The first thing that stands out to me when observing the ancient world is how the ancients had a sense of youthful exuberance, exploration, and liveliness that seems to have dissipated in modern times; some call this disenchantment. It was an age of warriors, heroes, kings, and gods. Described here, in the novel Piranesi:
The Ancients had a different way of relating to the world...they experienced it as something that interacted with them. When they observed the world, the world observed them back. If, for example, they travelled in a boat on a river, then the river was in some way aware of carrying them on its back and had in fact agreed to it. When they looked up to the stars, the constellations were not simply patterns enabling them to organise what they saw, they were vehicles of meaning, a never-ending flow of information. The world was constantly speaking to Ancient Man.
I do not naively believe that we can—or should—seek to reinstate the ancient world unchanged. Much has changed from then for the better, both ethically and technologically: few desire to re-live the gruelling, subsistence level life of a peasant. There is, however, a middle ground between reactionary and the progress for the sake of progress worldviews. Thus, the ancient world can and should be a source of inspiration even unto these times, and we can bring what is valuable from the ancient world into the modern world. Things that are ancient can still change, grow, evolve, and improve. We can, informed by modern conditions or science, adapt ancient ideas of mental techniques, sacrifice, or rituals, without copying them unchanged. Yet, I believe that there are certain underlying truths and observations about the human condition that are timeless, that were as evident 5,000 years ago as they are now, and that any intellectual system worth its salt will have commonalities and connections with much of human lore.
The ancients believed that life was holistic, that the mind, body, and soul were connected, that the individual, society, and environment were organically tied together, and that past, present, and future were linked together in a chain. The world was enchanted—alive in a way—and was not the product of randomness or chaos. Rather, it was upheld by what we would today call natural law, a concept universal to almost all cultures—dharma, tao, ma’at, logos, etc.—a way of the world that governs people, actions, and the universe, and can be approached through spirituality and reason, both.
Indeed, a key component of many ancient systems of thought is that the same ends can be pursued through different paths, or permutations thereof. And any holistic system would encourage the self-cultivation of mind, body, and spirit, which require different types of exercises. (Here it must be clarified, of course, that different cultures had differing conceptions of what natural law meant. But the commonality is a belief that there is a truth and structure behind all things that could be sought out.)
Whilst this is an oversimplification of the philosophies undergirding numerous disparate civilizations—and I have various ethical and philosophical quibbles with many ancient views—this description summarizes the gist of many ancient beliefs; I believe that the values and worldviews of the ancients are an excellent guide to life in contemporary times, and even when engaging with the ancients without agreeing with them is productive. Nor is the tradition that I would call “the way of the ancients” consigned to ancient history, as the beliefs associated with the Renaissance and Enlightenment, and various other revivalist movements outside of the West grew out of or in dialogue with ancient traditions. It also goes without saying that much of the ancient tradition carried over into the “Middle Ages,” although in my view, some of the “vibe” changes as classical civilizations gave way to medieval ones, even beyond the Mediterranean (readers will note that I have not specified dates for the “ancient era,” as my intention here is not approach this in a rigid, chronological manner).
My interest in “the way of the ancients” is not based specifically on the Western tradition, but draws from all the ancient traditions of the world, particularily India, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast and East Asia, the West, as well as some of the civilizations of Africa and the Americas (although due to personal inclinations, I do have more interest in India, the West, and the Middle East, which together formed a connected “world” in ancient times, largely seperate and isolated from the “worlds” of China and the Americas.)
In terms of actually explaining and analyzing the world, history, and social developments, I lean toward functionalist and evolutionary explanations based on empirical observations. But in terms of appreciating and grappling with the world, and in terms of having a philosophy of life, I think there is a great value in extrapolating much from “the way of the ancients.” (Are these two approaches contradictory? I think not: for example, institutions that evolve for functional reasons may still be the source of insights on human nature and other truths.) It is certainly flexible and elastic enough to accommodate a wide range of cosmopolitan ideas and new information, while also being time-tested enough to provide a solid framework, emphasizing certain virtues over others (i.e. courage, justice, truth, moderation, wisdom, and honor.)
Nor is it inherently political or ideological, and does not lend itself to any particular ideological system, philosophy, or religion, and indeed transcends many contemporary political categories. It could be simultaenously aristocratic and socialistic, and both universalist and localist in some ways, for example. It is a middle path between the extremes of dogmatic and rigid religiosity and nationalism on one hand, and postmodernism, relativism, and the abolition and deconstruction of all things on the other. Even if there is a oneness to the universe and all beings, as many of the ancients would have us believe, there are still gradations and distinctions within this oneness in the manifest world.
Why am I articulating these ideas here and now? When I suggest I admire and wish to incorporate the “way of the ancients” into my life, it is not an advocacy of a specific program or ideology, but a dialogue with and study of the ancients in a way that will hopefully be fruitful for me.
For once, I’ve always had a fascination with the ancient world and an admiration for the joie de vivre that has been passed down to us. I’m very interested in writing about and learning more about the particulars of ancient civilizations—more history than philosophy, to be honest—and analyzing new discoveries.
I am increasingly convinced that society is a great state of flux when it comes to ideologies. If some of my ideas prove helpful to others, great. Old religions are declining, the Enlightenment values that were gaining in prominance over the past two centuries are out of vogue, and positivism does not seem to have the hold on minds that it used to—this is not saying that these things were universally good—but the ideological void in modern societies seems to be growing. To fill this gap, there are many views of the ancients worth exploring.