HON 280 -- LECTURE SEVEN (HELLENISM)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE
I. Last time, we finished with Aristotle. Note that certain aspects
of his cosmology exist in religious thought even now (think
about how children think about heaven and hell. It was formally
dominant even more powerfully (think about Dante's trilogy).
II. Hellenism was the period of time running from the death of
Alexander the Awesome (323 BCE) to the fall of Greek political
power to the Romans. The latter date is differently reckoned by
different historians. Some reckon it to be the year when the
Romans conquered the Greek heartland 146 BCE). Others
reckon it to be the year that Rome conquered Egypt (30BC),
since Egypt was the last remaining influential bastion of Greek
civilization (having been conquered by Alexander).
III. During this period, Aristotelian physics faced competition
from the atomists. Remember them? Their central doctrines
were: (1) all that exist are differently assembled collections of
atoms in the void, (2) the ways in which these atoms assemble
and disassemble are governed by chance collisions, not
purpose). That is, things happen in nature due to causes, NOT
for reasons.
IV. The major advocate of atomism during this time was
Epicurus (270 BCE). Interestingly, he offered atomism as the
basis of a moral doctrine, or at least as a doctrine telling us how
best to live.
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