A Beginner's Guide to (Western) Philosophy

Introduction

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. Historically, philosophy encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a philosopher. Today, major subfields of academic philosophy include metaphysics, which is concerned with the fundamental nature of existence and reality; epistemology, which studies the nature of knowledge and belief; ethics, which is concerned with moral value; and logic, which studies the rules of inference that allow one to derive conclusions from true premises.

Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Pre-Socratic philosophy was mostly concerned with Metaphysics (studying the fundamental nature of reality) and Materialism (matter is the fundamental substance in nature). These philosophers wanted to make 'scientific' inquiries and understand the world around them without resorting to religion and mysticism. Many took up Monism, believing that everything is made of a single substance; Thales believed that the universe was created from water, Anaximenes found that instead, it was air; whilst Heraclitus proposed it was fire.

Empedocles, contrary to his predecessors, was a Pluralist and theorised that the world was made up of the four classic elements: water, fire, air, and earth, which subsequently took hold for thousands of years. Democritus also founded Atomism, which proposed that the universe is composed of indivisible components called atoms.

These Sophists (Ancient Greek teachers) were the earliest scientists.

This era is known as 'Pre-Socratic' (before Socrates) because such philosophical inquiries regarded the outside world, unlike the self-scrutinising ideas pioneered by succeeding Greek philosopher Socrates.

Key philosophers: Thales of Miletus, Anaximenes of Miletus, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Democritus, Pythagoras

Key movements: Metaphysics, Materialism, Monism

Key texts: M

Socratic Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Hellenistic Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Roman Philosophy

Ancient Rome

600-500 BCE

Medieval Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Renaissance Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Age of Reason

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Age of Enlightenment

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Modern Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Analytic Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE

Continental Philosophy

Ancient Greece

600-500 BCE