Philosophy
Now that is a broad and deep subject but the following paper offers a good analysis. With few exceptions I normally do not post links for my experience has been that links often break down or disappear thus wasting one's time and diluting the post. This is one of those exceptions for I coppied this paper over five years ago and it is still available. Longevity equal stability? I hope so.
As it happens, Greek philosophy, and Indian and Chinese, were different from what came before; and we can specify what the differences were. Pre-philosophical thought can be characterized as "mythopoeic," "mythopoetic," or "mythic" thought. "Mythopoeic" means "making" (poieîn, from which the word "poet" is derived) "myth" (mûthos). There is a large and growing literature about mythology, but here all that is necessary are the points what will serve the purpose of distinguishing philosophical thought from the thought of people in earlier Middle Eastern civilizations (Egyptians, Babylonians, etc.) about the nature of things. With the identification of the characteristics of mythic forms of human thought, it becomes possible to identify the unique innovations of philosophy. Note that philosophic thought does not replace mythopoeic thought but supplements it.
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Philosophy
The origins of philosophy
Now that is a broad and deep subject but the following paper offers a good analysis. With few exceptions I normally do not post links for my experience has been that links often break down or disappear thus wasting one's time and diluting the post. This is one of those exceptions for I coppied this paper over five years ago and it is still available. Longevity equal stability? I hope so.
"The Origin of Philosophy: The Attributes of Mythic/Mythopoeic Thought"
As it happens, Greek philosophy, and Indian and Chinese, were different from what came before; and we can specify what the differences were. Pre-philosophical thought can be characterized as "mythopoeic," "mythopoetic," or "mythic" thought. "Mythopoeic" means "making" (poieîn, from which the word "poet" is derived) "myth" (mûthos). There is a large and growing literature about mythology, but here all that is necessary are the points what will serve the purpose of distinguishing philosophical thought from the thought of people in earlier Middle Eastern civilizations (Egyptians, Babylonians, etc.) about the nature of things. With the identification of the characteristics of mythic forms of human thought, it becomes possible to identify the unique innovations of philosophy. Note that philosophic thought does not replace mythopoeic thought but supplements it.
Article
- Philosophy For Workers?
Today is the 125th anniversary of the birth of Will Durant author of The Story of Philosophy, a classic book aimed at presenting a popularly accessible account of the thought of great philosophers from Plato through John Dewey. It has been in print continuously...
- Is It Really The Though That Counts?
Last weekend was Father's Day and the bad Father's Day gift has become a cultural cliche. And, of course, when we get a bad gift, we get told, "It's the thought that counts." But is it? It leads to two obvious questions -- which thought? and...
- Eastern Philosophy
Many societies have considered philosophical questions and built philosophical traditions based upon each other's works. Eastern and Middle Eastern philosophical traditions have influenced Western philosophers. Russian (which to many people still...
- Chinese Philosophy
Philosophy has had a tremendous effect on Chinese civilization, and East Asia as a whole. Many of the great philosophical schools were formulated during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, and came to be known as the Hundred Schools...
- Indian Philosophy
In the history of the Indian subcontinent, following the establishment of an Aryan/Vedic culture, the development of philosophical and religious thought over a period of two millennia gave rise to what came to be called the six schools of aastika, or...