An Introduction to Philosophy | Page 6

much the same at the
period of the highest development of the Greek philosophy that it had
been earlier. He was supposed to give an account of the system of
things. But the notion of what it means to give an account of the system
of things had necessarily undergone some change. The philosopher had
to be something more than a natural philosopher.
3. PHILOSOPHY AS A GUIDE TO LIFE.--At the close of the fourth
century before Christ there arose the schools of the Stoics, the
Epicureans, and the Skeptics. In them we seem to find a somewhat new
conception of philosophy--philosophy appears as chiefly a guide to life.
The Stoic emphasizes the necessity of living "according to nature," and
dwells upon the character of the wise man; the Epicurean furnishes
certain selfish maxims for getting through life as pleasantly as possible;
the Skeptic counsels apathy, an indifference to all things,--blessed is he
who expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.
And yet, when we examine more closely these systems, we find a
conception of philosophy not really so very different from that which
had obtained before. We do not find, it is true, that disinterested
passion for the attainment of truth which is the glory of science. Man
seems quite too much concerned with the problem of his own
happiness or unhappiness; he has grown morbid. Nevertheless, the
practical maxims which obtain in each of these systems are based upon
a certain view of the system of things as a whole.
The Stoic tells us of what the world consists; what was the beginning
and what will be the end of things; what is the relation of the system of
things to God. He develops a physics and a logic as well as a system of
ethics. The Epicurean informs us that the world originated in a rain of
atoms through space; he examines into the foundations of human
knowledge; and he proceeds to make himself comfortable in a world
from which he has removed those disturbing elements, the gods. The
Skeptic decides that there is no such thing as truth, before he enunciates

the dogma that it is not worth while to worry about anything. The
philosophy of each school includes a view of the system of things as a
whole. The philosopher still regarded the universe of knowledge as his
province.
4. PHILOSOPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.--I cannot do more than
mention Neo-Platonism, that half Greek and half Oriental system of
doctrine which arose in the third century after Christ, the first system of
importance after the schools mentioned above. But I must not pass it by
without pointing out that the Neo-Platonic philosopher undertook to
give an account of the origin, development, and end of the whole
system of things.
In the Middle Ages there gradually grew up rather a sharp distinction
between those things that can be known through the unaided reason and
those things that can only be known through a supernatural revelation.
The term "philosophy" came to be synonymous with knowledge
attained by the natural light of reason. This seems to imply some sort of
a limitation to the task of the philosopher. Philosophy is not
synonymous with all knowledge.
But we must not forget to take note of the fact that philosophy, even
with this limitation, constitutes a pretty wide field. It covers both the
physical and the moral sciences. Nor should we omit to notice that the
scholastic philosopher was at the same time a theologian. Albert the
Great and St. Thomas Aquinas, the famous scholastics of the thirteenth
century, had to write a "Summa Theologiae," or system of theology, as
well as to treat of the other departments of human knowledge.
Why were these men not overwhelmed with the task set them by the
tradition of their time? It was because the task was not, after all, so
great as a modern man might conceive it to be. Gil Blas, in Le Sage's
famous romance, finds it possible to become a skilled physician in the
twinkling of an eye, when Dr. Sangrado has imparted to him the secret
that the remedy for all diseases is to be found in bleeding the patient
and in making him drink copiously of hot water. When little is known
about things, it does not seem impossible for one man to learn that little.
During the Middle Ages and the centuries preceding, the physical

sciences had a long sleep. Men were much more concerned in the
thirteenth century to find out what Aristotle had said than they were to
address questions to nature. The special sciences, as we now know
them, had not been called into existence.
5. THE MODERN PHILOSOPHY.--The submission of men's minds to
the authority of Aristotle and of the church gradually gave