An Analysis of the Philosophical Principles of Anthropology in Ancient Egyptian Philosophy
Subject Areas : . New findings about philosophical figures and schools of Iran and the world of IslamMohammad Hossein Madad Elahee 1 , Hossein Zamaniha 2
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Keywords: ancient Egyptian philosophy Greek philosophy Ontology ma’at anthropology ,
Abstract :
The Greeks were familiar with Egyptian culture long before Thales in the 6th century BC and greatly benefitted from their teachings particularly in the field of mathematics. Recent studies in the realm of philosophy also indicate that Thales had a thorough knowledge of ancient Egyptian philosophy and was influenced by it in developing his own philosophical views. In ancient Egyptian philosophy, in spite of resorting to myths in order to analyze and explain the truths of the world, there are also some traces of philosophical thought in its particular sense. For example, there are some traces of pure philosophical thought in the realms of ontology, politics, sociology, and anthropology. This kind of philosophical thought is formed based on the profound and multi-dimensional concept of ma’at. This word means order in the field of ontology, justice in the field of politics and sociology, and honesty in the field of anthropology. Within the domain of anthropology, ancient Egyptians specifically believed that Man’s existence has nine grades and dimensions which enjoy a kind of unity among themselves. What has led to the final emergence of such grades, particularly the last grade called thought, and, thus, Man’s eternity, is following ma’at or the laws governing the order of being. Accordingly, they establish a tight relationship between their ontology and anthropology.
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