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3.9
Philosophy 400 to 100 BCE: the global Greek mind
 
  While the humanist approach of Plato in defining the structure, scope and relationship of prime ideas in relation to politics and society represented a milestone in the development of organized Western thought, it was a "rebellious student" of his that is considered even today as the greatest western philosopher that ever lived- Aristotle.  
3.9.1 The power of knowledge(classified ideas)  
  In our discussions to date concerning belief systems and ancient Greeks, we have omitted to mention one of the often forgotten facts concerning the times of Plato, Aristotle et al. During this time, Greek cities were considered the preeminent centres of trade along the Mediterranean and a meeting place for the trading of all things, especially wisdom from Asia, Northern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.  
  Greek Philosophers of the day would have had the opportunity to be exposed to all kinds of belief systems from dozens of different cultures. In a way, this explains the extraordinary gift of the Greeks in their ability to bring together and "standardize" systems of knowledge.  
  It was probably Plato's exposure to wealthy leaders from cultures from around the Mediterranean and ideas of organized society that assisted him in forming standards through his works for systems of government, religion, law making and the definition of knowledge ("ideas").  
  Aristotle himself had become a member of the Academy at the age of 17, in the year 367 (during Plato's absence in Sicily), under the acting chairmanship of Eudoxus of Cnidus, a great mathematician and geographer. There he remained a member for some twenty years. What is clear is that upon the general development of Plato's systems for classification of ideas later in life, Aristotle began to see his own opportunity.  
  As simple as it sounds, the Greek philosophers had traditionally focused their thinking upon the debate and discussion of big questions- life, the universe, the purpose of man, the relationship between man and the gods. Plato assisted in breaking that mould by seeking to infuse the holiness of Socrates into the fabric of society. His approach was to write methodically, bringing together as complete an argument as possible. Yet in all cases, the philosophy presented in no way represented both a reference to all the associated ideas on the subject as well as the principle argument.  
  While in today's world if we have a question, we can easily look up the Encyclopedia Britannica, Microsoft Encarta or some other reference, in the time of Plato, the knowledge and wisdom of the world was trapped by cultural differences of language, terms, superstition and generally a lack of clear classification.  
  While many historical books on philosophy argue Aristotle moved away from Plato because of his feelings about the philosophy of "ideas", it is probable the split came for more practical reasons. Plato remained in essence a "high" philosopher, while Aristotle could see the natural translation of Plato's approach to classifying all knowledge- plants, the earth, living animals, human ideas, music and the arts and even literature. The limits to Plato's definition and classification of knowledge, compared to Aristotle's obsession in classifying all known knowledge is testimony to this most probably being the reason for the split.  
3.9.2 Alexander the Great, Aristotle and arrogance  
  A chance turn of events occurred when Aristotle received a commission into Macedonian court to become the personal tutor to the crown prince, later to become Alexander the Great.  
  While the importance of this relationship is often downplayed, and often ignored in preference to considering Aristotle some "super hero" of philosophers, it is almost certain that in Alexander, Aristotle found the perfect vehicle to implement his interpretation of the extended philosophies of Plato.  
  Alexander by all accounts was a bloodthirsty psychopath. Like Aristotle, the mythology surrounding Alexander has been twisted over the centuries to such an extent that Alexander is still regarded in most western text books as some kind of "super hero" of generals, who possessed the wisdom of a hundred King Solomons'.  
  What is more likely and makes more sense is that in the young ambitious and malleable Alexander, Aristotle found the perfect vehicle for clearing the path for the implementation of standards of commerce, building, knowledge, regional government and education. In Aristotle, Alexander probably saw a partnership that could help him defeat those enemies he could not kill brute force and possibly a means of ultimate glory through the sustainment of an empire.  
  The fact that Alexander was almost permanently on the road and fighting bloody battles doesn't seem to necessarily bother historians, who feel this young prince was somehow able to also manage the affairs of a rapidly growing empire from the campfires of each new bloody and grisly battlefield. Again, this fits the model that Aristotle with the aid of other influential members of court almost certainly kept Alexander away on never ending campaigns, while they implemented the practicalities of the empire on his behalf.  
  With such power and resources at his disposal, Aristotle without question is the most powerful philosopher to have ever lived. Thus we can account for the voluminous works in all knowledge areas historically attributed to one man as belonging to the legions of workers who translated texts from around the world into a common system.  
3.9.3 Logic as a method for "closing the gate"  
  It is often forgotten that for around six to nine centuries after the death of Aristotle, many of the works remained unchanged in terms of the assumptions and knowledge contained therein. Such was the accomplishment, scope and skill of argument of Aristotle and his silent slaves that the classification of new knowledge in many areas simply stopped.  
  As we have discussed in UCA, the creation of logic is largely considered the greatest contribution of Aristotle to western thought. Certainly, its pervasiveness testifies to its influence. However, its creation is probably due to more practical reasoning such as permanence of the work completed.  
  The lack of standards by which information could be classified was a very real problem at the time of Aristotle. Logic and its "a or b" approach to classification made it a perfect tool to approach almost any field of human study and for the first time beginning to classify ideas and understandings into a cohesive argument.  
3.9.4 Classification itself as power, beyond the unique idea  
  Not only was Aristotle's approach to condensing the collective thought of human history according to logic a revolution, it spelt a major shift in the value assigned to ideas, versus "knowledge" itself. By the rules of logic, an individual idea could now be quickly and cruelly defeated on the rules of argument alone. Any sign of paradox, any sign of inconsistency (even against orthodoxy) and the idea could be quelled. More so, by classifying ideas into volumes and major categories of human thought, Aristotle shifted the power from ideas, to the system of knowledge classification- in other words the belief system- backed up by knowledge.  
3.9.5 Disciples and commentators  
  After Aristotle's death his immediate disciples continued their relentless task of homogenizing all known (and acceptable) human thought at the time into classification systems according to logic. Theophrastus wrote a history of philosophy and works on botany and on mineralogy, Eudemus of Rhodes wrote histories of mathematics and of astronomy, Meno a history of medicine, and Dicaearchus of Messene a history of civilization and a book on types of political constitutions.  
  Even the generations that immediately followed continued the task of codifying everything that could be found into the system of logic: Some in the classification of literary history, in the form of histories of types of poetry, epic, tragedy, and comedy, and of biographies of famous writers, and physical science. Straton of Lampsacus created a new kind of physics based on experiments, and the great astronomer Aristarchus of Samos inventing the heliocentric system.  
     
     
 
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