4/30/2023 0 Comments Inventor of dialecticBefore such rationalistic approaches to the natural world, subjective mysticism and religion ruled human thinking processes and beliefs. Logic, therefore, seems (comparatively) objective in nature. For the purpose of proving a point, however, it might very logically be argued that these forays into logic which must have occurred in other parts of the world, at or before the same time as the invention of the Socratic Method, have seemingly led to similar conclusions. To be sure, the rest of the world was not simply asleep, philosophically speaking, during the time of Socrates and the other great ancient Greek philosophers. The real value, in my opinion of this article lies in the incisive nature of the questions it raises on the topic of rationalism: “Was it an autochthonous and original Greek achievement, or did it dwell on non-Greek influences and predecessors?” and “What does it mean to be ‘rational’ or ‘scientific’?” This author also puts forth that the pre-Socratic philosophers – such as Thales of Miletus, Anaximander, Pythagoras of Samos, Heraclitus of Ephesus, Leucippus, and Protagoras – all laid the philosophical groundwork for examining the objective nature of reality, which was continued with greater specificity and a more objective approach by those that followed, such as Aristotle and Plutarch. The underlying principle of the author’s argument outside of this erroneous detail, however, remains sound: Ancient Greek philosophy is the premise for scientific thought. How the Greeks Invented RationalismĪ scholarly article written by Helmut Heit states that, “The ancient philosophers indeed lived a long time ago in a world significantly different from ours and had no idea of science (Hait 1).” This article also holds that although “It is a widely held view that the historical and geographical beginnings of scientific thought lie in ancient Greece sometime between 800 and 400 BC,” the origin of such philosophical and scientific thinking actually began with the pre-Socratic philosophers, and the author credits Thales of Miletus as the “originator of scientific thought.” This assertion seems somewhat self-contradictory, as Thales of Miletus, was, in fact, of the era the author attempts to refute: Thales of Miletus lived in Anatolia from 624-546 BCE. Therefore, for the purposes of brevity and simplicity, I will focus mainly on the writings and methods of Aristotle to make this argument. While writings from various other philosophers have shown that Socrates and Aristotle had many contemporaries and predecessors, the Socratic Method and Aristotle’s work in philosophy and science are excellent case studies for demonstrating the essence of ancient Greek philosophy and dialectic, as well as the links these philosophies have with logical thought and physical science. Assertion: The ancient Greek philosophers’ Dialectical Method is the main influence on the premise of the modern Scientific Method.Īccording to the Oxford-English Dictionary, the Scientific Method is defined as “A method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.” This definition encompasses the fundamental strategy behind scientific experimentation and its source since the coining of the term “Scientific Method.” I intend, however, to demonstrate a link between Greek philosophy and physical science before the term was in use namely, identifying the origin of a philosophical way of thinking based in the practice of dialectic that made the creation of the Scientific Method in the 17 th century possible.
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