-Three conditions for the emergence and development of philosophy

Excerpt from The Spirit of Philosophy

I. Leisure

The history of mankind is a history of continuous efforts for survival. But labor is not the purpose of life, but the means to achieve it. Therefore, Aristotle said in Politics: "What human nature pursues is not only to be competent for work, but also to enjoy leisure safely. Here we need to emphasize again that leisure is the only source of all life. If both are necessary, then leisure is more desirable than work and is the purpose of the latter, so we should think about what people should do in their leisure time. " He believes that philosophy and science are things that people can and should do in their leisure time. The word "school" we use now is derived from the Greek word "leisure", which shows that leisure and knowledge are naturally related to the Greeks.

Philosophy belongs to the leisure class and is an "advanced" cultural activity after human beings get rid of the actual pressure of survival. Aristotle said: "Only when all the necessities of life are met and those people have leisure, those sciences that can neither provide happiness nor meet their needs will be discovered first." "Only after the necessities of life are available, people begin to think about entertainment like this." Schopenhauer also said: "To truly explore philosophy, our spiritual thoughts must be in a truly leisurely state. Our spiritual thoughts cannot follow any practical purpose, that is, they cannot be commanded by our wishes. " The reason why Greece can become the hometown of philosophy is related to the emergence of the leisure class since the 6th century BC. The emergence of this class depends on the following conditions:

First, the existence of slavery. Since the 8th century BC, there has been a slave city-state in Greece. By the 6th century BC, slaves had become an important factor in the Greek economy. The source of slaves is nothing more than three channels: some Greek aborigines become slaves; Prisoners of war in the process of overseas expansion: buying barbarians as slaves with money There are different views on the number of slaves in each city-state. According to Aristotle, Egina has 470,000 slaves, while Corinth has 460,000 slaves. This figure is probably exaggerated, at least including slave families. But in many city-states, the number of slaves is at least twice that of adult male citizens. In Athens, the slave population also exceeded 80 thousand, accounting for about a quarter of the total population. There is no doubt that the existence of a large number of slave population has made some people get rid of manual labor and become a leisure class.

Second, the existence of male citizenship privileges. The role of slavery in the development of Greek civilization should not be exaggerated, because not every citizen who has leisure time to participate in public affairs or engage in academic research has private slaves. This is undoubtedly credible, Socrates has no slaves. But in Greece, "male citizens" enjoy privileges. First of all, a large number of migrants living in various city-states constitute a huge labor force. At that time, there were about 40 thousand male citizens in Athens, but there were 45 thousand permanent adult foreigners. Secondly, although Plato recognized the principle of equality between men and women, in real life, women have no status. For example, the most important leisure activity in ancient Greece was the Olympic Games, but for a long time, women were not allowed to visit the stadium and could only watch it on the hillside in the distance. In Greece at that time, the identity of women was very clear: one was the heir and the other was the labor force. All these have created conditions for the emergence of the male leisure class.

Third, a healthy attitude towards work and life. Barker said: "The Greek population consists of farmers and craftsmen; Almost all the people who made up the Athens Civic Assembly lived by their own hands. ..... The Athenians in Pericles' era were very similar to the Florentine artists described by George Eliot in Romola: they were smart, interested in politics and literature, and had decent and magnificent related occupations. " These people take pleasure in labor, and they know what scope they should control their labor and personal wealth so that they will not lose their freedom because of labor. They never overwork for the accumulation of wealth and lose themselves in labor. Solon believes that "happiness means having moderate external supply, doing noble things and living a frugal life." As long as they have a medium property, people can do what they should do. Socrates is a sculptor, but obviously he is a freelancer, so he is not tied to his work. We don't see the description of Socrates' working scene in Plato's dialogue. Tess Dini (435- 370 BC), a student of Socrates and the founder of cynicism, despised all comforts and enjoyment and lived an ascetic life. But in Xenophon's Drinking, Andreas Dini is very satisfied with his living conditions, because "he has enough leisure to see and listen to things worth seeing". Therefore, the Greeks may not have "leisure" in absolute sense, but their healthy attitude towards work and life makes them good at creating, utilizing and enjoying leisure.

The reason why the Greeks can use their leisure time for philosophy is related to their city life. In the heyday of Athens, the total population has reached 400 thousand. Of course, the city at that time was different from now. "That is the home base of all walks of life; It not only grows grains and olives, but also makes pottery and leather. It is the headquarters of all classes; It is a mixture of land nobles, craftsmen and retailers. " Moreover, Greece is a subtropical region with plenty of sunshine all year round, which is suitable for outdoor activities. Therefore, those leisure male citizens seldom stay at home with their wives and children, but gather in markets and sports fields to discuss the "God of Heaven and Earth". Although most of Plato's dialogues are centered on Socrates, he seldom talks about Socrates' family life. Socrates we saw was either outdoors or at a friend's party. Wittgenstein said, "Philosophy can only be taught by asking questions." Leisure life in the city has created favorable conditions for these issues and discussions. An important part of Greek city life is sports and fitness. As early as Homer's time, "body symmetry has been equated with leisure rather than hard work for exercise, and an important feature of sports skills is uselessness." Plato, Aristotle, etc. They are all bodybuilders. Although Socrates is ugly, he often takes part in physical exercise, so he is strong. The reason why the Greeks attach importance to fitness is related to their belief that a beautiful mind must inhabit a beautiful body.

Throughout the history of Greek philosophy, we can see that most philosophers have distinguished backgrounds and rich lives, so they are idle people. Thales was born into a noble family and was able to travel around the East when he was young. Heraclitus was born in an ancient aristocratic family, and should have succeeded to the throne, but he gave the throne to his younger brother, went to live in seclusion near the temple of the goddess Aldis and devoted himself to philosophy. Pythagoras was born in a wealthy family and was sent abroad to study in his early years. He is proficient in theology, mathematics, philosophy, music and poetry. Empedocles is the leader of the Democratic Party. Because he loves freedom, he prefers to live a simple life and refuses to be the ruler of the city-state. Parmenides came from a noble and wealthy family and received a good education. After Plato became king, his living conditions were superior. Aristotle's father was a doctor of the king of Macedonia. At the age of seventeen, he came to Athens, became a student of Plato, and lived in the college for nearly twenty years. None of them used their wealth and leisure for sensual enjoyment, but for the pursuit of immortality and eternity.

Second, amazing.

Not everyone who has leisure will go to philosophy. Philosophy needs a unique subjective state, which is surprise. In Plato's Tyatedes, Tyatedes was "confused" about "what is knowledge", and Socrates replied: "This sense of doubt is the symbol of philosophers. Philosophy really has no other origin. " Aristotle said: "No matter now or at first, people began to think philosophically out of curiosity. At first, I was curious about things I didn't understand around me. Later, I went forward step by step and questioned more important things, such as the change of the moon, the change of the sun and stars, and the generation of everything. " It can be said that surprise or curiosity is a sign of awakening human or individual rational ability. No matter human race or individual, they are full of curiosity or curiosity about the world around them when they are young, and they all have a fearless, persistent and naive spirit of exploration. Therefore, the first sentence at the beginning of Aristotle's Metaphysics is "knowledge is the nature of all people". The Greeks are very prominent in this respect. St. Luke said, "Athenians and strangers living in Athens spend all their time talking or listening to new things." Sao Paulo witnessed the difference between "curious" Greeks and other ethnic groups. On the coast of Asia Minor, Sao Paulo was thrown into prison and beaten. In Athens, "they took him to the supreme magistrate and asked him," can we know what your new doctrine is? "Nothing is taken for granted in front of the amazing eyes of the Greeks; Anything obscure should be sorted out. " The hero in Homer's epic calls for more light when he dies, even if he only dies in a bright environment. He is a real Greek. They won't let anything be ambiguous without analysis. They can't tolerate anything irrelevant. Some motive drives him.

Children seek system, order and connection. The whole without analysis is a concept they cannot tolerate.

Surprise or curiosity is to admit your ignorance. Aristotle said: "A person who is confused and curious feels ignorant (so, in a sense, a person who loves wisdom is also a person who loves mystery, and mystery is made up of strangeness). Stephen R. Palmquist said: "The first criterion of being a good philosopher is that we must realize our ignorance. Schopenhauer also said: "The two primary conditions for exploring philosophy are: (1) having the courage to frankly admit your doubts; (2) Introduce all self-evident things into clear consciousness, and explore and understand these things as problems. Socrates can be "curious" and "ask questions" about all the ultimate questions because he "knows that he is ignorant". Of course, it takes courage to admit your ignorance. At that time, Socrates even killed himself in order to prove the ignorance of himself and others, including politicians, poets and craftsmen. Throughout the ages, the greatest enemy of mankind is not ignorance, but ignorance, so curiosity, as an opportunity for philosophical thinking, is not practical and utilitarian, but naive and pure. As Aristotle said, "If people think philosophically in order to get rid of ignorance, it is obvious that they are pursuing knowledge for knowledge, not for some practical purpose. Historically, only Greeks can pursue knowledge and truth out of curiosity about "knowledge" itself, not for specific practical purposes. For example, people of other nationalities may be curious about how to make the carriage move faster, but the Greeks are curious about the sport itself. Why is there exercise? The sports meeting will not be an illusion? For many people, this question may be absurd, but for a curious philosopher, it is a "question". It is with this curiosity or surprise that Zhi Nuo, an ancient Greek philosopher, questioned common sense and thought that exercise was actually impossible, and put forward four viewpoints.

A famous proposition proved his point. One of the famous arguments is "Achilles and the tortoise", and his view is that "Achilles can't catch up with the tortoise". Achilles is the fastest hero in Greece, and the tortoise climbs the slowest. But Zhi Nuo proved that the fastest can never catch up with the slowest, because the pursuer and the pursued start to move at the same time, and the pursuer must first reach the point where the pursued starts, and so on. There is an infinite distance between them, so the pursued must always be ahead. Some people say that science simplifies complex problems, while philosophy complicates simple problems. This is not unreasonable, but in order to complicate simple problems, we must have a subjective state of surprise or curiosity.

Surprise or curiosity is the embodiment of a nation or an individual's vitality. Countries and individuals who lose their curiosity are dangerous. In fact, whether human or individual, surprise or curiosity will decrease with age. In this regard, people may object that human beings are still very curious about many things. However, under the background of such a "fast food" culture, our so-called surprise or curiosity is becoming more and more secular, utilitarian and vulgar, and our eyes lack the naive eyes of childhood. It is true that people today are as surprised or curious about the starry sky as Thales and Kant, but we have largely lost the awe of our sages. Therefore, Whitehead's expectation philosophy not only begins with surprise, but also exists when philosophical thoughts are perfect.

Third, freedom.

Philosophical thinking must be independent and free thinking, which requires a relaxed social environment. Hegel said: "Freedom of thought is the starting condition of philosophy and the history of philosophy". "The emergence of philosophy in history is only when the free political system has been formed." Hume said: "Philosophy needs complete freedom more than all other privileges, and its prosperity is mainly due to the free confrontation of various opinions and arguments. Philosophy ushered in its birth in a free and tolerant country and era. Even the most arrogant philosophical principles have never been bound by any dogma, government privilege or criminal regulations. " This freedom first appeared in the Greeks, so philosophy began in Greece.

Greek philosophy first developed from colonies outside Greece, namely Asia Minor, South Italy and Sicily. Ionian region of Asia Minor is the intersection of eastern and western cultures, with developed economy and prosperous trade. Due to the development of industry and commerce, people here have developed a spiritual temperament of advocating freedom, seeking innovation and tolerating dissidents. Since Socrates, the center of Greek philosophy has shifted to Athens, which is the birthplace of Greek democracy. From Solon's reform in 594-593 BC to Christini's reform in 509-508 BC, it marked the final establishment of democracy in Athens. In Pericles' time, democracy in Athens reached its peak. Jaspers said: "The Greek city-state laid the foundation of all western free consciousness, free thought and free reality." In addition, in many ancient civilizations, priests and monk organizations controlled the spiritual life of the country. And "Greek priests never played any decisive role in the field of thought, which is completely different from any other ancient society." No matter in Greek history or literary works, priests have no real status. "It is true that the Greeks placed many gods on Mount Olympus in the form of myths, but as Nietzsche said, the Greek gods are not the forces that rule, dominate and suppress human existence, but the forces that promote human freedom and enhance human life." Their high-spirited spirit and tenacious vitality make them resolutely oppose the tyrant's rule and refuse to yield to theocracy. They don't want any autocratic king; They are free to think without their master. For the first time in history, thought has gained freedom-a freedom that is hard to obtain even today. Both political power and religion allowed Athenians to think freely. "

Hamilton believes that freedom is the real wealth of the Greeks and the only difference between the East and the West. Although Athens executed Socrates and exiled three other dissidents, Hamilton said, "At least Greek citizens enjoy real freedom. At that time, there was no freer country than Athens. No country has ever had such a degree of freedom. Freedom of speech will never be restricted in Athens until the critical moment in Enemy at the Gates. " It is this spirit that gave birth to Greek philosophy.