One of the problems with discussing any school of thought within a hugely diverse
world is pinpointing which areas directly affected others in order to make the
process easier to handle. A discussion of Western philosophy is a good example.
There are about as many contributors to today's methods of Western thought
as have been styles, sizes, and sales of ladies pants since philosophical
thought changed to make it acceptable for ladies to wear pants.
The term Western itself is often confusing. While the founding and product
nations of the Western world are fairly easy to identify, there are many other
countries and people which have had a direct influence on the development of
schools of thought in our culture but are not considered Western. For example,
most would not question the validity of the statement that our society is founded
on Judeo-Christian principles. However, many forget that the Judeo tradition
is at least in part an Eastern one; ancient Jewish kings knew how to decorate
with words at a gathering long before the Grecian forebears had banded in cities.
For the most ancient roots of Western philosophy, then, we must not look to
the Classical countries but even further East, to Israel, Palestine, and even
Babylon. All of these nations had a direct impact on the formulation of Western
philosophy, although it would not be until the rise of the Roman Empire that
these traditions became fused with those that brought us the idea of bathroom
furniture vanities, and togas.
Any discussion of ancient Western philosophy, then, must include the musings
of Solomon, Moses, David, and the various major and minor prophets of the Bible.
Modern students of philosophy may shy away from such linkages in a post modern
fit of snobbery; however, to deny the influence of religion on the development
of our philosophies would mean cancelling out most of who we consider our foundational
thinkers today.
Of course, Western philosophy did not emerge from Biblical thoughts alone,
but is a fusion of several different cultures. The most obvious of these cultures
when it comes to our modern perceptions of philosophy is the Grecian one. This
school developed far removed from the monotheism of the Jewish religion, amongst
a pantheon of gods and often in places which would remind us of a modern day
spa Miami could be proud of.
The major thinkers within the Greek school of thought were of course Socrates,
his student Plato, and Plato's student Aristotle. Minor figures within
this movement included Euclid, Epicurus, Cleanthes, and many others. As is the
case today, many of these pillars of thought found themselves in fatal conflict
with the established order of the day, and often their lives came to abrupt
ends!
The fusion of the Judeo and Greek schools of thought which would eventually
combine (like fertilizer and water in a growers supplies store) to form
what today is known as Western philosophy came with the creation of the Roman
Empire. The Romans would enable the flow of ideas from East to West and combine
these ideas with philosophers of their own, such as Cicero, to form the first
Western melting pot.
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