The formation of philosophy is associated with the accumulation and generalization of knowledge about nature, society and thinking. The centuries-old history of the development of this science has given the world many outstanding thinkers. Not all of them created coherent and comprehensive theories, but each of the philosophers left a noticeable mark on the history of science.
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One of the earliest philosophers of antiquity was Aristotle. His interests included physics, logic, politics, psychology and logic. In the field of philosophy, this scientist made an attempt to create a comprehensive teaching about the principles of the world, to which he attributed matter, its form, causal mechanisms and the purpose of being. Many philosophical principles and concepts discovered and introduced into science by Aristotle were used by his later followers.
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The ancient Greek philosopher Plato founded his own philosophical school. As a typical representative of the idealistic trend in the science of human wisdom, he was looking for ways to eliminate the evil and suffering that accompanied people's lives. Plato urged rulers to study philosophy, since only the wisdom accumulated by this science allows them to correctly dispose of the fate of people and rule the state.
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Philosophical views of Heraclitus laid the foundation for the emergence of the idea that the world is in constant motion. This Greek philosopher says that it is impossible to enter the same river twice. The philosopher considered the harmonious movement of fiery particles to be the basis of development.
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Historians of science consider the founder of all modern philosophy to be the Frenchman Rene Descartes. He thoroughly studied natural sciences, created analytical geometry, discovered the method of coordinates named after him. Descartes was an adherent of philosophical dualism, defining it as the power of the human mind over the body. Power to humanity, the philosopher believed, is given only by the endless power of reason. Thought Descartes considered the basis of existence.
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The philosophical substantiation of the idea of freedom was given by the English thinker John Locke. He is rightfully considered the founder of the principles of liberalism and humanism, which are laid in the foundation of modern Western society. All people, this philosopher believed, by nature have equal rights before the law. Modern epistemology and social philosophy owe their development to Locke.
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The foundations of the scientific method adopted in modern natural science were laid by the English philosopher Francis Bacon. Having abandoned a political career, the scientist completely immersed himself in the study of natural phenomena, which he tried to generalize from the standpoint of philosophical knowledge. Bacon was convinced that philosophy should be separated from theological concepts.
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German philosopher Immanuel Kant became famous for his work "Critique of Pure Reason". This is one of the most significant philosophical works in which ideas about knowledge were developed. The philosopher made an attempt to combine rational and empirical methods of obtaining knowledge about the reality around a person. Kant's views formed the basis of classical German philosophy.
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The pinnacle of classical philosophy was the research of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Creatively developing the ideas expressed by his predecessors about the developing world, he founded his own dialectical method. According to Hegel's views, all phenomena of reality naturally pass through the stages of origin, formation and extinction. The slender and logically flawless system of Hegelian dialectics, which had idealism as its foundation, later became the foundation of dialectical materialism.
