was reputedly born into an influential aristocratic family. He founded a school near modern-day Antioch, where he taught a curriculum based mainly on the ideas of Plato and Aristotle, although he is best known for his expansion of the theories of Pythagoras, which he recorded in his Collection of Pythagorean Doctrines. Iamblichus introduced the concept of the soul being embodied in matter, both of which he believed to be divine. Salvation, or the return of the soul to its pure immortal form, he stated, was achieved through the performance of specific religious rituals, and not just the contemplation of abstract ideas alone.
See also: Pythagoras • Plato • Plotinus
HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA
c.370–415 CE
Hypatia taught mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy at the Museum of Alexandria, eventually succeeding her father as its head. Although she was an esteemed Neo-Platonist intellectual and the first notable female mathematician, it was her martyrdom that ensured her fame. She was murdered by a Christian mob, who blamed her for the religious turmoil resulting from conflict between her friend, the Roman prefect Orestos, and Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria. No works of hers survive, but she is credited with inventing a graduated brass hydrometer and the plane astrolabe.
See also: Plato • Plotinus
PROCLUS
c.412–485 CE
Born in Constantinople, Proclus succeeded his Platonist teacher Syrianus as head of the Academy at Athens. His Commentary on Euclid is the main account of the early development of Greek geometry, and his Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus has been described as the most important ancient Neo-Platonist text. A scientist, mathematician, lawyer, and poet, with a deep interest in religion, he was to become an influence on many thinkers in both the medieval Islamic and the Christian schools of philosophy.
See also: Plato • Boethius • Thomas Aquinas
JOHN PHILOPONUS
490–570 CE
Almost nothing is known about Philoponus’s early life other than he studied in Alexandria with the Aristotelian Ammonius Hermiae. A philosopher and natural scientist, Philoponus’s methods of enquiry were shaped by Christian beliefs. By arguing that the universe had an absolute beginning, and that this beginning was caused by God, he became the first serious critic of Aristotle, opening up paths of enquiry which became major influences on future scientists, notably the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. Unpopular with his colleagues, he later gave up philosophy and turned to theology, again causing controversy by suggesting that the Trinity was not one but three separate Gods.
See also: Aristotle • Thomas Aquinas
AL-KINDI
801-873 CE
The Iraqi polymath Al-Kindî was one of the first Islamic scholars to introduce ancient Greek ideas to the Islamic world. He worked at Baghdad’s House of Wisdom, where he supervised the translation of the great Classical texts into Arabic. He wrote extensively on a variety of subjects, most notably psychology and cosmology, mixing his own Neo-Platonist approach with the authority of Aristotelian argument. He had a special interest in the compatibility of philosophy and Islamic theology, and many of his works are concerned with the nature of God and the human soul, as well as prophetic knowledge.
See also: Al-Fârâbî • Avicenna • Averroes
JOHANNES SCOTUS ERIUGENA
c.815–877 CE
His Latin name is often translated as John the Scot, but the theologian and philosopher Johannes Scotus Eriugena was Irish—the medieval Latin for Ireland being “Scotia.” He argued that there was no conflict between knowledge that was derived from reason and knowledge from divine revelation. He even set out to demonstrate that all Christian doctrine had in fact a rational basis. This brought him into conflict with the Church, on the grounds that his theories made both revelation and faith redundant. Eruigena’s defense was that reason is the judge of all authority, and that it is needed for us to interpret revelation.
See also: Plato • St. Augustine of Hippo
AL-FARABI
c.872–950 CE
It is disputed whether Al-Fârâbî was born in what is now Iran or in Kazakhstan, but it is certain that he arrived in Baghdad in 901, where he spent much of his life. Although a Neo-Platonist, he was also highly influenced by Aristotle and wrote commentaries on his work, as well as on other subjects, including medicine, science, and music. He regarded philosophy as a calling conferred by Allah and as the only route to true knowledge. In this life, he said, philosophers have a duty to guide people in all matters of daily life; his book The Ideas of the Citizens of the Virtuous City describes a Platonic utopia ruled by philosopher prophets.
See also: Aristotle • Avicenna • Averroes
AL-GHAZALI
c.1058–1111
Born what is now Iran, Al-Ghazâlî was head of the prestigious Nizamiyyah school i
n Baghdad from 1092 to 1096, when he wrote The Opinions of the Philosophers, which explains the Neo-Platonist and Aristotelian views of Islamic scholars. His lectures brought him great respect and wealth, but after concluding that truth comes from faith and mystical practices, and not from philosophy, he abandoned his teaching post and possessions to become a wandering Sufi preacher. He came to believe that all causal links between events were only made possible by the will of God.
See also: Aristotle • Avicenna • Averroes • Moses Maimonides
PIERRE ABELARD
1079–1142
Remembered less for his philosophy than for his tragic love affair with his pupil Héloïse, Pierre Abélard was nevertheless a remarkable thinker. A brilliant student, he attended the Cathedral School of Nôtre Dame, Paris, and became a charismatic teacher. By the age of 22, he had set up his own school, and went on to become head at Nôtre Dame in 1115. Renowned for his skills in argument, Abélard stood against the popular belief in universal forms, inherited from Plato, stating that terms such as “oak tree”, are just words that do not denote anything real about the many particular oaks that exist.
See also: Plato • Aristotle • Boethius • William of Ockham
ROBERT GROSSETESTE
1175–1253
The child of a poor English peasant family, Grosseteste’s formidable intelligence was spotted by the Mayor of Lincoln, who arranged for him to be educated. Evidence indicates that he studied at Oxford University and in Paris, before joining the clergy and going on to become Bishop of Lincoln. An outspoken critic of the Church in his time, Grosseteste is noted for his scientific thinking. He was one of the first medieval philosophers to grasp Aristotle’s dual path of scientific reasoning: generalizing from particular observations into a universal law, and then back again from universal laws to the prediction of particulars.
See also: Aristotle
IBN BAJJA
c.1095–1138
A political advisor, poet, scientist, and philosopher, Ibn Bâjja was one of the great thinkers of Moorish Spain. Born in Saragossa, he used the ideas of Plato and Aristotle in his treatises, and influenced Averroes. He set out to show the compatibility between reason and faith, stating that the path to true knowledge, and therefore enlightenment and a link with the divine, came only from thinking and acting rationally. But, Ibn Bâjja warned, each individual must make their own journey to enlightenment. If the enlightened attempt to pass their wisdom directly to others, they place themselves at risk of contamination by the ignorant.
See also: Plato • Aristotle • Averroes
RAMON LLULL
1232–1316
Educated at the Majorcan royal court in Mallorca, Llull developed a mystical version of Neo-Platonism. After a vision of Christ, he joined the Franciscan order and worked as a missionary in North Africa. Convinced that rational argument could persuade Muslims and Jews to convert to Christianity, Llull wrote Ars Magna. In this work, he used complex reasoning to generate different combinations of the basic tenets of all monotheistic religions, hoping to demonstrate the truths of Christianity. He was convinced that if everybody was of one faith, all human knowledge would combine into a single system.
See also: Plato • St. Anselm • Meister Eckhart
MEISTER ECKHART
c.1260–1327
Little is known about the early life of the German theologian Meister Eckhart, other than he studied in Paris, joined the Dominican order, and held various administrative and teaching posts around Europe. A follower of Thomas Aquinas, he is best known for his vivid sermons, which dwelt on the presence of God within the human soul, and for the mystical imagery of his prose. He was accused of heresy, and during his trial he acknowledged that the florid and emotive language he used to inspire his listeners might have led him to stray from the path of orthodoxy. It is thought that he died before a verdict was delivered.
See also: St. Anselm • Thomas Aquinas • Ramon Llull • Nikolaus von Kues
JOHN DUNS SCOTUS
c.1266–1308
Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar, was among the most influential of the medieval philosophers. Born in Scotland, he taught at Oxford University and later in Paris. Duns Scotus’s arguments were noted for their rigor and intricacy. He argued against Thomas Aquinas that attributes, when applied to God, retain the same meaning as when used of ordinary objects. On the issue of universals, he stated that we can perceive particulars directly, without the assistance of general concepts. He also claimed that knowledge can be acquired by the proper use of the senses, without the need for divine “illumination.”
See also: Plato • Aristotle • Thomas Aquinas
WILLIAM OF OCKHAM
c.1285–1347
The English theologian and philosopher William of Ockham studied and taught at Oxford. He was a Franciscan friar, and was excommunicated for claiming that the pope had no authority to exercise temporal power. He is best known to students of philosophy for the principle that bears his name: Ockham’s Razor, which states that the best possible explanation of anything is always the simplest. In his support for the idea that universals are abstractions from experience of particulars, he is regarded as a forerunner of British empiricism, a movement begun in the 17th century by John Locke.
See also: Plato • Aristotle • Francis Bacon • John Locke
NICOLAUS OF AUTRECOURT
c.1298–1369
Born near Verdun, France, Nicolaus of Autrecourt studied theology at the Sorbonne in Paris. Unusually for a philosopher of the medieval period, he explored the logic of skepticism, concluding that truth and the truth of its contradiction are not logically compatible, so that absolute truth or knowledge, and the causal links between events or reactions, cannot be uncovered by logic alone. In 1346, Pope Clement VI condemned his ideas as heretical. He was ordered to recant his statements and his books were burnt in public. With the exception of his Universal Treatise and a few letters, little of his work survives.
See also: Pyrrho • Al-Ghazâlî • David Hume
MOSES OF NARBONNE
Died c.1362
Moses of Narbonne, also known as Moses ben Joshua, was a Jewish philosopher and physician. Born in Perpignan, in the Catalan region of France, he later moved to Spain. He believed that Judaism was a guide to the highest degree of truth. He also stated that the Torah (the first part of the Hebrew Bible and the basis of Jewish law) has two levels of meaning: the literal and the metaphysical. The latter is not accessible to the layman.
See also: Averroes • Moses Maimonides
GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA
1463–1494
Pico della Mirandola was a member of the Platonic Academy in Florence and is best known for his Oration on the Dignity of Man, which argued that the potential of the individual was limitless, the only restrictions being self-imposed. It was written as an introduction to 900 Theses, his compendium of intellectual achievement, in which he aimed to reconcile Platonic and Aristotelian thinking. Papal objections to the inclusion of the merits of paganism saw Mirandola briefly jailed, after which he was forced to flee France.
See also: Plato • Aristotle • Desiderius Erasmus
FRANCISCO DE VITORIA
1480–1546
A Dominican friar, Francisco de Vitoria was a follower of Thomas Aquinas and founder of the School of Salamanca. Called the “father of international law”, he is primarily known for developing a code for international relations. He grew up at the time of Spain’s unification and its colonization of the Americas. Although he did not argue against Spain’s right to build an empire, he thought that Christianity should not be imposed on the indigenous peoples of South America and that they should be afforded rights to property a
nd self-government.
See also: Thomas Aquinas
GIORDANO BRUNO
1548–1600
The Italian astronomer and thinker Giordano Bruno was influenced by Nikolaus von Kues and the Corpus Hermeticum—a set of occult treatises believed, at the time, to predate ancient Greek philosophy. From von Kues, he took the idea of an infinite universe, in which our solar system is just one of many supporting intelligent life. God, argued Bruno, is a part of, not separate from, a universe made up of “monads”, or animate atoms. These views, and his interest in astrology and magic, led to him being found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake.