Abstract

ORNELAS, Jorge. The Rise and Fall of Athletic Activities in Ancient Greece: Searching for the Origin of Western Philosophy. Prax. filos. [online]. 2022, n.55, pp.11-50.  Epub Sep 26, 2022. ISSN 0120-4688.  https://doi.org/10.25100/pfilosofica.v0i55.12380.

I venture a new hypothesis about the origin of occidental philosophy, according to which it originated from athletic activities such as they were performed during the Archaic period. First, I show (section II) the relevance of physical activities (both athletic and military) in the Archaic period. Second (section III), I argue that the main philosophical concepts arose in this athletic context. Finally, (section IV), I show that those physical values were moralized via Socratic intellectualism during the Classical period, giving rise to the philosophical reflection as we know it today. This transformation exalted intellectual activities over physical ones, producing an axiological inversion throughout the entire Hellenic world.

Keywords : Athletic activities; Sport in Antiquity; The origin of philosophy; Virtue; Philosophy of sport.

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