A History of Western Philosophy

This chapter consists mainly of general historical background. In the third century BCE, Alexander the Great “transformed the Greek world” (218) by conquering neighboring territories and spreading Greek culture far and wide. This contact with other cultures affected Greek philosophy, making it more “cosmopolitan” and receptive to other influences. These influences included the Buddhist religion, with its highly mystical attitudes. Other religious cults, such as Orphism, also became popular as a result of Alexander’s conquests and paved the way for the acceptance of Christianity a few centuries later.

Gradually, the age of the Greek city state was followed by the age of the Greek empire. In the midst of frequent political turmoil, the formerly leisurely way of life gave way to a “struggle for existence” and “prolonged uncertainty.” Metaphysics became less important than ethics or the art of “every-day virtues.” The era of highly original Greek thought—the era of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—ended and the period of Hellenism began.

After the demise of the Greek city state, Greek thinkers began to turn away from political questions and concentrate on questions of the soul, virtue, and cosmic reality. This inward turn gave rise to two new schools of philosophy.