Task: Explain the various debates that emerge from the main debate of ‘THE ONE’ and ‘THE MANY.’
Many early Philosophers believed that everything is interconnected. ‘The one and the many’ is a debate that has existed for years, with the one (universal) and the many (particulars) being the driving engine of the history of philosophy and Christian theology. Therefore, there are different forms of the relationship between God (the one) and His creation (the many). The debates merging on the debate of ‘the one and ‘the many’ comes from five periods where in the pre-Socratic period, the debate on the one and the many focuses on the nature of the world. In the classical period, the debate focused on the nature of man. The medieval period focuses on the one and the many and the confluence of philosophy and theology. The modern period focuses on the conflict of the one and the many, while the contemporary period looks into the unfortunate triumph of the many over the one.
The debate of the one and the many during the pre-Socratic period looks into the nature of the world. It explained the aspect of how the world realities are presented by the one and many being related and the one versus the many. According to Heraclitus, everything in the world changes, and it is natural for a boy to grow into a man. A river flowing is always the same, but the waters that flow through the river are not the same. However, despite the change that occurs, there is always something that is always the same throughout the changes. The unity behind the change and the factor that continually connects the changes. Thus, the period debate argues that a single unchanging reality (the one) supports the ever-changing nature of the world (the many).
The classical period debated that the one and the many were more than the natural world. The classical philosophers debated that the one and the many impinged upon man through ethics and his knowledge. It was a period that divided the debate into four. The sophists and the sceptics who focused on the many versus the one. They denied the aspect of universal ideas on objects or any universal morals behind the local laws (Pate, 2010). Thus, they denied the existence of the one. Socrates, who believed in the one behind the many, argued that there was no common one, but knowledge is a virtue. Thus, when there is knowledge, there are universal ideas. Therefore, knowledge is expressed through ethics in virtue. Therefore, when one does well, then it is good, but when evil occurs, there is no knowledge, and ignorance prevails. When one does something bad, they are ignorant of the good things, which gives them the chance to do badly. Plato debated that evil is ignorance of truth, which affects individuals due to the connection of the body, mind, and soul. “Man indulges in his appetite for pleasures, power, lust, greet etc. because he has forgotten that the soul was created for virtues of temperance, courage, justice and wisdom” (Pate, 2010, p. 27). Plato’s explanation of “the one and the many” is that the universe exists as ‘one’ in the “realm of structure,” while the specific things in the universe are simple impressions of those structures. The structures, universals, or thoughts are the only true creatures in which the specific things in the universe take part. As indicated by this platonic view, there are two universes: the universe of ‘the many’ (the noticeable world) and the world of thoughts or structures. Thus, his ideas state that the One is above the many; hence, the idea is separated from particulars and the human mind.
In the medieval period, Augustine debated with emphasis that the one exists and is an ultimate reality (God) who unifies and sustains the diversity of the created world. His distinctive doctrine that God created all things out of nothing described God as transcendent as he created out of His own will and immanent as He brought the world into existence alone. He disagrees with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle on evil existing because of ignorance. He states that evil is a consequence of wrong choices (40) (Pate, 2010). Thus, when one decides to pursue ‘the one,’ one gets happiness and peace while pursuing ‘the many’; it results in restlessness and emptiness. Therefore, ‘the many’ are the particulars, and the creation starts and ends with ‘the one’ (God).
The modern period brought a different level of debate on ‘the one’ and ‘the many’ in the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. The Renaissance period focuses on the one and the many in theological perspectives through the contrast of reason and faith. In the Enlightenment period, the debate was on the one and many regarding empiricism, idealism, and rationalism. The Renaissance was a period that allowed for learning, which allowed people to take up different religious teachings. The Enlightenment period presented the debate of faith and reason. It presented idealism, rationalism, and romanticism, emphasizing the one over the many, while empiricism preferred the many to the one. In the contemporary period, the debate on ‘the one’ and ‘the many’ progresses (Pate, 2010). It has philosophers discussing the nature of consciousness, the mind-body problem, and the fundamental constituents of reality, bringing the approach from diverse and unified perspectives.
Conclusively, the debate on ‘the one’ and ‘the many’ has progressed with different presentations of different timelines from 600 BC to today. The pre-Socratic period debated that the one and the many are interpreted as the nature of the world. However, there was a scientific concern that presented the classical period. The debate of the one and the many in this period stated that man is the measure of all things; therefore, knowledge is relative, where particulars pay no attention to ethics in the world. The debate focused on no universal standard ethics as various customs determine them. The debate during this time argued that change occurs in everything. Therefore, change is ‘the one,’ and it is experienced in ‘the many,’ which are the different forms of things. The medieval period debate was more theological, with the one referring to God while ‘the many represented God’s creation. The modern period debate of the one and the many in relation to faith and reason and philosophical arguments of idealism, empiricism, and rationalism emphasized the many. The contemporary period debate on the one and the many is directed by the religious aspect, presenting the different perspectives of one versus the many, focusing on the enlightenment of the people and materialism.
References
Pate, M. (2010). From Plato to Jesus: What does philosophy have to do with theology? Kregel Academy.
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