THE REPRESENTATIONS ON THE CONTEMPLATIVE AND ACTIVE LIFE IN EARLY HELLENISTIC PHILOSOPHY
- Authors: Brovkin V.V.1
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Affiliations:
- Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Issue: Vol 2, No 2 (2021)
- Pages: 5-17
- Section: PHILOSOPHY
- URL: https://ogarev-online.ru/2713-3125/article/view/379714
- ID: 379714
Cite item
Abstract
It is established that the question of the preferred way of life was actualized in the early Hellenistic philosophy. For many philosophers, the contemplative and the active life were equivalent. This position was held by Demetrius of Phalerum, early Stoics, probably Xenocrates and Menedemus of Eretria. Dicaearchus preferred an active life. Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Epicurus preferred the contemplative life. Unlike Aristotle and Theophrastus, Epicurus viewed the contemplative life not as an end, but only as a means of achieving serenity. It was also found that the high value of active life in early Hellenistic philosophy was due to the preservation of the polis system and the formation of Hellenistic monarchies, which opened upwide opportunities for philosophers to participate in political activities. The desire for a contemplative life was associated with the crisis of the polis system.
Keywords
About the authors
V. V. Brovkin
Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Email: v.brovkin@g.nsu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0344-3304
Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Research Officer of the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Novosibirsk, Nikolayev Str.
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