Philosophy before the Greeks : the pursuit of truth in ancient Babylonia

There is a growing recognition that philosophy isn't unique to the West, that it didn't begin only with the classical Greeks, and that Greek philosophy was influenced by Near Eastern traditions. Yet even today there is a widespread assumption that what came before the Greeks was "before philosophy." In Philosophy before the Greeks , Marc Van De Mieroop, an acclaimed historian of the ancient Near East, presents a groundbreaking argument that, for three millennia before the Greeks, one Near Eastern people had a rich and sophisticated tradition of philosophy fully worthy of the name. In the first century BC, the Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily praised the Babylonians for their devotion to philosophy. Showing the justice of Diodorus's comment, this is the first book to argue that there were Babylonian philosophers and that they studied knowledge systematically using a coherent system of logic rooted in the practices of cuneiform script. Van De Mieroop uncovers Babylonian approaches to knowledge in three areas: the study of language, which in its analysis of the written word formed the basis of all logic; the art of divination, which interpreted communications between gods and humans; and the rules of law, which confirmed that royal justice was founded on truth. The result is an innovative intellectual history of the ancient Near Eastern world during the many centuries in which Babylonian philosophers inspired scholars throughout the region--until the first millennium BC, when the breakdown of this cosmopolitan system enabled others, including the Greeks, to develop alternative methods of philosophical reasoning. There is a growing recognition that philosophy isn’t unique to the West, that it didn’t begin only with the classical Greeks, and that Greek philosophy was influenced by Near Eastern traditions. Yet even today there is a widespread assumption that what came before the Greeks was “before philosophy.” This book presents a groundbreaking argument that, for three millennia before the Greeks, one Near Eastern people had a rich and sophisticated tradition of philosophy fully worthy of the name. In the first century BC, the Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily praised the Babylonians for their devotion to philosophy. Showing the justice of Diodorus’s comment, this is the first book to argue that there were Babylonian philosophers and that they studied knowledge systematically using a coherent system of logic rooted in the practices of cuneiform script. The book uncovers Babylonian approaches to knowledge in three areas: the study of language, which in its analysis of the written word formed the basis of all logic; the art of divination, which interpreted communications between gods and humans; and the rules of law, which confirmed that royal justice was founded on truth. The result is an innovative intellectual history of the ancient Near Eastern world during the many centuries in which Babylonian philosophers inspired scholars throughout the region—until the first millennium BC, when the breakdown of this cosmopolitan system enabled others, including the Greeks, to develop alternative methods of philosophical reasoning. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 PART I AN ESSAY IN BABYLONIAN EPISTEMOLOGY 10 CHAPTER 1: At the Time of Creation 12 PART II THE ORDER OF THINGS (LES MOTS ET LES CHOSES) 42 CHAPTER 2: Word Lists: A Very Short History 44 CHAPTER 3: Constructing Reality 68 PART III WRITINGS OF THE GODS 94 CHAPTER 4: Omen Lists in Babylonian Culture 96 CHAPTER 5: The Structure of Knowledge of the Universe 122 PART IV THE WORD OF THE LAW 150 CHAPTER 6: Of Ancient Codes 152 CHAPTER 7: The Philosopher-King 165 PART V A BABYLONIAN EPISTEMOLOGY 192 CHAPTER 8: Babylonian Epistemology in History 194 CHAPTER 9: The Conceptual Autonomy of Babylonian Epistemology 225 Notes 234 Bibliography 266 Index 300 There is a growing recognition that philosophy isn't unique to the West, that it didn't begin only with the classical Greeks, and that Greek philosophy was influenced by Near Eastern traditions. Yet even today there is a widespread assumption that what came before the Greeks was 'before philosophy.' This work presents a groundbreaking argument that, for three millennia before the Greeks, one Near Eastern people had a rich and sophisticated tradition of philosophy fully worthy of the name In this intellectual history, historian of the ancient Near East Marc Van de Mieroop argues that, for three millennia preceding the Greeks, there were Babylonian philosophers who systematically studied knowledge--about language, divination, and the law--using a coherent system of logic rooted in practices of cuneiform script.--From publisher description