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129-473: Asceticism has been historically observed in many religious and philosophic traditions, most notably among Ancient Greek philosophical schools ( Epicureanism , Gymnosophism , Stoicism , and Pythagoreanism ), Indian religions ( Buddhism , Hinduism , Jainism ), Abrahamic religions ( Christianity , Judaism , Islam ), and contemporary practices continue amongst some of their followers. Practitioners abandon sensual pleasures and lead an abstinent lifestyle, in

258-533: A Jina . These austere practices are part of the monastic path in Jainism. The practice of body mortification is called kaya klesha in Jainism and is found in verse 9.19 of the Tattvartha Sutra by Umaswati , the most authoritative oldest surviving Jaina philosophical text. In Jain monastic practice, the monks and nuns take ascetic vows, after renouncing all relations and possessions. The vows include

387-524: A religion , and had great impact on Gnosticism and Christian theology . Early Christian writings Various early Christian writers wrote gospels and other books, some of which were canonized as the New Testament canon developed . The Apostolic Fathers were prominent writers who are traditionally understood to have met and learned from Jesus 's personal disciples . The Church Fathers are later writers with no direct connection to

516-454: A certain sense common, but, as a general rule, private; for, when everyone has a distinct interest, men will not complain of one another, and they will make more progress because everyone will be attending to his own business... And further, there is the greatest pleasure in doing a kindness or service to friends or guests or companions, which can only be rendered when a man has private property. These advantages are lost by excessive unification of

645-518: A city is likely impossible, however, generally assuming that philosophers would refuse to rule and the people would refuse to compel them to do so. Whereas the Republic is premised on a distinction between the sort of knowledge possessed by the philosopher and that possessed by the king or political man, Socrates explores only the character of the philosopher; in the Statesman , on the other hand,

774-399: A complete commitment to nonviolence ( Ahimsa ). They travel from city to city, often crossing forests and deserts, and always barefoot. Jain ascetics do not stay in a single place for more than two months to prevent attachment to any place. However, during the four months of monsoon (rainy season) known as chaturmaas , they stay at a single place to avoid killing life forms that thrive during

903-640: A diverse spectrum of ascetic practices. Asceticism-like practices are hinted in the Vedas , but these hymns have been variously interpreted as referring to early Yogis and loner renouncers. One such mention is in the Kesin hymn of the Rigveda , where Keśins ("long-haired" ascetics) and Munis ("silent ones") are described. These Kesins of the Vedic era, are described as follows by Karel Werner: The Keśin does not live

1032-441: A final vow of Santhara or Sallekhana , a fast to peaceful and detached death, by first reducing intake of and then ultimately abandoning all medicines, food, and water. Scholars state that this ascetic practice is not a suicide, but a form of natural death, done without passion or turmoil or suddenness, and because it is done without active violence to the body. Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in

1161-570: A firm conclusion, or aporetically , has stimulated debate over the meaning of the Socratic method . Socrates is said to have pursued this probing question-and-answer style of examination on a number of topics, usually attempting to arrive at a defensible and attractive definition of a virtue . While Socrates' recorded conversations rarely provide a definite answer to the question under examination, several maxims or paradoxes for which he has become known recur. Socrates taught that no one desires what

1290-491: A hot thing cold). Therefore, they cannot truly be opposites but rather must both be manifestations of some underlying unity that is neither. This underlying unity (substratum, arche ) could not be any of the classical elements, since they were one extreme or another. For example, water is wet, the opposite of dry, while fire is dry, the opposite of wet. This initial state is ageless and imperishable, and everything returns to it according to necessity. Anaximenes in turn held that

1419-574: A meaning closer to asceticism in Hindu texts is Tapas , but it too spans a spectrum of meanings ranging from inner heat, to self-mortification and penance with austerities, to meditation and self-discipline. The 11th century literary work Yatidharmasamuccaya is a Vaishnava text that summarizes ascetic practices in Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu traditions, as with other Indian religions, both men and women have historically participated in

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1548-505: A more moderated version, the " Middle Way ." According to Hajime Nakamura and other scholars, some early Buddhist texts suggest that asceticism was a part of Buddhist practice in its early days. Further, in practice, records from about the start of the common era through the 19th century suggest that asceticism has been a part of Buddhism, both in Theravada and Mahayana traditions. Textual evidence suggests that ascetic practices were

1677-686: A mystical, somewhat hidden tradition in the mainstream Sunni and Shia denominations of Islam, state Eric Hanson and Karen Armstrong , likely in reaction to "the growing worldliness of Umayyad and Abbasid societies". Acceptance of asceticism emerged in Sufism slowly because it was contrary to the sunnah , states Nile Green , and early Sufis condemned "ascetic practices as unnecessary public displays of what amounted to false piety". The ascetic Sufis were hunted and persecuted both by Sunni and Shia rulers, in various centuries. Sufis were highly influential and greatly successful in spreading Islam between

1806-474: A normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when

1935-817: A part of the Buddhist tradition in Sri Lanka by the third century BC, and this tradition continued through the medieval era in parallel to sangha style monastic tradition. In the Theravada tradition of Thailand , medieval texts report of ascetic monks who wander and dwell in the forest or crematory alone, do austere practices, and these came to be known as Thudong . Ascetic Buddhist monks have been and continue to be found in Myanmar , and as in Thailand, they are known to pursue their own version of Buddhism, resisting

2064-466: A participant referred to as the Eleatic Stranger discusses the sort of knowledge possessed by the political man, while Socrates listens quietly. Although rule by a wise man would be preferable to rule by law, the wise cannot help but be judged by the unwise, and so in practice, rule by law is deemed necessary. Both the Republic and the Statesman reveal the limitations of politics, raising

2193-584: A portion with other living beings, sprinkling the remainder with water he should eat it as if it were a medicine. Similarly, the Nirvana Upanishad asserts that the Hindu ascetic should hold, according to Patrick Olivelle , that "the sky is his belief, his knowledge is of the absolute, union is his initiation, compassion alone is his pastime, bliss is his garland, the cave of solitude is his fellowship", and so on, as he proceeds in his effort to gain self-knowledge (or soul-knowledge) and its identity with

2322-460: A precursor to Epicurus ' total break between science and religion. Pythagoras lived at approximately the same time that Xenophanes did and, in contrast to the latter, the school that he founded sought to reconcile religious belief and reason. Little is known about his life with any reliability, however, and no writings of his survive, so it is possible that he was simply a mystic whose successors introduced rationalism into Pythagoreanism, that he

2451-519: A single good , which was apparently combined with the Eleatic doctrine of Unity . Their work on modal logic , logical conditionals , and propositional logic played an important role in the development of logic in antiquity, and were influences on the subsequent creation of Stoicism and Pyrrhonism . During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many different schools of thought developed in

2580-567: A single meal a day. Neither group will beg for food, but a Jain ascetic may accept a meal from a householder, provided that the latter is pure of mind and body and offers the food of his own volition and in the prescribed manner. During such an encounter, the monk remains standing and eats only a measured amount. A routine feature of Jain asceticism are fasting periods, where adherents abstain from consuming food, and sometimes water, only during daylight hours, for up to 30 days. Some monks avoid (or limit) medicine and/or hospitalization out of disregard for

2709-491: A strong Advaita Vedanta outlook. Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism ( Advaita ) Vedanta philosophy. The 12th-century Shatyayaniya Upanishad is a significant exception, which presents qualified dualistic and Vaishnavism ( Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) philosophy. These texts mention a simple, ethical lifestyle but do not mention self-torture or body mortification. For example: These are

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2838-599: A tradition of asceticism, but its Sufi groups have cherished their own ascetic tradition for several centuries. Islamic literary sources and historians report that during the early Muslim conquests of the Middle East and North Africa (7th–10th centuries), some of the Muslim warriors guarding the frontier settlements were also ascetics; numerous historical accounts also report of some Christian monks that apostatized from Christianity , converted to Islam , and joined

2967-499: A transcendental mathematical relation. Heraclitus must have lived after Xenophanes and Pythagoras, as he condemns them along with Homer as proving that much learning cannot teach a man to think; since Parmenides refers to him in the past tense, this would place him in the 5th century BC. Contrary to the Milesian school , which posits one stable element as the arche , Heraclitus taught that panta rhei ("everything flows"),

3096-786: A year and a month wore clothes; after that time he walked about naked, and accepted the alms in the hollow of his hand. For more than twelve years the Venerable Ascetic Mahivira neglected his body and abandoned the care of it; he with equanimity bore, underwent, and suffered all pleasant or unpleasant occurrences arising from divine powers, men, or animals. Both Mahavira and his ancient Jaina followers are described in Jainism texts as practicing body mortification and being abused by animals as well as people, but never retaliating and never initiating harm or injury ( ahimsa ) to any other being. With such ascetic practices, he burnt off his past Karma , gained spiritual knowledge, and became

3225-582: Is a story that Protagoras , too, was forced to flee and that the Athenians burned his books. Socrates, however, is the only subject recorded as charged under this law, convicted, and sentenced to death in 399 BC (see Trial of Socrates ). In the version of his defense speech presented by Plato, he claims that it is the envy he arouses on account of his being a philosopher that will convict him. Numerous subsequent philosophical movements were inspired by Socrates or his younger associates. Plato casts Socrates as

3354-565: Is associated particularly with monks, nuns, and fakirs in Abrahamic religions, and bhikkhus , munis , sannyasis , vairagis, goswamis, and yogis in Indian religions. In the Baháʼí Faith , according to Shoghi Effendi , the maintenance of a high standard of moral conduct is neither to be associated or confused with any form of extreme asceticism, nor of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The religious standard set by Baháʼu'lláh , founder of

3483-538: Is bad, and so if anyone does something that truly is bad, it must be unwillingly or out of ignorance; consequently, all virtue is knowledge. He frequently remarks on his own ignorance (claiming that he does not know what courage is, for example). Plato presents him as distinguishing himself from the common run of mankind by the fact that, while they know nothing noble and good, they do not know that they do not know, whereas Socrates knows and acknowledges that he knows nothing noble and good. The great statesman Pericles

3612-410: Is called Sannyasa , and this is not the same as asceticism—which typically connotes severe self-denial and self-mortification. Sannyasa often involved a simple life, one with minimal or no material possessions, study, meditation and ethical living. Those who undertook this lifestyle were called Sannyasi , Sadhu , Yati , Bhiksu , Pravrajita/Pravrajitā and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts. The term with

3741-577: Is derived from the Republic , the Laws , and the Statesman . The first of these contains the suggestion that there will not be justice in cities unless they are ruled by philosopher kings ; those responsible for enforcing the laws are compelled to hold their women, children, and property in common ; and the individual is taught to pursue the common good through noble lies ; the Republic says that such

3870-700: Is found in both non-theistic and theistic traditions within Indian religions . The origins of the practice are ancient, and a heritage shared by the major Indian religions: Buddhism , Hinduism , and Jainism . They are referred by many names such as Sadhu, Pravrajita, Bhikshu, Yati etc. Asceticism in Indian religions includes a spectrum of diverse practices, ranging from the mild self-discipline, self-imposed poverty and simple living typical of Buddhism and Hinduism , to more severe austerities and self-mortification practices of monks in Jainism and now extinct Ajivikas in

3999-409: Is no coming into being or passing away, genesis or decay, they said that things appear to come into being and pass away because the elements out of which they are composed assemble or disassemble while themselves being unchanging. Leucippus also proposed an ontological pluralism with a cosmogony based on two main elements: the vacuum and atoms. These, by means of their inherent movement, are crossing

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4128-523: Is not always easy to distinguish between the two. While the Socrates presented in the dialogues is often taken to be Plato's mouthpiece, Socrates' reputation for irony , his caginess regarding his own opinions in the dialogues, and his occasional absence from or minor role in the conversation serve to conceal Plato's doctrines. Much of what is said about his doctrines is derived from what Aristotle reports about them. The political doctrine ascribed to Plato

4257-405: Is the arche of everything. Pythagoreanism also incorporated ascetic ideals, emphasizing purgation, metempsychosis , and consequently a respect for all animal life; much was made of the correspondence between mathematics and the cosmos in a musical harmony. Pythagoras believed that behind the appearance of things, there was the permanent principle of mathematics, and that the forms were based on

4386-419: Is unclear if self-immolation was limited primarily to Chinese asceticism tradition, and strong evidence of it being a part of a large scale, comprehensive ascetic program among Chinese Buddhists is lacking. Renunciation from the worldly life, and a pursuit of spiritual life either as a part of monastic community or a hermit, has been a historic tradition of Hinduism since ancient times. The renunciation tradition

4515-546: The jihad , as well as of several Muslim warriors that repudiated Islam , converted to Christianity , and became Christian monks . Monasticism is forbidden in Islam. Scholars in the field of Islamic studies have argued that asceticism ( zuhd ) served as a precursor to the later doctrinal formations of Sufis that began to emerge in the tenth century through the works of individuals such as al-Junayd , al-Qushayrī , al-Sarrāj, al-Hujwīrī and others. Sufism emerged and grew as

4644-592: The φύσις of all things." Xenophanes was born in Ionia , where the Milesian school was at its most powerful and may have picked up some of the Milesians' cosmological theories as a result. What is known is that he argued that each of the phenomena had a natural rather than divine explanation in a manner reminiscent of Anaximander's theories and that there was only one god, the world as a whole, and that he ridiculed

4773-716: The Bhagavad Gita , verse 17.5 criticize a form of asceticism that diverges from scriptural guidance and is driven by pride, ego, or attachment, rather than for genuine spiritual growth. Verse 17.6 extends the criticism of such ascetic practices, noting that they are considered harmful to both the practitioner's body and the divine within. With these two verses, Krishna emphasizes that true ascetic practices should align with scriptural teachings and aim towards higher spiritual goals. Some people who undertake acts of austerity perform ferocious deeds not sanctioned by scripture. They are motivated by hypocrisy and egotism, and are beset by

4902-570: The Biblical texts within a highly asceticized religious environment. Scriptural examples of asceticism could be found in the lives of John the Baptist , Jesus Christ , the twelve apostles , and Paul the Apostle . The Dead Sea Scrolls revealed ascetic practices of the ancient Jewish sect of Essenes who took vows of abstinence to prepare for a holy war. An emphasis on an ascetic religious life

5031-561: The Essenes . According to Allan Nadler, two most significant examples of medieval Jewish asceticism have been Havoth ha-Levavoth and Hasidei Ashkenaz. Pious self-deprivation was a part of the dualism and mysticism in these ascetic groups. This voluntary separation from the world was called Perishuth , and the Jewish society widely accepted this tradition in late medieval era. Extreme forms of ascetic practices have been opposed or controversial in

5160-615: The European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato". Clear, unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers to Roman philosophy , Early Islamic philosophy , Medieval Scholasticism , the European Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment . Greek philosophy was influenced to some extent by the older wisdom literature and mythological cosmogonies of

5289-618: The Gnostikos ( Ancient Greek : γνωστικός , gnōstikos , "learned", from γνῶσις, gnōsis , "knowledge"), also known as The Gnostic: To the One Made Worthy of Gnosis . The Gnostikos is the second volume of a trilogy containing the Praktikos , intended for young monks to achieve apatheia , i.e., "a state of calm which is the prerequisite for love and knowledge", in order to purify their intellect and make it impassible, to reveal

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5418-569: The Hellenistic world and then the Greco-Roman world. The spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world, followed by the spread of Islam , ushered in the end of Hellenistic philosophy and the beginnings of Medieval philosophy , which was dominated by the three Abrahamic traditions: Jewish philosophy , Christian philosophy , and early Islamic philosophy . Pyrrho of Elis , a Democritean philosopher, traveled to India with Alexander

5547-649: The Mourning of Muharram . Asceticism has not been a dominant theme within Judaism , but minor to significant ascetic traditions have been a part of Jewish spirituality. The history of Jewish asceticism is traceable to first millennium BCE era with the references of the Nazirite (or Nazorean, Nazarene, Naziruta, Nazir), whose rules of practice are found in Book of Numbers 6:1–21. The ascetic practices included not cutting

5676-530: The New Academy , although some ancient authors added further subdivisions, such as a Middle Academy . The Academic skeptics did not doubt the existence of truth ; they just doubted that humans had the capacities for obtaining it. They based this position on Plato's Phaedo , sections 64–67, in which Socrates discusses how knowledge is not accessible to mortals. While the objective of the Pyrrhonists

5805-591: The absence of pain in the body and trouble in the mind". The founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium , was taught by Crates of Thebes, and he took up the Cynic ideals of continence and self-mastery, but applied the concept of apatheia (indifference) to personal circumstances rather than social norms, and switched shameless flouting of the latter for a resolute fulfillment of social duties. Logic and physics were also part of early Stoicism, further developed by Zeno's successors Cleanthes and Chrysippus . Their metaphysics

5934-479: The ancient Near East , though the extent of this influence is widely debated. The classicist Martin Litchfield West states, "contact with oriental cosmology and theology helped to liberate the early Greek philosophers' imagination; it certainly gave them many suggestive ideas. But they taught themselves to reason. Philosophy as we understand it is a Greek creation". Subsequent philosophic tradition

6063-720: The anthropomorphism of the Greek religion by claiming that cattle would claim that the gods looked like cattle, horses like horses, and lions like lions, just as the Ethiopians claimed that the gods were snub-nosed and black and the Thracians claimed they were pale and red-haired. Xenophanes was highly influential to subsequent schools of philosophy. He was seen as the founder of a line of philosophy that culminated in Pyrrhonism , possibly an influence on Eleatic philosophy , and

6192-455: The arche was air, although John Burnet argues that by this, he meant that it was a transparent mist, the aether . Despite their varied answers, the Milesian school was searching for a natural substance that would remain unchanged despite appearing in different forms, and thus represents one of the first scientific attempts to answer the question that would lead to the development of modern atomic theory; "the Milesians," says Burnet, "asked for

6321-504: The pre-Socratics gained currency with the 1903 publication of Hermann Diels' Fragmente der Vorsokratiker , although the term did not originate with him. The term is considered useful because what came to be known as the "Athenian school" (composed of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle ) signaled the rise of a new approach to philosophy; Friedrich Nietzsche 's thesis that this shift began with Plato rather than with Socrates (hence his nomenclature of "pre-Platonic philosophy") has not prevented

6450-426: The pyramids . Thales inspired the Milesian school of philosophy and was followed by Anaximander , who argued that the substratum or arche could not be water or any of the classical elements but was instead something "unlimited" or "indefinite" (in Greek, the apeiron ). He began from the observation that the world seems to consist of opposites (e.g., hot and cold), yet a thing can become its opposite (e.g.,

6579-555: The regimes described in Plato's Republic and Laws , and refers to the theory of forms as "empty words and poetic metaphors". He is generally presented as giving greater weight to empirical observation and practical concerns. Aristotle's fame was not great during the Hellenistic period , when Stoic logic was in vogue, but later peripatetic commentators popularized his work, which eventually contributed heavily to Islamic, Jewish, and medieval Christian philosophy. His influence

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6708-563: The sage and the fool. Slight as the difference may appear between the positions of the Academic skeptics and the Pyrrhonists, a comparison of their lives leads to the conclusion that a practical philosophical moderation was the characteristic of the Academic skeptics whereas the objectives of the Pyrrhonists were more psychological. Following the end of the skeptical period of the Academy with Antiochus of Ascalon , Platonic thought entered

6837-663: The 10th and 19th centuries, particularly to the furthest outposts of the Muslim world in the Middle East and North Africa , the Balkans and Caucasus , the Indian subcontinent , and finally Central , Eastern , and Southeast Asia . Some scholars have argued that Sufi Muslim ascetics and mystics played a decisive role in converting the Turkic peoples to Islam between the 10th and 12th centuries and Mongol invaders in Persia during

6966-910: The 13th and 14th centuries, mainly because of the similarities between the extreme, ascetic Sufis ( fakirs and dervishes ) and the Shamans of the traditional Turco-Mongol religion . Sufism was adopted and then grew particularly in the frontier areas of Islamic states , where the asceticism of its fakirs and dervishes appealed to populations already used to the monastic traditions of Hinduism , Buddhism , and medieval Christianity . Ascetic practices of Sufi fakirs have included celibacy , fasting , and self-mortification . Sufi ascetics also participated in mobilizing Muslim warriors for holy wars , helping travelers, dispensing blessings through their perceived magical powers , and in helping settle disputes. Ritual ascetic practices, such as self-flagellation ( Tatbir ), have been practiced by Shia Muslims annually at

7095-609: The 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy , epistemology , mathematics , political philosophy , ethics , metaphysics , ontology , logic , biology , rhetoric and aesthetics . Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and later evolved into Roman philosophy . Greek philosophy has influenced much of Western culture since its inception, and can be found in many aspects of public education. Alfred North Whitehead once claimed: "The safest general characterization of

7224-502: The Baháʼí Faith, seeks under no circumstances to deny anyone the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by God , which Baháʼís regard as an all-loving creator. Notable Christian authors of Late Antiquity such as Origen , St Jerome , John Chrysostom , and Augustine of Hippo , interpreted meanings of

7353-460: The Great 's army where Pyrrho was influenced by Buddhist teachings, most particularly the three marks of existence . After returning to Greece, Pyrrho started a new school of philosophy, Pyrrhonism , which taught that it is one's opinions about non-evident matters (i.e., dogma ) that prevent one from attaining eudaimonia . Pyrrhonism places the attainment of ataraxia (a state of equanimity ) as

7482-582: The Great , and ultimately returned to Athens a decade later to establish his own school: the Lyceum . At least twenty-nine of his treatises have survived, known as the corpus Aristotelicum , and address a variety of subjects including logic , physics , optics , metaphysics , ethics , rhetoric , politics , poetry , botany, and zoology. Aristotle is often portrayed as disagreeing with his teacher Plato (e.g., in Raphael 's School of Athens ). He criticizes

7611-543: The Hasidic movement. The Ashkenazi Hasidim ( Hebrew : חסידי אשכנז , romanized :  Chassidei Ashkenaz ) were a Jewish mystical, ascetic movement in the German Rhineland whose practices are documented in the texts of the 12th and 13th centuries. Peter Meister states that this Jewish asceticism emerged in the tenth century, grew much wider with prevalence in southern Europe and the Middle East through

7740-562: The Hindu metaphysical concept of Brahman . Other behavioral characteristics of the Sannyasi include: ahimsa (non-violence), akrodha (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures), asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and shaucha (purity of body speech and mind). In

7869-944: The Jataka tales wherein the Buddha in his earlier lives immolates himself to assist other living beings, or by the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja -related teachings in the Lotus Sutra . Historical records suggest that the self-immolation practices were observed by nuns in Chinese Buddhism as well. The Chinese Buddhist asceticism practices, states James Benn, were not an adaptation or import of Indian ascetic practices, but an invention of Chinese Buddhists, based on their unique interpretations of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka or Lotus Sūtra . It may be an adoption of more ancient pre-Buddhist Chinese practices, or from Taoism . It

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7998-422: The Jewish pietistic movement. According to Shimon Shokek, these ascetic practices were the result of an influence of medieval Christianity on Ashkenazi Hasidism. The Jewish faithful of this Hasidic tradition practiced the punishment of body, self-torture by starvation, sitting in the open in freezing snow, or in the sun with fleas in summer, all with the goal of purifying the soul and turning one's attention away from

8127-614: The Jews returned from the Babylonian exile and the Mosaic institution was done away with, a different form of asceticism arose when Antiochus IV Epiphanes threatened the Jewish religion in 167 BCE. The Essene tradition of the second Temple period is described as one of the movements within historic Jewish asceticism between second century BCE and first century CE. Ascetic Jewish sects existed in ancient and medieval era times, most notably

8256-625: The Middle East were at one time inhabited by thousands of male and female Christian ascetics, hermits and anchorites , including St. Anthony the Great (otherwise known as St. Anthony of the Desert), St. Mary of Egypt , and St. Simeon Stylites , collectively known as the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers . In 963 an association of monasteries called Lavra was formed on Mount Athos , in Eastern Orthodox tradition. This became

8385-400: The Milesian school, in suggesting that the substratum could appear in a variety of different guises, implied that everything that exists is corpuscular, Parmenides argued that the first principle of being was One, indivisible, and unchanging. Being, he argued, by definition implies eternality, while only that which is can be thought; a thing which is , moreover, cannot be more or less, and so

8514-680: The Prophet . Ascetic practices were linked to the Christian concepts of sin and redemption . The Proto-Protestant Waldensian sect originated as an ascetic group within medieval Western Christianity , persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church . Evagrius Ponticus , also called Evagrius the Solitary (345–399 CE ), was a highly educated monastic teacher who produced a large theological body of work, mainly ascetic, including

8643-575: The ability to resist potentially destructive temptations. Asceticism is seen in some ancient theologies as a journey towards spiritual transformation, where the simple is sufficient, the bliss is within, the frugal is plenty. Inversely, several ancient religious traditions, such as Zoroastrianism , Ancient Egyptian religion , the Dionysian Mysteries , vāmācāra , and the modern Western occult left-hand path traditions, abstain from ascetic practices and focus on various types of good deeds in

8772-600: The arrival of Islam in India. Self-torture is relatively uncommon practice but one that attracts public attention. In Indian traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, self-mortification is typically criticized. However, Indian mythologies also describe numerous ascetic gods or demons who pursued harsh austerities for decades or centuries that helped each gain special powers. The historical Siddhartha Gautama adopted an extreme ascetic life in search of enlightenment. However, after enlightenment he rejected extreme asceticism in favor of

8901-423: The ascetic thoughts in Christianity nevertheless, Finn states, have roots in Greek moral thought. Virtuous living is not possible when an individual is craving bodily pleasures with desire and passion. Morality is not seen in the ancient theology as a balancing act between right and wrong, but a form of spiritual transformation, where the simple is sufficient, the bliss is within, the frugal is plenty. The deserts of

9030-464: The body unto the soul. Another significant school of Jewish asceticism appeared in the 16th century led from Safed . These mystics engaged in radical material abstentions and self-mortification with the belief that this helps them transcend the created material world, reach and exist in the mystical spiritual world. A studied example of this group was Hayyim ben Joseph Vital , and their rules of ascetic lifestyle ( Hanhagoth ) are documented. Asceticism

9159-525: The choice of "Early Greek Philosophy" over "pre-Socratic philosophy" most notably because Socrates is contemporary and sometimes even prior to philosophers traditionally considered "pre-Socratic" (e.g., the Atomists). The early Greek philosophers (or "pre-Socratics") were primarily concerned with cosmology , ontology , and mathematics. They were distinguished from "non-philosophers" insofar as they rejected mythological explanations in favor of reasoned discourse. Thales of Miletus , regarded by Aristotle as

9288-461: The closest element to this eternal flux being fire. All things come to pass in accordance with Logos , which must be considered as "plan" or "formula", and "the Logos is common". He also posited a unity of opposites , expressed through dialectic , which structured this flux, such as that seeming opposites in fact are manifestations of a common substrate to good and evil itself. Heraclitus called

9417-445: The conclusion being that one cannot look to nature for guidance regarding how to live one's life. Protagoras and subsequent sophists tended to teach rhetoric as their primary vocation. Prodicus , Gorgias , Hippias , and Thrasymachus appear in various dialogues , sometimes explicitly teaching that while nature provides no ethical guidance, the guidance that the laws provide is worthless, or that nature favors those who act against

9546-607: The difference between the changing, perceptible world and the unchanging, intelligible realm. Platonism stands in opposition to nominalism , which denies the existence of such abstract entities. Around 266 BC, Arcesilaus became head of the Platonic Academy , and adopted skepticism as a central tenet of Platonism , making Platonism nearly the same as Pyrrhonism . After Arcesilaus, Academic skepticism diverged from Pyrrhonism. This skeptical period of ancient Platonism, from Arcesilaus to Philo of Larissa , became known as

9675-585: The ethics of Cynicism to articulate Stoicism . Epicurus studied with Platonic and Pyrrhonist teachers before renouncing all previous philosophers (including Democritus , on whose atomism the Epicurean philosophy relies). The philosophic movements that were to dominate the intellectual life of the Roman Empire were thus born in this febrile period following Socrates' activity, and either directly or indirectly influenced by him. They were also absorbed by

9804-609: The expanding Muslim world in the 7th through 10th centuries AD, from which they returned to the West as foundations of Medieval philosophy and the Renaissance , as discussed below. Plato was an Athenian of the generation after Socrates . Ancient tradition ascribes thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters to him, although of these only twenty-four of the dialogues are now universally recognized as authentic; most modern scholars believe that at least twenty-eight dialogues and two of

9933-498: The extreme ascetic practices of eating only pine needles, resins, seeds and ultimately self-mummification, while alive, or Sokushinbutsu ( miira ) in Japan. In Chinese Buddhism self-mummification ascetic practices were less common but recorded in the Ch'an (Zen Buddhism) tradition there. More ancient Chinese Buddhist asceticism, somewhat similar to Sokushinbutsu are also known, such as

10062-459: The first philosopher, held that all things arise from a single material substance, water. It is not because he gave a cosmogony that John Burnet calls him the "first man of science", but because he gave a naturalistic explanation of the cosmos and supported it with reasons. According to tradition, Thales was able to predict an eclipse and taught the Egyptians how to measure the height of

10191-539: The flesh and guarding the flesh (avoiding anything that is a source of temptation). Inner austerities include expiation, confession, respecting and assisting mendicants, studying, meditation and ignoring bodily wants in order to abandon the body. The Jain text of Kalpa Sūtra describes Mahavira's asceticism in detail, whose life is a source of guidance on most of the ascetic practices in Jainism: The Venerable Ascetic Mahavira for

10320-443: The floor without blankets, and sit on wooden platforms. Other austerities include meditation in seated or standing posture near riverbanks in the cold wind, or meditation atop hills and mountains, especially at noon when the sun is at its fiercest. Such austerities are undertaken according to the physical and mental limits of the individual ascetic. When death is imminent from an advanced age or terminal disease, many Jain ascetics take

10449-512: The freedom from fears and desires was happiness itself. Platonism is the philosophy of Plato , asserting the existence of abstract objects , which exist in a realm distinct from both the physical world and the mind. Central to Platonism is the Theory of Forms , where ideal Forms or perfect archetypes are considered the true reality, with the physical world being an imperfect reflection. This philosophy has influenced Western thought , emphasizing

10578-430: The gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away. The Vedic and Upanishadic texts of Hinduism, states Mariasusai Dhavamony, do not discuss self-inflicted pain, but do discuss self-restraint and self-control. The monastic tradition of Hinduism is evidenced in first millennium BCE, particularly in its Advaita Vedanta tradition. This is evidenced by the oldest Sannyasa Upanishads, because all of them have

10707-424: The hair, abstaining from eating meat or grapes, abstention from wine, or fasting and hermit style living conditions for a period of time. Literary evidence suggests that this tradition continued for a long time, well into the common era, and both Jewish men and women could follow the ascetic path, with examples such as the ascetic practices for fourteen years by Queen Helena of Adiabene , and by Miriam of Tadmor. After

10836-429: The heavens, placed it in cities, introduced it into families, and obliged it to examine into life and morals, and good and evil." By this account he would be considered the founder of political philosophy . The reasons for this turn toward political and ethical subjects remain the object of much study. The fact that many conversations involving Socrates (as recounted by Plato and Xenophon ) end without having reached

10965-827: The hierarchical institutionalized sangha structure of monasteries in Buddhism. In the Mahayana tradition asceticism with esoteric and mystical meanings became an accepted practice, such as in the Tendai and Shingon schools of Japanese Buddhism. These Japanese practices included penance, austerities, ablutions under a waterfall, and rituals to purify oneself. Japanese records from the 12th century record stories of monks undertaking severe asceticism, while records suggest that 19th century Nichiren Buddhist monks woke up at midnight or 2:00 am daily, and performed ascetic water purification rituals under cold waterfalls. Other practices include

11094-466: The laws. Socrates , believed to have been born in Athens in the 5th century BC , marks a watershed in ancient Greek philosophy. Athens was a center of learning, with sophists and philosophers traveling from across Greece to teach rhetoric, astronomy, cosmology, and geometry. While philosophy was an established pursuit prior to Socrates, Cicero credits him as "the first who brought philosophy down from

11223-471: The letters were in fact written by Plato, although all of the thirty-six dialogues have some defenders. A further nine dialogues are ascribed to Plato but were considered spurious even in antiquity. Plato's dialogues feature Socrates, although not always as the leader of the conversation. (One dialogue, the Laws , instead contains an "Athenian Stranger".) Along with Xenophon , Plato is the primary source of information about Socrates' life and beliefs and it

11352-438: The main interlocutor in his dialogues , deriving from them the basis of Platonism (and by extension, Neoplatonism ). Plato's student Aristotle in turn criticized and built upon the doctrines he ascribed to Socrates and Plato, forming the foundation of Aristotelianism . Antisthenes founded the school that would come to be known as Cynicism and accused Plato of distorting Socrates' teachings. Zeno of Citium in turn adapted

11481-507: The most famous is perhaps the Allegory of the Cave . It likens most humans to people tied up in a cave, who look only at shadows on the walls and have no other conception of reality. If they turned around, they would see what is casting the shadows (and thereby gain a further dimension to their reality). If some left the cave, they would see the outside world illuminated by the sun (representing

11610-552: The most famous of which is his theory of forms . It holds that non-material abstract (but substantial ) forms (or ideas), and not the material world of change known to us through our physical senses, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. He argued extensively in the Phaedo , Phaedrus , and Republic for the immortality of the soul, and he believed specifically in reincarnation . Plato often uses long-form analogies (usually allegories ) to explain his ideas;

11739-817: The most important center of orthodox Christian ascetic groups in the centuries that followed. In the modern era, Mount Athos and Meteora have remained a significant center. Sexual abstinence such as those of the Encratites sect of Christians was only one aspect of ascetic renunciation, and both natural and unnatural asceticism have been part of Christian asceticism. The natural ascetic practices have included simple living, begging, fasting and ethical practices such as humility, compassion, meditation , patience and prayer . Evidence of extreme asceticism in Christianity appear in second century texts and thereafter, in both Eastern & Western Christian traditions, such as

11868-419: The most influential philosophers of all time, stressed the implication that understanding relies upon first-hand observation. Aristotle moved to Athens from his native Stageira in 367 BC and began to study philosophy (perhaps even rhetoric, under Isocrates ), eventually enrolling at Plato's Academy . He left Athens approximately twenty years later to study botany and zoology , became a tutor of Alexander

11997-477: The only human good, but he had also accepted a limited role for its utilitarian side, allowing pleasure to be a secondary goal of moral action. Aristippus and his followers seized upon this, and made pleasure the sole final goal of life, denying that virtue had any intrinsic value. The Megarian school flourished in the 4th century BC. It was founded by Euclides of Megara , one of the pupils of Socrates . Its ethical teachings were derived from Socrates, recognizing

12126-412: The oppositional processes ἔρις ( eris ), "strife", and hypothesized that the apparently stable state of δίκη ( dikê ), or "justice", is the harmonic unity of these opposites. Parmenides of Elea cast his philosophy against those who held "it is and is not the same, and all things travel in opposite directions,"—presumably referring to Heraclitus and those who followed him. Whereas the doctrines of

12255-426: The other micro organisms around the root. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be plucked only when ripe and ready to fall off, or ideally after they have fallen off the plant. In case they are plucked from the plants, only as much as required should be procured and consumed without waste. The monks of Śvetāmbara sub-tradition within Jainism do not cook food but solicit alms from householders. Digambara monks have only

12384-432: The perfect spiritual way of life. According to Clement of Alexandria , philosophy and Scriptures can be seen as "double expressions of one pattern of knowledge". According to Evagrius, "body and the soul are there to help the intellect and not to hinder it". The Arabic term for "asceticism" is zuhd . The Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers practiced asceticism. However, contemporary mainstream Islam has not had

12513-507: The period of Middle Platonism , which absorbed ideas from the Peripatetic and Stoic schools. More extreme syncretism was done by Numenius of Apamea , who combined it with Neopythagoreanism . Also affected by the neopythagoreans, the neoplatonists , first of them Plotinus , argued that mind exists before matter, and that the universe has a singular cause which must therefore be a single mind. As such, neoplatonism became essentially

12642-421: The physical body. Śvētāmbara monks and nuns wear only unstitched white robes (an upper and lower garment), and own one bowl they use for eating and collecting alms. Male Digambara sect monks do not wear any clothes, carry nothing with them except a soft broom made of shed peacock feathers ( pinchi ) to gently remove any insect or living creature in their way or bowl, and they eat with their hands. They sleep on

12771-450: The power of desire and passion. Asceticism in one of its most intense forms can be found in Jainism . Ascetic life may include nakedness symbolizing non-possession of even clothes, fasting, body mortification, penance and other austerities, in order to burn away past karma and stop producing new karma, both of which are believed in Jainism to be essential for reaching siddha and moksha (liberation from rebirths, salvation). In Jainism,

12900-412: The practice of chaining the body to rocks, eating only grass, praying seated on a pillar in the elements for decades such as by the monk Simeon Stylites , solitary confinement inside a cell, abandoning personal hygiene and adopting lifestyle of a beast, self-inflicted pain and voluntary suffering, however they were often rejected as beyond measure by other ascetics such as Barsanuphius of Gaza and John

13029-666: The predominance of the "pre-Socratic" distinction. Since 2016, however, current scholarship has transitioned from calling philosophy before the Athenian school "pre-Socratic" to simply "Early Greek Philosophy". André Laks and Glenn W. Most have been partly responsible for popularizing this shift in describing the era preceding the Athenian School through their comprehensive, nine volume Loeb editions of Early Greek Philosophy . In their first volume, they distinguish their systematic approach from that of Hermann Diels, beginning with

13158-410: The public self-immolation (self-cremation, as shaoshen 燒身 or zifen 自焚) practice, aimed at abandoning the impermanent body. The earliest-documented ascetic Buddhist monk biography is of Fayu (法羽) in 396 CE, followed by more than fifty documented cases in the centuries that followed including that of monk Daodu (道度). This was considered as evidence of a renunciant bodhisattva , and may have been inspired by

13287-549: The pursuit of redemption , salvation , and/or spirituality . Many ascetics believe the action of purifying the body helps to purify the soul, and that in doing so, they will obtain a greater connection with the Divine or find inner peace. This may take the form of rituals, the renunciation of pleasure, and/or self-mortification . However, ascetics maintain that self-imposed constraints bring them greater freedom in various areas of their lives, such as increased clarity of thought and

13416-430: The pursuit of salvation. Some ascetics live as hermits relying on whatever food they can find in the forests, then sleep and meditate in caves; others travel from one holy site to another while sustaining their body by begging for food; yet others live in monasteries as monks or nuns. Some ascetics live like priests and preachers, other ascetics are armed and militant, to resist any persecution—a phenomenon that emerged after

13545-539: The question of what political order would be best given those constraints; that question is addressed in the Laws , a dialogue that does not take place in Athens and from which Socrates is absent. The character of the society described there is eminently conservative, a corrected or liberalized timocracy on the Spartan or Cretan model or that of pre-democratic Athens . Plato's dialogues also have metaphysical themes,

13674-399: The rains. Jain monks and nuns practice complete celibacy. They do not touch or share a sitting platform with a person of the opposite sex. Jain ascetics follow a strict vegetarian diet without root vegetables. Prof. Pushpendra K. Jain explains: Clearly enough, to procure such vegetables and fruits, one must pull out the plant from the root, thus destroying the entire plant, and with it all

13803-580: The rarefaction and condensation of the Milesians is impossible regarding Being; lastly, as movement requires that something exist apart from the thing moving (viz. the space into which it moves), the One or Being cannot move, since this would require that "space" both exist and not exist. While this doctrine is at odds with ordinary sensory experience, where things do indeed change and move, the Eleatic school followed Parmenides in denying that sense phenomena revealed

13932-500: The state." Cynicism was founded by Antisthenes , who was a disciple of Socrates, as well as Diogenes , his contemporary. Their aim was to live according to nature and against convention. Antisthenes was inspired by the ascetism of Socrates, and accused Plato of pride and conceit. Diogenes, his follower, took the ideas to their limit, living in extreme poverty and engaging in anti-social behaviour. Crates of Thebes was, in turn, inspired by Diogenes to give away his fortune and live on

14061-400: The streets of Athens. The Cyrenaics were founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, who was a pupil of Socrates . The Cyrenaics were hedonists and held that pleasure was the supreme good in life, especially physical pleasure, which they thought more intense and more desirable than mental pleasures. Pleasure is the only good in life and pain is the only evil. Socrates had held that virtue was

14190-438: The truth hidden in every being. The third book, Kephalaia Gnostika , was meant for meditation by advanced monks. Those writings made him one of the most recognized ascetic teachers and scriptural interpreters of his time, which include Clement of Alexandria and Origen . The ascetic literature of early Christianity was influenced by pre-Christian Greek philosophical traditions , especially Plato and Aristotle , looking for

14319-450: The ultimate form of goodness and truth). If these travelers then re-entered the cave, the people inside (who are still only familiar with the shadows) would not be equipped to believe reports of this 'outside world'. This story explains the theory of forms with their different levels of reality, and advances the view that philosopher-kings are wisest while most humans are ignorant. One student of Plato, Aristotle , who would become another of

14448-722: The ultimate goal of life is to achieve the liberation of soul from endless cycle of rebirths (moksha from samsara ), which requires ethical living and asceticism. Most of the austerities and ascetic practices can be traced back to Mahavira , the twenty-fourth Tirthankara who practiced 12 years of asceticism before reaching enlightenment. Jain texts such as Tattvartha Sutra and Uttaradhyayana Sutra discuss ascetic austerities to great lengths and formulations. Six outer and six inner practices are most common, and oft repeated in later Jain texts. According to John Cort, outer austerities include complete fasting, eating limited amounts, eating restricted items, abstaining from tasty foods, mortifying

14577-423: The void and creating the real material bodies. His theories were not well known by the time of Plato , however, and they were ultimately incorporated into the work of his student, Democritus . Sophism arose from the juxtaposition of physis (nature) and nomos (law). John Burnet posits its origin in the scientific progress of the previous centuries which suggested that Being was radically different from what

14706-450: The vows a Sannyasi must keep: Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, abstention from sex, liberality (kindness, gentleness) are the major vows. There are five minor vows: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating. He should beg (for food) without annoying others, any food he gets he must compassionately share

14835-578: The way to achieve eudaimonia. To bring the mind to ataraxia Pyrrhonism uses epoché ( suspension of judgment ) regarding all non-evident propositions. Pyrrhonists dispute that the dogmatists – which includes all of Pyrrhonism's rival philosophies – have found truth regarding non-evident matters. For any non-evident matter, a Pyrrhonist makes arguments for and against such that the matter cannot be concluded, thus suspending belief and thereby inducing ataraxia. Epicurus studied in Athens with Nausiphanes , who

14964-659: The world and the importance of family life. The adjective "ascetic" derives from the ancient Greek term áskēsis , which means "training" or "exercise". The original usage did not refer to self-denial, but to the physical training required for athletic events. Its usage later extended to rigorous practices used in many major religious traditions, in varying degrees, to attain redemption and higher spirituality . Dom Cuthbert Butler classified asceticism into natural and unnatural forms: Self-discipline and abstinence in some form and degree are parts of religious practice within many religious and spiritual traditions. Ascetic lifestyle

15093-498: The world as it actually was; instead, the only thing with Being was thought, or the question of whether something exists or not is one of whether it can be thought. In support of this, Parmenides' pupil Zeno of Elea attempted to prove that the concept of motion was absurd and as such motion did not exist. He also attacked the subsequent development of pluralism, arguing that it was incompatible with Being. His arguments are known as Zeno's paradoxes . The power of Parmenides' logic

15222-455: Was Protagoras , whom he presents as teaching that all virtue is conventional. It was Protagoras who claimed that "man is the measure of all things, of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not," which Plato interprets as a radical perspectivism , where some things seem to be one way for one person (and so actually are that way) and another way for another person (and so actually are that way as well);

15351-399: Was a follower of Democritus and a student of Pyrrho of Elis . He accepted Democritus' theory of atomism, with improvements made in response to criticisms by Aristotle and others. His ethics were based on "the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain". This was, however, not simple hedonism , as he noted that "We do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or of sensuality . . . we mean

15480-483: Was based in materialism , which was structured by logos , reason (but also called God or fate). Their logical contributions still feature in contemporary propositional calculus . Their ethics was based on pursuing happiness, which they believed was a product of 'living in accordance with nature'. This meant accepting those things which one could not change. One could therefore choose whether to be happy or not by adjusting one's attitude towards their circumstances, as

15609-430: Was closely associated with this new learning and a friend of Anaxagoras , however, and his political opponents struck at him by taking advantage of a conservative reaction against the philosophers; it became a crime to investigate the things above the heavens or below the earth, subjects considered impious. Anaxagoras is said to have been charged and to have fled into exile when Socrates was about twenty years of age. There

15738-509: Was evident in both early Christian writings ( see : Philokalia ) and practices ( see : Hesychasm ). Other Christian practitioners of asceticism include saints such as Paul the Hermit , Simeon Stylites , David of Wales , John of Damascus , Peter Waldo , Tamar of Georgia , and Francis of Assisi . According to Richard Finn , much of early Christian asceticism has been traced to Judaism, but not to traditions within Greek asceticism. Some of

15867-402: Was experienced by the senses and, if comprehensible at all, was not comprehensible in terms of order; the world in which people lived, on the other hand, was one of law and order, albeit of humankind's own making. At the same time, nature was constant, while what was by law differed from one place to another and could be changed. The first person to call themselves a sophist, according to Plato,

15996-449: Was kept at natural limit of consumption. 'Unnatural' trade, as opposed to the intended limit, was classified as the acquisition of wealth to attain more wealth instead of to purchase more goods. Cutting more along the grain of reality, Aristotle did not only set his mind on how to give people direction to make the right choices but wanted each person equipped with the tools to perform this moral duty. In his own words, "Property should be in

16125-548: Was simply a rationalist whose successors are responsible for the mysticism in Pythagoreanism, or that he was actually the author of the doctrine; there is no way to know for certain. Pythagoras is said to have been a disciple of Anaximander and to have imbibed the cosmological concerns of the Ionians, including the idea that the cosmos is constructed of spheres, the importance of the infinite, and that air or aether

16254-419: Was so influenced by Socrates as presented by Plato that it is conventional to refer to philosophy developed prior to Socrates as pre-Socratic philosophy . The periods following this, up to and after the wars of Alexander the Great , are those of "Classical Greek" and " Hellenistic philosophy ", respectively. The convention of terming those philosophers who were active prior to the death of Socrates as

16383-696: Was such that Avicenna referred to him simply as "the Master"; Maimonides , Alfarabi , Averroes , and Aquinas as "the Philosopher". Aristotle opposed the utopian style of theorizing, deciding to rely on the understood and observed behaviors of people in reality to formulate his theories. Stemming from an underlying moral assumption that life is valuable, the philosopher makes a point that scarce resources ought to be responsibly allocated to reduce poverty and death. This 'fear of goods' led Aristotle to exclusively support 'natural' trades in which personal satiation

16512-573: Was such that some subsequent philosophers abandoned the monism of the Milesians, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, where one thing was the arche . In place of this, they adopted pluralism , such as Empedocles and Anaxagoras . There were, they said, multiple elements which were not reducible to one another and these were set in motion by love and strife (as in Empedocles) or by Mind (as in Anaxagoras). Agreeing with Parmenides that there

16641-469: Was the attainment of ataraxia , after Arcesilaus the Academic skeptics did not hold up ataraxia as the central objective. The Academic skeptics focused on criticizing the dogmas of other schools of philosophy, in particular of the dogmatism of the Stoics . They acknowledged some vestiges of a moral law within, at best but a plausible guide, the possession of which, however, formed the real distinction between

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