From: "Jukka Laari" <jlaari-AT-dodo.jyu.fi>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 15:24:49 EET+200
Subject: Re: M-TH: birth of philosophy?


1.
> But in fact this was not so, was it?  Do the Greeks chronologically
> precede the Chinese and Indians, not to mention the Egyptians?

It's western (orig. european) story that philosophy was born in 
Greece. This is justified by the fact that greeks used the word 
'philosophy'... 

But seriously, as a social institution philosophy really seems to be 
that young. I don't know enough about India - it's the only rival to 
Greece. There are some correspondances: no centralised state 
machinery, just competing local 'microstates' (in lack of a better 
word); therefore no almighty religious apparatus (like in medieval 
Europe). The difference is: in Greece political sphere was more or 
less democratic. 

So the question is: do we take prists and civil servants to represent 
intellectual sphere? If yes, then 'Greece' is wrong answer. If no, 
then Greece is right one.

2.
> Also, re Marxist efforts to explain the genesis of Greek philosophy: are you
> familiar with the works of the Soviet philosopher T.E. Oizerman on the
> origin and history of philosophy?  How about George Thomson's THE FIRST
> PHILOSOPHERS?  I wonder if George Novack might have something to say about
> the Greeks in THE ORIGINS OF MATERIALISM.

I know Oizerman, buyt not that work. Others names are unknown to me. 

Jukka L 


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