Folia Theologica 19. (2008)
Perendy László: Judging Philosophers - Theophilus of Antioch on Hellenic inconsistency
190 PERENDY, László also proclaims the Pythagorean doctrine of the pre-existence and immortality of the soul and the contingency of its bodily existence: souls are condemned to the cycle of birth and rebirth by a fall from heavenly grace. (...) Empedocles also held a doctrine of the evolution of the species. The exact way in which he reconciled the natural and the theological elements of his philosophy is controversial, but the doctrine of the four elements was taken over by Aristotle and thence by the medi- evals."7 He died c. 433. Theophilus mentions him as an atheist. Protagoras (ripcûxayôpaç) of Abdera was born c. 490. He was "the most successful of the Sophists, whose independent importance is attested by Plato, Aristotle, and Sextus Empiricus. He taught virtue {arete) in Athens (...) He is famous for the assertion that 'man is the measure of all things': a relativistic slogan whose precise meaning is debatable [...]. It seems clear that while Protagoras believed that each person's sense perceptions are true (for their owner), he also believed that moral and political doctrines, to which his relativism might seem especially well-adapted, are capable of improvement and can be taught. It is quite possible that Protagoras established in Athens the dialectical method, later made famous through Plato's Socratic dialogues."8 He died c. 420 BC. Socrates (ZcoKpàxriç) was born c. 470. He „represented the turning- point in Greek philosophy, at which the self-critical reflection on the nature of our concepts and our reasoning emerged as a major concern, alongside cosmological speculation and enquiry. (...) He remains the model of a great teacher, but it is uncertain whether he had anything in the nature of a formal school. (...) All the Greek schools of philosophy conceived of themselves as owing much to Socrates, except for the Epicureans who disliked him intensely, calling him 'the Athenian buffoon'."9 In 399 BC he was brought to trial and condemned to death by the Athenians. He was charged of introducing strange gods and corrupting the youth. Leucippus of Miletus (fl. 450-420 BC) was an atomist. His name is not mentioned by Theophilus. "Little is known of the life of Leucippus, who is yet treated by Aristotle as the founder of Greek atomism. Two 7 Blackburn, 118-119. 8 Blackburn, 307-308. 9 Blackburn, 355-356.
