Roman philosophy was influenced by the Hellenistic culture, which expanded its borders and went beyond its borders. In ancient Rome, various philosophical schools, especially the Epicurean school, quickly became popular, and their traditions continued fruitfully here. One of the significant stimuli for the development of philosophy in Ancient Rome was the visit of a delegation of ancient Greek philosophers in 155 BC. Thus, such currents as stoicism, skepticism and epicure ism, which became especially widespread, began to function and progress here.
Ancient Roman philosophy was eclectic and largely secondary in nature, since it was not new as such. Roman philosophers did not create a single new direction, but only continued and developed the thoughts of the scientists of Ancient Greece.
The peculiarity of Roman philosophy was that it was more practice-oriented than theory-oriented. Many of them saw the sense of human existence directly in the appeal to philosophy. Therefore, they insisted on the applied importance of this science and sought to apply it directly to human needs. In ancient Greek philosophy there were similar tendencies, but it was in Roman science that they appeared so clearly and distinctly, took such large-scale forms.
Roman philosophers focused their research on man and the world around him. They did it before them, but they were the first to find the line connected with the many sidednesses and ambiguity of the personality, which will be further developed and revealed in Christianity. The researches of Roman philosophers can still be interesting and useful for those who seek to understand the human soul deeper.
Representatives of the skepticism of Ancient Rome: Anesidem, Sextus.
Skepticism is a direction without which it is impossible to imagine the philosophy of Ancient Rome. The main statement of the skeptical philosophers was the statement that it is impossible to study any subject regardless of the subject, that is, the individual. This position made it possible to classify skepticism as one of the advanced teachings that went beyond their own epoch.
Skepticism appeared in the 3rd century B.C. It began with the oral sermons of the philosopher Piron. Among the followers of Piron were Timon, Anesidem, Agrippa, Sextus Empiric. Unlike their teacher, they wrote ideas related to teaching. Like Stoics and Epicureans, the skeptics' main task was to make people happy in conditions that did not allow them to do so (the world was seen as unjust and cruel), but the path proposed by their predecessors was considered a dead end.
They suggested that the causes of misfortune should be sought within the human being himself, in his soul. The path of the philosopher is skeptical: to think, to doubt, to think again, to look for different options, but not to recognize any of them, because each of them can be true.
Anesidem is one of the main and most important representatives of skepticism. He believed that only with the help of skepticism is it possible to overcome the dogmatism inherent in philosophy in general. Anesidem was very attentive to other philosophical trends, scientists, and therefore carefully studied and analyzed them. On the basis of this study, he concluded that reality should be judged by direct feelings. Confidence in one's own perception is the principle of such apologetic teaching.
Skeptics suggested that judgments should be based on direct impressions. Do not recognize the essence of the subject. It is enough to get the impression that the salt is salty and the sugar is sweet. Appealing to feelings, the skeptics denied the possibility and necessity of knowing the essence of the object. The purpose of skepticism is defined as the achievement of serenity and serenity, i.e. ataxia.
Like other skeptical philosophers, Enesidem was a follower of the idea that all options are equal, and everyone can be true. Any question, the philosopher believed, has arguments that can speak both in his favor and against him. He invented ten basic arguments, which he called the paths. In Greek, this means method.
The trails of the Anesideme are reduced to a few basic thoughts: in such a diverse world, a man should not consider himself to be the most intelligent; it is unknown who has the most correct ideas about the surrounding reality: a man or, say, a dog with a more subtle sense of smell. The same can be said about people. All of them have different impressions about one thing, and there is no way to find out which one is true.
The last trail of the Enessidem was dedicated to the discussion of various customs and traditions that are common in different countries. The philosopher's conclusion in this regard is that in which country a person is located, such customs should be followed.
The reasonableness of this decision is obvious. As for one of the main questions of philosophy, whether there is a God in the world, Anesidem answers it in his own way: first he affirms his existence, then he denies it, and then reduces it to the abstinence clause concerning the judgment of the problem.
But the central idea of skepticism was to achieve ataxia. The philosopher Pyrrhon, who walked past his sinking disciple and did not turn away from his flock of racing horses, was a living embodiment of him, for he doubted whether they were running towards him or not.
the continuation of the article