Through the Eras

OVERVIEWof PhilosophyCATEGORIES. Philosophy was originally a Greekcategory of knowledge. It sought the answers to questionsconcerning the nature of knowledge itself (metaphysics),the core of goodness (ethics), and the essenceof beauty (aesthetics). Greek philosophers also raisedquestions about politics and methods of persuasion(rhetoric). Only some of these questions have relevanceto Egyptian categories of thought. Though the Greekscredited the Egyptians with the beginnings of philosophy,the Greeks often interpreted Egyptian data to yieldthoughts similar to their own, causing modern scholarsto wonder about the true nature of Egyptian philosophy.EGYPTIAN CONCERNS. Egyptian philosophers wereintensely concerned with questions of proper conductand justice. Many Egyptian texts advise the reader onhow to act properly. Egyptian philosophers did not discussthe nature of knowledge in itself but they did haveopinions on the proper way to teach justice. Egyptianthinkers did not write about the political system, butsome pessimistic literature considered the results whenthere is no legitimate king. A few documents also containadvice for princes who someday would be kings.Methods of persuasion, as in Greek rhetoric, were notan Egyptian concern. It is from these basic ideas thatscholars have built a true structure of Egyptian philosophyand have deciphered Egyptian thoughts on certainstandard philosophical questions.ATTRIBUTES. The three main attributes that allEgyptian philosophies share are flexibility, pragmaticism,and attention to emotion. The Egyptologist Erik Hornungstressed that Egyptian answers to philosophicalquestions were flexible. He asserted that the Egyptiansnever offered final and definitive answers to philosophicalquestions. Rather Egyptian philosophies tended tobe pluralistic, offering, for example, several possible explanationsfor the origins of the world that were allequally true. Hornung believed that the Egyptians knewthere was no single answer to a question, hence Egyptianthought avoided stressing one cause to the detrimentof another. Egyptians did not believe in absolutes. Egyptianphilosophy is also pragmatic. Egyptian teachings consideredconcrete life situations without generalizing toabstract laws. The Egyptian notion of maat (“justice”)stressed solutions to real-life problems. Abstract thoughtwas not as important as finding a practical solution to aspecific problem. The wisdom that older men offered totheir children spoke directly to specific situations theyexpected would occur in the course of any career or life.Finally, Egyptian thought recognized the lure of emotion,but advised against submitting to transitory feelings.It might seem odd to modern Western cultures thatthe Egyptians believed that the heart was the organ ofthought. Yet Egyptian philosophers advised that thesilent man who ignored his emotions and who thoughtbefore he acted was the ideal. The opposite of the silentman was the heated man, one who immediately submittedto his emotions without giving adequate thoughtto his actions. Much of Egyptian philosophy counseledagainst impulsive action without thought.RELIGION. It is difficult to separate Egyptian philosophicalideas from religion. Maat stood at the center ofall Egyptian life, including both philosophy and religion.Maat itself was a goddess and in some periods had a temple.Maat was also part of the god’s food, a way of statingthat all the gods’ survival depended on maat’s existence.Establishing maat also was essential to the world’s creationby a god. When the god created order from chaos,the god established maat. In the same way, the kingmaintained maat in the world and thus kept chaos fromovercoming the Egyptian way of life. Finally, individualsobeyed the king and thus established maat in theworld. A person’s success in life completely depended onfollowing and creating maat. Thus religion, politics, andphilosophical concerns were bound in an intricate webof concepts.MISUNDERSTANDINGS. The ancient Greeks werethe first people from a Western culture to write about theancient Egyptians, beginning in the fifth century B.C.E.Greek perceptions of Egypt dominated Western understandingof the culture, especially before J.-F. Champolliondeciphered hieroglyphs in 1822 C.E. Because theEgyptian pictoral language was unavailable to Westernscholars for hundreds of years, Egyptologists were completelydependent on Greek and later Roman writers toform an opinion of Egyptian culture. Even after modernEgyptology allowed the ancient Egyptians to speakfor themselves, Greek notions continued to influencemodern perceptions of Egyptian philosophy. Nowhereis this more obvious than in modern approaches toEgyptian thought, science, and spirituality. Many mod-184 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)