Philosophy of Antiquity. Philosophy of the ancient Greeks and Romans
The term “ancient philosophy” consists of two elements – the words “ancient” and “philosophy”, each of which gives the whole expression its own specific semantic shade. The word “ancient” comes from the Latin antiquus, which means “ancient”. In this sense, “ancient philosophy” is “ancient” philosophy and represents a conditional set of theoretical, aesthetic and ethical ideas of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. At the same time, “ancient philosophy” is “philosophy”. This word goes back to the Greek φιλοσοφία, literally “loving attitude towards wisdom”. Wisdom was understood by the Greeks as perfect and sufficient knowledge, and the “loving attitude” towards it was interpreted differently – by each philosopher exclusively from within his unique philosophical experience. In this sense, “ancient philosophy” is the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and Romans – regardless of antiquity as such – in fact, for the ancients their philosophy did not seem “ancient”, but was quite “timely” and “modern”.