Philosophy of the Ancient East

Philosophy is not only a sphere of understanding of being, but also a spiritual force that influences world processes.

Noteworthy is the fact that the oldest philosophies of the Eastern and Western world emerged approximately at the same time - in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. At the same time they were completely independent and independent in their judgments, conclusions and vision of the world.

In general, the emergence of philosophy led to the ousting of mythology from culture, the development of logical thought, the rethinking of the old attitudes.

Philosophy of the Ancient East is older than the European one. It was here that the first worldview concepts developed, in which myths and religion combined with scientific teachings. The most famous and influential philosophical doctrines were in China and India.

Common features that were characteristic of the philosophy of the world of the Ancient East are the following. First, they were characterized by incomplete separation from pre-philosophy. Secondly, the ancient Eastern philosophy was characterized by the fact that natural science knowledge was not reflected in an essential, adequate way in philosophy. Thirdly, this philosophy is characterized by traditionalism. Unlike the western, which is skeptical in its search for truth, the philosophy of the East rejected doubts, was based on the continuity of generations and the constancy of traditions.

The first philosophical teachings arose in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria. Here at the turn of the IV-III millennium BC. Already appeared writing, which meant the emergence of the rudiments of abstract thought.

The peoples of the Ancient East in this period did not yet have orderly philosophical systems, but the level of development of the sciences and art was already very high.

In ancient Egypt, philosophical thought began the path from the religious to the logical, philosophical interpretation of myths

In ancient Babylonia, the birth of philosophy was associated with the development of scientific knowledge and the formation of a rational attitude to people and nature.

In the middle of the I millennium BC. In China and India began to form its own original philosophy - the philosophy of the Ancient East. In these countries, in special economic, political, social and spiritual conditions, there was a special spiritual atmosphere that contributed to the birth of philosophical thought.

Philosophy of the Ancient East emerged as a solution to the contradictions that existed between the mythological interpretation of the universe and new thinking and knowledge. However, the philosophy of the Ancient East emerged not from mythology, but from ideological transitional forms, which can be interpreted as a pre-philosophy. At this level of development of knowledge, along with myths, there are also special "philosophers", that is, undeveloped rudiments of philosophical thought.

The patterns of the development of the philosophy of Ancient China and Ancient India have common patterns. First of all, the self-consciousness of both ancient peoples was constructed on the basis of generic genetic-substantial connections. In the first worldview concepts, nature and man were treated as parts of a single whole. The types of knowledge in the philosophies of these countries were very similar.

In addition, the genus was the driving force behind the transformation of people's consciousness. Also for the Indian and Chinese culture was characterized by opposition of the spiritual and corporal. Therefore, in these countries myths, taboos and rituals appeared as a prephilosophical thought as the basis for the development of philosophy.

The first philosophy proper of the Ancient East lays the fundamental foundations of cultural traditionalism deeply into the mind of man. In fact, philosophy begins to serve the interests of the socio-economic system, which in these two countries existed until the twentieth century.

Naturally, the philosophy of China and India had its own individual characteristics. In India, philosophical schools were associated with Brahmanism and Buddhism, in China - with Confucianism. In India, none of the schools was able to acquire an official priority, in China, Confucianism achieved the status of the official ideology of the state.