por what is the pre-philosophical knowledge?
He pre-philosophical knowledge It is the set of ideas, beliefs and criteria of thought that preceded the era in which philosophy developed as the main way of seeking the truths and explanations of the various aspects of human life. In this sense, magical-religious beliefs are the ones that predominate at this stage.
Philosophy is practiced when human thought becomes self-conscious. His themes encompass complex questions about life, the universe and existence.
Before the introduction of philosophical thought, there was a current of pre-philosophical knowledge characterized by magical thinking, a mixture between what was perceived through the senses and the imagination. The precursors of this current are known as pre-Socratic thinkers, that is, prior to Socrates (470-399 BC).
The Presocratics introduced a new kind of knowledge to the world. They appeared in the 6th century BC as thinkers who wanted to find an explanation for everything that was happening around them.
His main objective was the search for wisdom. In retrospect it is clear that his investigations paved the way for what would soon be known as philosophy.
The Presocratics also facilitated the rise of one of the most important disciplines that has characterized Western thought: science.
Their contributions may now be considered obvious, but they must be recognized as the founding ideas of modern science.
Ideas of pre-philosophical knowledge
The understanding of pre-philosophical knowledge is complex, since there are practically no records of these philosophers. The information available only corresponds to small fragments of prose writing. Unfortunately, no complete works from these early writings have survived.
So the knowledge of these thinkers and their ideas come from ancient indirect sources. Everything that is known about his contributions derives from quotes from his statements, summaries of his ideas or even criticism of his approaches, made by various philosophers in later times.
The first area of study was the environment. These thinkers decided to consider the natural kingdom as an independent element, an approach that was surprisingly innovative and unprecedented for the time.
His works on the validity of the divine are more linked to theology than to philosophy.
Where it originated? main authors
Pre-philosophical knowledge originated in the Ionian city of Miletus, on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. Listed below are some thinkers and ideas that show the scope and different approaches to knowledge prior to the era of philosophy.
Thales of Miletus (c.624-c.546 BC)
Thales was the first to predict a solar eclipse, around 585 BC In addition to this astronomical feat, the ancient Greeks considered him the first mathematician and credited him with the conception of geometry.
His assertion that water is the primary type of matter made him the founder of what would later be known as «natural philosophy.»
According to Thales, in the beginning there was only water and this primitive humidity was the starting point to develop the world as it is known today.
It is said that Thales also assured that all events are governed by the designs of the gods and that magnets have a soul because they are capable of moving iron.
Anaximander (c.610-c.546 BC)
Anaximander was the first to draw a map of the Earth. He also carried out numerous investigations related to the origin and structure of the earth.
Through observation, he accounted for different natural phenomena such as eclipses, thunder, lightning, and other meteorological events. He also devised some artifacts, among which the sundial and a machine to predict earthquakes stand out.
According to Anaximander, the human species represents the evolution of some animal form. His assertion is based on the fact that only animals are capable of surviving on their own shortly after birth.
It is for this reason that it would have been impossible for the species to survive if it did not have ancestors of animal origin.
One of his most popular hypotheses proposed that the human species had arisen from a mixture of hot water, land, and fish or animals similar to them.
These beings remained as embryos until they reached puberty. After this stage, the cocoon burst, which allowed the species to come out to feed.
Anaximander is known for his idea that the origin of the world is the apeironan eternal substance, infinitely large and without definite characteristics.
According to his reasoning, the world is marked by contrasts, for example, some parts are liquid and others are solid, so the original material had to be able to encompass all these contradictions. This substance also had to be limitless, indefinite and eternal in order to create everything in our world.
Anaximenes (c.615-590 BC)
Anaximenes was a more conservative thinker than Anaximander. His main contribution consists in the idea that the origin of all things and the fundamental form of matter is air.
According to his postulates, air is the element that constitutes our soul and the principle of life, it also keeps us together and controls us. It keeps everything in the right place and works in the proper way.
For Anaximenes, air was the only element capable of adopting all the divergent forms of the original material. apeiron.
Xenophanes (580 or 570-475 or 466 BC)
Xenophanes explained the origin and functioning of the world in naturalistic terms. He rejected the ideas that the Greek gods were responsible for the events that occurred in the world.
For this thinker, elements such as air, water, earth and the apeiron they were involved in different processes, such as evaporation, condensation and solidification, and it was these reactions that caused everything that happened in humanity.
From his perspective, the world was seen as a place of order and not chaos, where natural laws were responsible for governing events and not the absurd desires and rivalries of the gods, who at that time were thought to dominate life.
Xenophanes’s ideas were considered revolutionary in more ways than one. They represented a change in beliefs and more profoundly in attitude. They overturned the cultural traditions represented in the poetry of Homer and Hesiod, which until then had been taken as the unquestionable source of truth.
To Xenophanes we also owe the beginnings of the reflection on the difficulty of discovering the truth and the skeptical tradition that absolute knowledge cannot be reached. In his prose he invites to distinguish between truth, knowledge and belief.
References
Hadot, P. What is Ancient Philosophy? Harvard University Press.
Maritain, J. An EPZ Introduction to Philosophy. London, Continuum.