Western Thought and the Origin of Philosophy

The character definition of Western Man is composed of many historical influences that have imbued his culture with strong beliefs that have been respected, and passed on by hundreds of generations.  The Christian religion has been one such influence.  Another influence of a major consequence is Philosophy.  Other cultures have attributed "Philosophy" as being the science that was originated by Western Man.  Philosophy is the all-encompassing science that questions anything in existence whether it is physical; or mental, like thoughts and ideas.  Philosophy is the science, with which Western Man can develop his understanding of ethics, morals and even government.  The history of Western Man reveals a great philosophical concern for justice and fairness in the face of tyrants and alien incursions.  Western Man certainly has his faults, but to understand Western Man, you must understand his Quest for Virtue.

Philosophy, as a science, is not inherently anti-Christian or evil.  Philosophy defined, is the love (philo) of wisdom (sophia).  Religions usually contain their own specific philosophy and so there is often a conflict between differing philosophies, whether religious or secular.  The Science of philosophy is constrained within the normal boundaries prescribed by all scientific studies, and as a Christian, I do not resent the fact that the science of philosophy cannot prove my faith, any more than I would resent a photographer because he cannot photograph my faith.  Science is of proofs, while Christianity is of faith.  Philosophy is not anti-Christian because it cannot measure faith, just as a philosopher, true to his science, could never deny the reality of Christ, because he has no proofs to the contrary. 

Philosophy goes further than any other science in the pursuit of Truth and God.  The limitations of other sciences, such as physics or chemistry, are obvious in that they can only address a very limited physical part of the total universe.  Philosophy is a science that seeks to define those things that are more often attributed to the tenants of religions.  The realm of Philosophy includes ethics, metaphysics, which attempts to reason out our existence or being, and epistemology, which is the study of the grounds of knowledge.  Philosophy is the only science to encompass all subjects, and in doing so sometimes treads on sacred ground.

The lesser sciences use only one criterion for their analysis, matter as perceived by the senses. Philosophy uses two criteria for its analysis, matter as derived through the senses, and also form or mental reasoning.  Reasoning is often expressed as A=B and B=C, therefore a philosopher will infer that A=C, and so something that was unknown by the senses, can, through reasoning and evident premises equate to proof.  The scientific community views philosophy as theory.  Some means of philosophical reasoning are very basic, but do obtain results, such as dialectics.  Dialectics asks of anything, is it, or is it not; and reasons that it cannot be both.   Other methods of reasoning are whether things are united, separated, or constant. 

A definition of a philosopher would be a person who loves to search for wisdom through his own personal inferences, reasonably drawn from events or circumstances, which analyze the grounds and basis of knowledge and beliefs.  When successful, a philosopher achieves a balance of mind that can be applied to any circumstance.  He also achieves a nearness to the truths of society and man's position in the universe.  It is my belief that true philosophy is the science that comes closest to confirming the truth of the Christian faith. 

The origin of Philosophy is usually credited to the ancient Greeks, however, it can actually be traced across the Mediterranean, but it was the Greeks who developed it as science.  Around 1000 B.C., the center of intellectual activity was ancient Israel, under King Solomon.  He had the reputation for being the wisest man of his time.  People journeyed from distant nations to hear his wisdom.  There were also astrologers in Babylon who were advisors to the kings of that time, but their wisdom was wrapped up in hocus pocus and kept secret, while Solomon's wisdom was more of a human perspective, that is, something that, once learned, could then be applied by anyone. It is said that much of Solomon's wisdom came from the "old sayings" that he had gathered from among his people.  There were also Egyptian influences in Solomon's knowledge.   Solomon's notoriety for human wisdom created a demand among Western Man for more of the basic truths of wisdom.  But Solomon's time on Earth was limited, and he died around 986 B.C.

The next philosopher of notoriety was Thales.  Thales was born in 640 B.C. probably at Miletus on the Island of Crete.  Thales parents were from Phoenicia, which is located only 100 miles north of Solomon's Jerusalem.  Thales mixed the conventional wisdom of his Phoenician parents with Egyptian geometry and Babylonian astrology to develop astronomy; and he also developed the early forms of Greek philosophy.    When asked what was very difficult, Thales said: "To know thyself."  When asked what was easy, he said: "To give advice."  And to the question of what is God, he said: "That which has neither beginning nor end."  It was this type of wisdom that created a hunger for knowledge in Greece.  Thales is given credit as the man who brought Western philosophy from the East to the West.

The wisdom of philosophy was passed down through students who learned beside their teacher for years, sometimes exceeding twenty years.  Thales had students and the search for more human philosophical revelations continued.  Finally around 100 years after the death of Thales, Socrates was born.  Socrates, 469-399 B.C., is considered the first giant among philosophers, and because he lived in Athens, that city is considered the birthplace of philosophy.  Greece was entering its glory days but still had a spiritual void.  Socrates was disenchanted with the pagan gods; and Christianity, was not yet in the world, the nation of Israel was just another tributary nation of the Persian Empire.  So Socrates was left to his own resources to seek out the truth, and meaning of life.

It seems somewhat sad to read how these philosophers wanted so hard to find the truth about life, but would never be exposed to the Holy Philosophy of Christianity; but search for the truth, they did.  In fact, Socrates claimed that the Deity called him to revive moral feelings among his people using scientific foundations.  He was most concerned with logic, and truth; morals, and man's duty to society; and education, so he worked to spread the practice of morality.  He was probably the first to identify that there is a thinking power: the "psyche."  Before Socrates, there was only "matter," he added "form" to everyone's perception of the world, which was a mental application to matter.  One person may see a tree (matter) while another might see a future log cabin (form).   Such ideas may seem simple to us now, but much of our knowledge today is based on his principles.  This type of simplicity was essential to establish the scientific method of proofs used to determine the grounds of knowledge.  Unfortunately today, truth is becoming more and more subject to political consent, which is yet another attack on Western Man.

Socrates discovered that "there is a scientific foundation that proves that there is a moral order to human nature" and that "right and wrong are not opinions but are actual obtainable knowledge."  Virtue was the big prize that all philosophers were seeking and Socrates broke new ground when he stated, "Morality and virtue are not opinions but are natural laws of human conduct."   "Human beings share a common nature and must recognize common moral principles."  "Man is not the measure of things, truth is."  He said that "Virtue can be learned" and believed that men, educated in morality, would improve the society of Greece.   He said, "All men seek good," "all men seek what is best for them: happiness," and "when people engage in wrongful activity, it is done in their ignorance of what is best for them." 

Socrates took a vow of poverty to avoid the distractions of wealth.  And because he refused to honor the Athenian gods he was sentenced to death.  He was to drink hemlock, which he did.  Drinking hemlock was the way they executed the death penalty at that time.  That tradition is possibly why Christ used the phrase "take away this cup from me" when confronting his own death.

Socrates had a student, Plato (427-347 B.C.) also from Athens.  Plato divided philosophy into Ethics, theory of reason, and theory of nature.  Plato had a great respect for his teacher and carried on his pursuit of virtue and morals. He also respected the rules of philosophy, "True knowledge is changeless."  Plato said: "Health is to the body what virtue is to the soul, and because the soul is master over the body, virtue is more important than the health of the body," and that the "Tending of the soul is the supreme occupation of man."  "It is worse to do injustice than to suffer it, because the former affects the soul." 

Plato looked more toward society to promote the tenants of virtue, than did Socrates.  It was Plato that said, "Democracy is mob rule."  He noted that even in his time "History shows a repeated cycle of the rise and fall of civilizations."  He knew that "The most serious disease that can attack a community is intellectual confusion."  Compare that statement to today's "most serious disease" of "intellectual confusion" which today would be called the "liberals."  He believed that "Virtue is a factual knowledge, and so, must be learned."  He knew that "Virtue can be employed by a skilled craftsman."  He established what was called "Plato's Academy" in hopes of teaching men how to live together in harmony by respecting the true virtues in everyone's life.

Plato had a student, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) who was born in Stagira, Thrace but moved to Athens. Just as Plato admired Socrates, Aristotle respected Plato.  But the three men were not in total agreement and so had different results, even though they were seeking the same epistemology in their pursuit of truth.  Aristotle respected, but did not agree with Plato in some areas of abstract thought.   Aristotle was more the scientist than a pure philosopher.  He was more political in his study of ethics, purporting the importance of society in the formation of the individual. Aristotle made an extensive study of virtue, particularly as it could be applied to society.  He said: "Man is by nature a political animal, requiring cooperation for the common good." "Politics must dominate individual ethics." "The proper aim of politics is to obtain happiness," which is "virtuous activity in all citizens." "Increasing the happiness of human life requires increased reason in all conduct."

Aristotle assigned six virtues that are necessary for a healthy community.  They were: Temperance, Courage, Self-respect, Justice, Generosity and Friendliness.  He based his findings on "concepts scientifically proven through evident premises."  I will give my personal interpretation of his findings.

Temperance is the refraining from vice (anti-virtue) in the knowledge of respecting the community.  

Courage is the deliberate practice of confrontation against the violation of virtue.  This defense is maintained against violations whether great or small, because the smaller violations destroy the smaller virtues as well as incite the greater vices, both of which mislead the young.  

Self-respect.  The cornerstone of a moral community is self-respect.  A lack of knowledge, and a lack of courage, leads to a lack of self-respect.  When a person allows disrespect against himself, he is failing to maintain the personal virtue necessary for the happiness of the whole community, which includes each individual.  If you allow yourself to be abused by the ignorance of vice (anti-virtue) then ignorance will flourish and find more and more victims, and like a cancer, it can destroy the whole body.   

Justice is the legal enforcement of virtue, and injustice, is the lack of enforcement. 

Generosity and friendliness, are the virtues which are natural by-products of the other virtues and enrich a people, but are the first virtues to disappear in the decline of a community. 

Aristotle believed that it was civilization's duty to insist and enforce these virtues in order to avoid the cyclical decline of nations.  It was during his time that the great Greek Civilization began its decline.  He struggled for political solutions to human weaknesses.  He collected 158 constitutions from the Greek City States in his attempt to produce the best system possible. Trying to analyze the virtues of each constitution and merge the best components together in a more perfect government.  His system is the model used by George Mason, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson to design the moral fabric of Virginia and U.S. governments.  The combining of Democracy, with the ideals of a Republic, was America's choice of government.  Aristotle believed that a nation would be best run if the more intelligent citizens had a larger role in the national politics.  This prompted America's development of the two houses of Congress.  The House of Representatives reflected the idea of democracy.  The two U.S. Senators from each state, who were originally elected by the members of the State legislatures and not by popular vote, represented Aristotle's call for intellectual input, as well as to balance political power for the less populated states.

             Jefferson, as did Aristotle, accepted slavery as part of the social system.  And it is likely that his "All men are created equal" statement is also taken from Aristotle.  The two beliefs, slavery and equality, seem contradictory until you read Aristotle's natural and "scientifically proven" quote on this matter.  "Equality is just, but only between equals."  I doubt that Jefferson or Aristotle believed that true equality was obtainable.  Aristotle also studied the Egyptian sciences and culture.   So much, of his work was done in an effort to obtain a moral society, and so much of it seemed compatible with Christianity.  He said that the measure of a person's life and work can be discovered by asking a question; a question we should ask ourselves of our own lives:  "To what end was the effort done?"

The Greek nation continued to decline, as did the morality of the philosophers.  Epicurus (342-270 B.C.) became disillusioned with the earlier philosophies and developed one that better reflected his contemporary society.  Epicureanism substituted the search for truth with a search for pleasure:  knowledge arises only from the senses.  Also at this time, the Stoic philosophy was competing with the Epicureans. The Stoics maintained a philosophy of internationalism claiming that patriotism hinders loyalty to the total mankind, Stoics asserted that they were "citizens of the world."  This philosophy compensated for the immigration problems of that time.  If Jefferson was America's Aristotle, then the politicians of today are Epicureans and Stoics.

 

These two philosophies of internationalism, and eat, drink and be merry, seemed to survive longer on the streets of Greece than did the philosophy of Socrates, Plato or Aristotle.  In 53 A.D., when Apostle Paul was in Athens, he was confronted with the result of Greek superstitions and the moral decay of philosophers that were trying to find light in the darkness of man.  Acts 17:16: "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." Verse 17: "Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." Verse 18: "Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him.  And some said, what will this babbler say?" verse 21: "For all the Athenians and strangers which were there, spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing."   Paul spoke; some mocked and some followed. 

Ten years later Paul was still concerned with the philosophical speculation that had made its way out three hundred miles east of Athens, in Colosse.  And so in his letter to the Colossians he said in chapter 2, verse 8: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."  So even though some of the philosophers may have sincerely sought after the truth of the universe, they never found it, how sad for them and all of those who followed after them.  I can appreciate the truth of some of their teachings but only in a context of being measured to the true Philosophy of Christ. 

I will venture to give you a small philosophy to consider, one that would not contradict Christ or Plato, a philosophy that you may need today.  For those of you who are seeking the truth of this world, and your search has taken you high and low, I will ask that you not let your search, itself, pollute you.  I have seen, heard and read about what the anti-Christians are doing in today's world.  Much of it is immoral. 

I limit myself as to what I see, hear or read, for what good does it do my soul to know the length and breath of evil; I would only be filling my heart with corruptions.  Some say we should know our enemies, but I say that your mind is a vessel that stores whatever you expose yourself to, and I ask, how much of your mind will you donate to the storage of their filth, even when those corruptions enter our minds from our own criticisms of their specific evils?   How can we complain about the liberal media dumping trash into our houses, when we allow "our own" media to corrupt us with reports of our enemy's wickedness?   From what I have observed, we are in danger of losing our genteel sensitivity, and if we lose our virtue, then we too, are in darkness claiming to know the light.   Avoid lengthy studies of sin's darkness, what we all need now is more Light. 

Ancient Greece was truly a great nation in its early pursuit of Virtue, but as Greece was subjected to more and more immigration and internationalism, the greatness of Greece fell.  The beauty of their ethics was compromised with other immigrating cultures in a spirit of tolerance.  But Truth and Virtue should never be compromised with misguided "intellectually confused" attempts at cultural peace.  Virtue should be the aspiration of all cultures.  The moral high ground established by the best Greek philosophers is an inseparable part of the essence of the true Western Man.  The high degree of Virtue achieved by centuries of the Western Man's quest for justice should not now be tossed on the table as a political poker chip in a gamble for social appeasement. The Europeans cannot abandon Virtue and still claim to be the Western Man.  Justice without Virtue is hypocrisy.   We must remain loyal to the many truths of Western philosophy, for they are the truths that separate us from the fallen.

                                          Western Philosophy

                                                        on 

                           Government;  Law;  Problems;  &  Duty

Government

Plato (428-348 B.C.): Plato's Republic:  Object of government is a real and objective good for the people          not to be confused with what the people may wish.  A government in which "Law" is supreme.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.): Man is a political creature and one whose nature is to live with others.

Acceptable types of Government:                 Monarchy;     Aristocracy;      Polity (Constitutional Democracy)

Unacceptable deformations of these types:  Tyranny;       Oligarchy;          Popular Democracy

Plutarch (c. 45-125)   Rhetoric ... is ... the government of the souls of men...

Tacitus (c. 55-117)  To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a

                                    desolation and call it peace. 

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) It is not in the power of man to devise any form of government free from  

                                            imperfections and dangers.

Montesquieu (1689-1775) -  Introduced "Separation of Powers"

Believed best Government:  "Classic Democracy" built on foundation of "Civic Virtue"

Political Virtue: Public interest over private interests

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)  Coined the modern usage of the term:  "State"

State:  An "Independent Political Community"

&   Believed in Three Powers: Princes; Nobility; and the People

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)  No free communities ever existed without morals...

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)  The proper functions of a government are not a fixed thing,

       but different in different states of society; much more extensive in a backward than an advanced state.

Natural Law or Natural Rights:  A Western Concept -

            The Rights of Man determined by certain "self-evident" or fundamental Laws of Reason.

Plato (428-348 B.C.):   Natural Law:  A disposition of reason ordering things according to their nature.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.):     Divided Law:  Written Law;  and Universal (or Natural) Law

                                              [Natural Law more important than written   Law.]

St. Thomas Aquinas  (1225-1274):     Law:  "...an ordinance of reason promulgated for the common good."

  Broke law down into:  Divine Law;   Natural Law;   Laws of Nations;   Positive (Civil) Law

  Thought:  Societies differ  -   so must the law to each society.

John Lock (1632-1704): Believed: Natural Rights were Life, Liberty, and Property.

                                 Believed:  Positive (man made) Laws must conform to Natural Law.

Montesqueu (1689-1775): Believed in the doctrine of "Natural Law."

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) :    Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny. 

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794):  The   laws of a nation     form the most instructive portion of its history. 

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826):  Believed:   (as stated in the Declaration of Independence)

"...the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them..."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident"

"...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

Problems:

Plato (428-348):    When he thinks that he is reasoning he is really disputing,   just because he cannot define and divide, and so ...he will pursue a merely verbal opposition in the spirit of contention and not of fair discussion.        &    Virtue is one,   but ... the forms of vice are innumerable. 

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.):  Evil destroys even itself,  and if it is complete it becomes unbearable.

Bible:   The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Psalms 111:10

      The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Prov.  1:7

      Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of your words.   Proverbs  23:9

      Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?    Gal 4:16

      For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from

      the faith,  and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1st Timothy 6:10

St. Thomas Aquinas  (1225-1274):   A small error in the beginning is a great one in the end. 

Martin Luther(1483-1546):

Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages,  but truth goes a begging. 

Francis Bacon (1561-1626):

        If men were all to become even uniformly mad, they might agree tolerably well with each other. 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) :  The devil hath power to assume a pleasant shape.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662):

Men are so necessarily mad    that not to be mad    would amount to another form of madness.

&  Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that,  

       unless we love the truth,  we cannot know it.

        &  Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,  as to be hated, needs but to be seen; 

                         yet seen to oft,   familiar with her face,   we must endure,   then pity,   then embrace.

Charles Montesquieu (1689-1775):  Words do not constitute an overt act;     they remain only an idea. 

             &       Politics is a smooth file,   which cuts gradually,   and attains its end by slow progression.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778):   We know for ourselves that we must put up with a bad government                                                             when it is there;   the question is how to find a good one. 

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826):

             Dependence... suffocates... virtue   and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition.

Georg Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831)  Yet if a man is a slave, his own will is responsible for his slavery,

                               just as it is   its will   which is responsible    if a people is subjugated.

Auguste Comte (1798-1857):

Regarded Toleration as essential only in periods of progress when society is unstable.   

John Stuart Mill  (1806-1873):

Set a limit on Toleration at the point where one individual's Liberty threatens that of another.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)  Slave Morality: (in Europe) The loss of the standards of excellence, a leveling of humanity to mediocrity, and widespread moral nihilism. (nothingness).

Duty:

Plato (428-348):  The one thing that is wholly right and noble is to strive for that which is most

              honorable for a man's self and for his country, and to face the consequences whatever they may be.

   &  Daily to discourse about virtue... is the greatest good of man... the unexamined life is not worth living.

   & Everything that becomes   or is created    must of necessity be created by some cause    

  for without a cause nothing can be created. 

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.): Political science does not make men, but takes them from nature and uses them. 

Bible:

   For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Eccles.1:17 -18

    &  I have fought the good fight,   I have finished my course,   I have kept the faith. ........ II Tim 4:7

Lucius Seneca (3-65):

If you want a man to keep his head when the crisis comes you must give him some training before it comes.

      &   Nature does not give a man virtue;   the process of becoming a good man is an art.

Plutarch (c. 45-125): The ancients, I think, did not imagine bravery to be plain fearlessness,

                                    but a cautious fear of blame and disgrace. 

Epictetus (60-138): 

       Seek not  the good  in things external;  seek it in yourselves;    if you do not,   you will not find it.

Plotinus (205-270):   Knowledge,   if it does not determine action,   is dead to us.

                              &    We [cannot] ask to be happy when our actions have not earned us happiness;...

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527):   Hatred is acquired as much by  good works   as by bad ones.

John Milton (1608-1674):  Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much 

              arguing,  much writing, many opinions;   for opinions in good men is but knowledge in the making.

John Lock, (1632 - 1704) Believed:   There is a Right of Revolution if a government gets "misdirected."

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804):  Morality is...how we should become worthy of happiness. 

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794):

                 Personal interest   is often the standard of our belief,    as well as of our practice.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826):

   I have sworn upon the alter of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882):

We have seen many counterfeits, but we are born believers in great men.

&  God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. 

     Take which you please - you can never have both. 

Robert E Lee  (1807-1870):  "We must decide between the positions of inaction and the risk of action."

                         "Do your duty in all things.  You cannot do more.  You should never wish to do less."

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950):  Liberty means responsibility.    That is why most men dread it.

Miscellaneous

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679): If I read as many books as other men do,  I would be as dull-witted as they.

Horace (65-8 B.C.):   It is virtue... and the highest wisdom     to have lived free from folly.

Martin Luther (1483-1546):   The principle lesson of theology is that Christ can be known.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662):

There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners; the rest, sinners who believe themselves righteous. 

Plato (428-348):   Daily to discourse about virtue... is the greatest good of man, and ...

                                     the unexamined life is not worth living.

 

Lucius Seneca (3-65):  Nature does not give a man virtue;   the process of becoming a good man is an art.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745):   No wise man ever wished to be younger.

Tacitus (c. 55-117): It is indeed, human nature to hate the man whom you have injured.[Liberals hate us]

Arnold Toynbee (1889 -1975) 40 years as Director of Royal Institute of International Affairs

(which is the English version of the Council on Foreign Relations) .

    On the Rise and Falls of Societies: 

Societies are in decline when they fail to respond to the challenges which face them. 

In a healthy society the creative minority is respected and its response is accepted by the "tranmissive majority."   A society is in danger when a proletariat appears that feels no identification with the established structure.     [Immigration?] St. Thomas Aquinas  (1225-1274)

Knowledge is loved not that any good may come to it but that it may be possessed.

Bible

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.   II Corinthians  3:17

Marcus Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

Weapons are of little use on the field of battle if there is no wise council at home.

Philosophy is the physician of the soul.  It takes away a load of empty troubles, frees us from desires, and banishes fear. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

One of the benefits of a college education is to show the boy its little avail.

Euripides (c. 480-406 B.C.)

Goodness can be taught, and any man who knows what goodness is knows evil too,

because he judges from the good.

I would prefer as friend  a good man ignorant  than one more clever who is evil too.