Idea of faith and its development in Greek Philosophy:the
origins of Christian and Islamic faith
By
Narendra Raghunath
Email:
narendraraghunath@gmail.com
Scope of study/Structure:
To historically understand the validations of philosophical arguments that
shaped up western philosophy, Christianity and Islam in particular
Philosophy to a certain extent is an
idea developed by human civilisation in their effort to make a better
understanding of his or her life. Ideas are usually built upon viewpoints and all
viewpoints are to a great extend a
protest against one another. Aristotle says man is an animal that speaks. What
he must have tried to explain is the fact that human is the only earthen
creation that is capable of expressing an idea not only through verbally but
also through a structurally coherent and rationally prudent manner.
Early Greek philosophy was not a focused
effort on human centric living; rather they all were attempts by intelligentsia
to seek the cosmic identity for human existence. The Homeric epics gave us
pictures of the great adventurous years of early Greek settlements of 1400 BC
when northern tribes conquered Greek peninsula. Sophists, the creation of
subsequent development of social changes brought forth by the trade and
commerce in cities like Athens with its democratic experiments could be
construed as the first pragmatic effort of western civilization to address the
issues of life through questioning. Sophists although detested at the later
years by all and severely attacked by Socrates, but had introduced a new
methodology of addressing issues of life “through justification and argument
about cause and concerns where victory is important than truth” since victory
is power to coerce the viewpoint.
Thales argued the world is for, from and
full of God, while atomists denied its existence. Parmenides and his followers
believed that all are immobile while Heraclitus argued all are in flux. These
confusions of reality with not much of a material concern of living, led
Protagoras to propagate “a human-centric philosophy of Sophists”. He argued a
thing is either is or is not, nothing beyond. His view of world was simple. I
believe, I experience, I feel so it is.
If one does not have the ability to
hear, however one may try to explain sound to that person, the sound not exist
for that individual. For this individual world does not require anything that
has to do with sound; no creation or destruction. So one must create a world of
his own according to his natural condition for living, including justice and
community. This is a natural process. Protagoras argues that any artificial
build-up against this natural order will not sustain or ultimately will
crumble. But Protagoras interprets the “condition” also as “a virtue one needs
to learn to a degree in order” to identify. From childhood one is forced by
reward or punishment into an invented pattern of action (morality and ethics)
to live together.
Sophists were skeptical of divine, they
disavowed any knowledge of divine, whether they exist or not, “since many
obstacles on the path, obscurity of the subject and shortness of life”. (At the
end most of the Skepticism treatises were burnt at the market of Athens)
Protagoras believed, since all our
subjects are realized or experienced through five sensory organs, the existence
of a relative subjectivism proves that individual as virtue of existence is a
measure of all these. Elaborating this conditioning, “everything” is either
known or experienced by the sensory organs; hence to maximize one’s existence,
maximizing the experience is important.
For example to keep the sweetness of
sugar relished we will have to keep on consuming it or to seek the warmth in
winter we will have to keep on wearing sweaters. The best way of maximization
is exclusivity or monopoly. It is the fruit of authority or power. Hence
Protagoras argues the “aim of an argument is not truth but victory”.
But unlike early Sophists, who had the
notion of universe of immobility of confusion of transition (for example when
we division a motion as static periods of continuum in other words for example
in a moving image of car chase, even as the car races the frames remain static
frame by frame) Socrates believed , that like light from sun gives us vision
during daytime, reality of life is the product of collaboration of Universal
components not entirely of human produce.
He argued just as our bodies are
composed of the same matter which is found throughout the Universe, so must our
reason be part of Universal cosmic reason. Hence he argues against the
Hippias’s doctrine that denies as a conformist Sophist, a universal validity
for traditional laws. Socrates insists a universal conformity to law by the
community, since community itself may act differently at different instances,
yet it remains a community with certain laws that govern them together (or may
be the identity).
Socrates also rejected the Sophists’
idea expressed by Glaucon that social restraint is a necessary evil. He argued
it is a necessary good, since as per his argument of interdependence in
collective motion, to avoid excess of individual maximisation that will cause a
distortion for the collective interdependence that sustains society, a social
restraint is necessary and good to maintain the order.
Socrates was against democratic
election. He argued what will happen if same methodology is applied in
selection of architects and navigators. His idea was not the rule of dictator,
but was that of rule of philosophical judiciary which is not keen to rule. A
resembling argument could be found in Lao-Tzu when he says, “When master
governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists…If you don’t trust people
you make them untrustworthy… The master doesn’t talk he acts; when his work is
done the people say ‘amazing we did it all by ourselves’.”
Owing to his conviction of innate order
of society, Socrates had an invincible belief in divine. Socrates believed
unlike the atheist interpretation of God by Sophists, this precious centre of
human life acting as a primary guiding force is immaterial, invisible, known
only through its effects and is not made up of atoms. This non physical soul
that manifests effects through physical body has since then been the one great
issues of western thought. Individual is mortal with a short life span, but in
this individual, the soul precipitates the effects and development. This one
argument led western society down to present day to make the human body as the
most important Constituency.
Plato argues in Republic, through highly
disciplined and developed system of education individual can live well in
accordance with reason and virtue. For him democracy was a lawless rule of
crowd. Aristotle also accepts the idiom per se though developed into five
methods of rule, including monarchy and aristocracy. But Aristotle clearly
differentiates logic from philosophy.
Aristotle argues human mind is capable
of reaching a conclusive knowledge about physical things but at the same time
it would be difficult to evolve a precise knowledge about metaphysical subjects
like mind, God and soul. Aristotle agrees with Plato and Socrates that the
order exhibited in nature cannot be understood without the knowledge of the
first pure intelligent source (in simple terms the creator- God) of order.
For Plato the knowledge for an act
(practical knowledge) must be directed by a theoretical wisdom. For example,
these days the choice of one’s area of study is often guided by the career
options one wants to pursue. This practical decision often can be motivated by
the suggestions or recommendations by friends, elders or may be determined by
the socio-economic condition. In some other instances, it can even be based on
how one wants to pursue one’s own life. This knowledge that precipitates the
practical action when possessed by the self (own idea of how to pursue one’s
life) or not possessed by self (recommendations and suggestions from others) is
a theoretical guidance in nature. Hence, argues Plato, practical knowledge is
subordinate to theoretical knowledge as a practical action could only
precipitated by a theoretical knowledge.
For Plato this is implicit while for
Aristotle it is explicit, because Aristotle firmly believed that all practical
knowledges that are concerned with concrete actions are under human control. He
believed in reason as primordial manifestation of source of power for better
existence. He argued, along with Socrates and Plato, that for a better society,
social restraint is good. Hence the virtue should be inculcated through
education from formative years of childhood.
Conclusion
The establishment of reason as
primordial source of force for better existence by Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle was a great contribution to humanity-Intelligence as a path of
analysis that is empirically accurate and profound for knowledge.
Influences of Greek thought on future
religious tradition
Due to the concept of pure first order,
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle clearly led the polytheistic cults to monolithic
direction that at later date exerted an influence on Islamic and Christian
monotheism. Subsequent to Alexander’s empire building for Rome and other trade
related voyages brought forth lot of traditions and knowledge to later
Hellenistic and Roman periods. During 4th century BC schools of Plato began to
interpret Socrates method of questioning in purely negative sense and Pyrrhos
founded skeptical order which received able followers across the world during
subsequent centuries. It remained active till AD 150.
Atomist materialism established by
Democritus and its ethical corollary of hedonism were maintained by earlier
Cyrenaic school (5-4 century BC) and later on by Epicurus and Lucretius. From
their point of view, man is made of tiny materials lost in chaos of atoms
moving through void. The swirl of atoms is neither controlled by intelligence
nor is it is fixed by law. Higher divine beings are dwelling in outer space,
hence have no consequence to human life. So it is possible for free will and
ethical decisions. Furthering the argument Epicurus identified goodness with
pleasure. He argued when we are alive death does not exist and when we die we
do not exist so why should death be a predicament in life? His argument
survived till the fall of Rome.
In opposition to hedonism, taking
inspiration from Socrates and Plato few thinkers established Stoicism and it
persisted till the fall of Rome. They argued pleasure and goodness were sharply
distinctive in existence and at times even opposed to each other. Goodness is
the product of virtue and virtue is from Knowledge. There is always room for
choice; even at death we have the choice. Stoic sages argued that we can
sacrifice pleasure for goodness and duty. This was beyond the teaching of Plato
and Aristotle. Stoic influence of life in accordance with nature gave birth to
the idea of “Natural law”.
After the closure of Plato’s school by
Emperor Justininan in AD 529 some scholars combined Plato’s ideas with
Aristotelian elements to give birth to “Neo Platonism”.
Combining both the arguments they built
the philosophy, whereby advancing Plato’s confidence of human ability of
knowing God, they argued that the pure first order is supreme and that we
cannot attribute quality and quantity to it as that itself is the quality and
quantity. Being quality and quantity, perfection and imperfection manifests in
itself – the supreme. They took on a dim view of social life. Every individual
should attain salvation and for that one should exercise certain moral and
civic responsibilities including prayer and devotion. Then one would attain
freedom from body and unity with God- the salvation. St. Augustine was greatly
influenced by this and played a major role in the medieval Christian thought.
By 8th century most of Plato’s and
Aristotle’s books were translated into Arabic and hence exerted crucial role in
Mohammedan thought. Many of the neo-Platonic ideas were taken from very
different contexts resulting in the development of new philosophical schools.
Avicenna (980-1037 ad) and Averroes (1126-1198) presented two great influential
works.
Reference :
1. Concept of Man, Edited by PT Raju,
Dr. Radhakrishnan,
2. Routledge Philosophy guide to Plato
and the Republic- Nickolas Pappas: Routledge :Tailor and Francis group
3. Nicomachean Ethics:Edited by Roger
Crisp: Cambridge text on History of Philosophy
4. Spinoza :Michael Della Rocca: Edited
by Brain Leiter: Routledge :Tailor and Francis group
5. Oxford hand book of ethical theory:
Edited by Paul K moser: Oxford University press
6. Reasons and the Good:Roger
Crisp:Clarendon press:Oxford
7. The story of Philosophy: Will Durant
8. Ancient Greek Literature: Krishna
Chaitanya: Orient Longmans
No comments:
Post a Comment