Philo of Alexandria and His Philosophy

Jewish Philosopher with Ideas Blended by its Greek Influence

Jul 13, 2009

Philosophy of Philo of Alexandria who believed that God should be worshiped from his Jewish upbringing, but with a Greek philosopher's view of God's nature.

Philo of Alexandria (c.20 BC – c. 54 AD), also known as Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandrinus, and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria. His works include On Abraham, Every Good Man is Free, and Hypothetica.

Philo used allegory to synthesize Greek philosophy and Jewish wisdom. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoic philosophy. His concept of the Logos as God's creative principle apparently influenced early Christology.

Philo of Alexandria was quite odd in classical thought. A Jew by birth and upbringing, he is mainly remembered for his philosophical commentaries on the scriptures.

His family, of a sacerdotal line, was one of the most powerful of the populous Jewish colony of Alexandria. His brother, Alexander Lysimachus, was steward to Anthony's second daughter, and married one of his sons to the daughter of Herod Agrippa.

Philo received a Jewish education, studying the laws and national traditions, but he also followed the Greek plan of studies which include grammar with reading of the poets, geometry, rhetoric, dialectics, regarded as a preparation for philosophy.

Philo's Earlier Influence

His works show that he had brilliant knowledge of the stoical theories then prevailing, and his thoughts greatly influenced by Plato. His great knowledge of Greco-Roman culture and philosophy was put to service in the defense of Judaism.

Particularly concerned with interpreting the Book of Moses in the Scriptures, his thought did not become popular with his Jewish contemporaries.

Philo Philosophy

Philo's reading of the Old Testament, and in particular the Book of Moses, takes a Platonic turn, and specifically the Plato of the Timaeus. He tried to show how universal truths were embedded in the Scriptures, long before the advent of ancient Greek philosophy.

For Philo, man is created by God, first as a form in the mind – or logos – of God, and next as a corporeal being possessed of an incorporeal soul, interpreted to mean that man is situated on the borderline between the divine and the non-divine.

Relating Philo's Ideas to Plato and Aristotle

Philo maintains that the two parts of the soul, the rational and the irrational, are bound together by the spirit, which still follows Plato's tripartite accounting of the soul.

He further combined Plato's ideas in the Republic with a dash of Aristotle, that the telos or goal of man is to become like a god, to reach out or return as much as possible to the divine source.

Legacy of Philo's Philosophy

Philo represents an unusual class of philosopher – that of an orthodox Jew with a slant for Greek intellectualism. By showing that what is valuable in Greek thought is already present in Judaism, he tries to defend and justify for the received wisdom of his culture.

One noted criticism on his scripture belief is that Greek philosophy has much strong influence on him enough to compromise his religious foundations. However, he exerted great influence on many early Christian scholars that followed him.

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