1.2 The Birth of Modern Philosophy

What this lecture covers

This lecture traces philosophy from its birth in ancient Greece through to the crisis of authority in the 16th and 17th century that set the stage for modern philosophy. It follows on from the introduction, explaining in more depth why the course frames its topics historically.

Millican first sketches ancient Greek philosophy and its schools, then describes how the Christianized Roman Empire closed down these schools and destroyed much of their written record. He then shows how the rediscovery of ancient texts, the printing press, and events like the voyages of discovery and the Reformation combined to undermine confidence in Aristotle and the Bible as complete sources of truth, culminating in the sceptical 'problem of the criterion'.

Key ideas

• Birth of philosophy: ancient Greek thinkers began asking how to understand the world through reason rather than tradition or myth.
• Loss of ancient texts: Christian emperors closed non-Christian schools (529 AD) and destroyed libraries, including at Alexandria, leaving only fragments of many ancient philosophers' work.
• Scholasticism: the medieval synthesis of Christianity with Aristotelian philosophy, dominant through figures like Aquinas.
• Rediscovery: manuscripts preserved in Byzantium and the Arabic world resurfaced in Renaissance Italy and spread rapidly once printing was invented.
• Erosion of authority: new geography, cultural contact with unfamiliar beliefs, and new technology like gunpowder all undermined trust in ancient authorities.
• The Reformation: Luther's break from Rome in 1517 led to decades of religious war and an uneasy, unresolved peace.
• The problem of the criterion: if two authorities (Catholic tradition versus the individually-read Word of God) disagree on the criterion of truth, choosing between them seems to require already having a reliable criterion.

Walkthrough

From ancient Greece to scholasticism (0:10)

The lecture opens with the emergence of philosophy in ancient Greece, noting the range of schools (Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lyceum, the sceptics, Epicureans, Stoics). It then describes how the Christianized Roman Empire closed these schools and burned major libraries, leaving later generations dependent on a handful of surviving texts. Plato and Aristotle survived with more authority than others, and Aristotle in particular became central to medieval scholasticism.

Aristotle's universe (5:46)

Millican sketches the Aristotelian cosmos: Earth at the center, surrounded by spheres of water, air, fire, the Moon, planets, and the Sun, with a sharp divide between the changeable sublunary world and the perfect, unchanging heavens beyond the Moon.

Rediscovery and upheaval (9:27)

Ancient manuscripts preserved in Byzantium and the Arabic world reached Western Europe as Constantinople fell, feeding Renaissance humanism. The invention of printing around 1450 let these ideas spread quickly, while new trade, the discovery of the Americas, and contact with other cultures raised doubts about the completeness of Aristotelian and biblical knowledge.

The Mappa Mundi and the Reformation (11:46)

The Hereford Mappa Mundi is used as an example of a worldview unchanged for centuries before being upended by new geography. The lecture then covers Luther's 1517 break from Rome and the ensuing wars, which ended in 1648 with an uneasy compromise rather than a genuine resolution.

The problem of the criterion (14:35)

Reading ancient sceptical texts during this period of religious conflict, thinkers faced the problem of the criterion: when two authorities disagree about the source of truth, there seems to be no neutral criterion available to judge between them without already assuming an answer.

Before you watch

• Watch lecture 1.1 first for an overview of the course's eight topics and its historical approach.
• No prior knowledge of ancient or medieval philosophy is assumed.

Check your understanding

1. Why did so little ancient philosophical writing survive into the medieval period?
2. What is the structure of the Aristotelian universe, and why does the sublunary/heavenly divide matter?
3. How did the Reformation contribute to the sceptical problem of the criterion?
4. In your own words, state the problem of the criterion and why it is hard to escape.