Doxography

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Doxography or -grafie (from Greek δόξα Doxa , German , opinion , view ' , and -graphy ) generally refers to the presentation of the teachings of philosophers in the history of philosophy works or philosophical-historical parts of other plants. The term is mostly used in the context of the ancient history of philosophy.

Concept history

The term was introduced by the classical philologist Hermann Diels in his work Doxographi Graeci (“doxographi” is a Latin neologism for the authors of “doxographies”). Originally referred to by Diels only on short, thesis-like representations of traditional natural philosophical views, the term is now used much more broadly, both in terms of content and form. We are now talking about doxographies in general philosophical , ethical and theological fields. Although it is not an independent scientific discipline , doxography as a procedure is nevertheless of great importance for the history of philosophy , the history of science and the examination of the knowledge of earlier generations as a whole.

Philosophy in Classical Greece

Most of the philosophical records from the classical and pre-classical period have been lost. Consequently, our knowledge of the works of ancient philosophy often derives solely from the doxographic treatises of later authors. The “doxographies” by Aristotle and Plato are particularly well known .

Plato and Aristotle

Aristotle was the first philosopher to expressly portray the development of knowledge as a historical process and who regularly preceded his own statements with a dialectical examination of his predecessors in the respective field of knowledge. Ultimately, the purpose of the Aristotelian discussions was to decide in favor of a certain explanatory approach. Plato, for his part, used the previous opinions of other philosophers more selectively as a stimulating element in his dialogues - a difference that is mainly due to the fact that Plato wrote for the general public, while Aristotle only wrote esoteric writings , i.e. H. Notes, scripts or collections of material intended for internal use by the peripatetic school have come down to us. Because their objectives are not purely representative, neither Plato nor Aristotle are considered "doxographers in the narrower sense".

Later doxographs

The actual doxographic tradition does not begin until after Aristotle and his disciples, e. B. Theophrast (whose historical writing on the doctrines of the pre-Socratic natural philosophies, physikôn doxai , has been lost). The surviving doxographic writings and fragments, for example, by Diogenes Laertios , Cicero , Plutarch , Arius Didymus and Johannes Stobaios, or by Christian authors such as Hippolytus and Theodoret, are particularly significant .

Only through this detour is it possible today to attempt to draw conclusions about the philosophical works and general views of pre-Socratics such as Thales , Anaximander , Anaximenes , Empedocles and Zenon von Elea . In particular, it is problematic that such representations were mostly created in discussions with the previous philosophers and were therefore often used to justify one's own views. So u. a. Hans-Georg Gadamer , as one of the most important interpreters of classical Greek philosophy in the 20th century, expressly pointed out that an understanding of the pre-Socratic teachings was only possible in conjunction with the views of the respective “doxograph”.

Islamic doxography

Islamic doxography means that part of the theological works of Islam that deals with divergent religious views in different Islamic sects and currents .

literature

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hermann Diels : Doxographi Graeci , 1879.
  2. ↑ Jaap Mansfeld : Doxography of Ancient Philosophy . In: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (especially section 6. Doxography broad and narrow ).
  3. ↑ Hans-Georg Gadamer : The beginning of philosophy , Stuttgart 1996.

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