The Development of Philosophy in Malta

Anthony Zarb Dimech

The Thinker

The word Philosophy may give the impression of some abstract, metaphysical and profound logical reasoning and thinking without any real practical and immediate application in everyday life.

This feature reveals this reasoning cannot be farther from the truth and that the influence of Ancient Greek philosophical thought has formed to a large extent Western and Maltese way of thinking in a very unique and special way.

Since time immemorial, the challenges of philosophers remain the same; that of answering more deeply the same questions philosophy sought to answer since its very inception.

Indeed the quest for answers is still relevant to this very day as Philosophy brings to the fore in simple terms useful and interesting arguments for the protection of life, from its conception until death, among other important issues.

Philosophy in Greek is philo meaning love (a passion for) and sophia (knowledge). This entails the search for all kinds of knowledge which has a positive impact on life.

Every human being is born into a culture and tradition of thinking which the individual may not even be aware of in the use of daily semantics and connotations. But have we ever asked why we reason in such a manner?

Our national psyche is founded mainly on Western civilization values. Our thinking, reasoning and logic has been shaped and influenced by mainly European thinkers spanning over many centuries. This, not to mention, the home-grown and rich tradition of Maltese philosophers.

Greek Classical Philosophy

We cannot ignore the fact that our culture owes much to Ancient Greek Classical Philosophy. The three main proponents: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle influenced greatly Western thought nothwithstanding the fact that what these three philosophers proposed did not encompass or reflect the whole spectrum of philosophical thinking.

Still other philosophers used their teachings as a rich working base and developed further on the basis of these pioneers. Aristotle’s writings, like Plato’s, have influenced virtually every avenue of human knowledge pursued in the West (Latin Christianity) and the East (Greek Christianity in the Byzantine Eastern part of the Roman Empire).

At a European cultural level there is a common heritage as Chrisitianity set a pattern of worship, or morals, of conceptions of justice and law. Greek philosophy has penetrated much of the thinking of Europe. Later on in the 18th century it was given a new interpretation by other philosophers like Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau.

It follows that an appreciation of our individual and national philosophy requires tracing its very roots. Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the sixth century BCE and continued throughout the Hellenistic period. The importance of Greek philosophy spread like wildfire wherever the Greeks conquered through the imposition of Hellenism by Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great was influenced by his teacher, Aristotle.

It is no little wonder that Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of civilization The richness of the Greek language and culture during the Hellenistic period gave us a translation of the Greek Bible when a community of Jews during the Diaspora undertook the translation of the Old Testament (now known as the Septuagint). This was carried out in Alexandria in the third century BCE, at a time when Greek was the first language.

Later on, the impact of Ancient Greek Philosophy continued to leave its imprint on our Christian theology as both St Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century and St Thomas Aquinas in the 12th century (both considered as early Church Fathers) were deeply influenced by it in their writings.

It is an undeniable fact that Christianity and Judeo-Christian values play a major role in the Maltese Constitution and our legal system as the far-reaching principles by which our political, social, economic and religious systems operate. It is thus clear how Ancient Greek Philosophy’s influences have cascaded over time and are now embedded in our individual and national thinking patterns.

Maltese Philosophy

Maltese Philosophy may be divided into different historical periods or time blocks: • Pre-Knights Period (pre-1530) • Period of Knights Hospitallers

(1530–1798) • Inter-Regium

1813) • British Colonial Period (1813–

1964) • Post-Independence

(1964–) Period (1798– Period

The Rennaissance

The effects of the Rennaissance between the 14th and 16th century heralded an end to the Dark Ages of the Medieval period as print technology helped to spread the urge of the expansion of knowledge and progress and many Maltese started to have access to education and knowledge to what was before a strict surveillance on all aspects of scholarship.

The Age of Englightment

During the 18th century there were major philosophical and intellecutal developments as popular thinkers of this period such as John Locke (1632-1704) and Voltaire (1632-1704) challenged and criticised mainly the Roman Catholic Church, its dogmatism and authoritarianism.

In an age of revolutions starting with the American War of Independence (1775-1783) and up to the French Revolution (1789-1799) and beyond, a wave of revolutions in thought swept across Europe with the ideas of liberal philosophers took hold of minds. These ideas were translated in common language by some members of the elite and middle classes to the oppressed people to rebel and revolt at the established order that was inherently corrupt and hurting the masses of the lower ends of the population.

The Knights Period (15301798)

During the period of the Knights the influences of the Age of Enlightment and the French Revolution with its liberal ideals even affected the Knights Order, especially during the period of Napoleon’s invasion and the subsequent occupation in 1798. Two such Frenchmen were Pierre Jean Louis Ovide Doublet and Bosredon Ransijat. Doublet was then the Grand Master’s secretary for the French Langue and Ransijat, a wealthy and a highly-placed knight. Both were liberals and in favour of the Revolution. It was also no open secret that among the Knights there was a substantial number of sympathisers (some of whom had also Masonic affiliations) with the French Revoluntionary cause.

Mikiel Anton Vassalli (1764-1829)

A notable Maltese philosopher, Mikiel Anton Vassalli, was influenced by the Age of Enlightenment. He had a passion for intellectual enlightenment and learning. Added to this he wanted education to reach all classes of society. His ideas and approach for the political and social systems was thus based on the principles of the French Revolution namely Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Manwel Dimech (18601921)

Manuel Dimech was the preeminent social reformer in preindependence Malta, a philosopher, a journalist and a writer of novels and poetry who aimed at an overall transformation of society. Dimech’s was a pragmatic type of philosophy [Dimech called it ħsieb għall-għemil (thought for action)] which centred on the concept of emancipation.

Peter Serrancino-Inglott (1936-2012)

Philosophy Professor Joe Friggieri described Reverend Peter as, “an outstanding and original thinker, whose breadth of vision marked his achievements in so many different fields. The Maltese Church, the University and the country as a whole are deeply indebted to him”.

Contemporary Maltese Philosophy

The above are examples of just three Maltese philosophers. Many more are found in the book by Rev. Mark Montebello Filosofi Maltin. Rev. Montebello is himself a very active contributor in philosophy and literature, apart from being a lecturer of Philosophy at the Unviersity of Malta.

In his book, Rev. Montebello made a scientific analysis of the history of Malta’s philosophical tradition and the contribution of Maltese thinkers to philosophy. He established criteria for use as the basis on which these philosophers may be considered as Maltese philosophers. Some of these Maltese philosophers are living philosophers and contribute by way of articles in newspapers.

Another interesting book is LIstejjer tar-Ronny by Joe Friggieri. This book is a typical case of short stories used to explain in simple metaphorical expressions aspects of Maltese society. These stories have deep and profound thoughts which would otherwise be very difficult to express in another way. Indeed our local social media are full of such short stories because readers nowadays due to time constraints prefer short to the point stories which are easily understood.

Deep philosophical thought needs illustrative stories that make it easy to grasp the meaning behind the message. Sophie’s World is a 1991 novel by Norwegian writer Jostein Gaarder. It is a fine example of a basic introduction to philosophy in the form of a story and also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought.

Malta also has a Philosophy Sharing Foundation (PSF), which is a non-profit organisation founded in Malta in 2012. Its mission is to bring together philosophy enthusiasts; to inspire, strengthen and promote philosophical activity in the Maltese Islands; and to contribute towards society through Philosophy. The foundation does not adhere to, or profess, any single creed or ideology. The Foundation has its own magzine, Share.

An issue of ‘Share’ of the Philopshy Sharing Foundation Malta

Philosophy is becoming more and more a word of common usage and has entered into the world of management, internet and health, among many others.

Also, Ethics as a subject is being introduced and taught in nearly all colleges in Malta where the values of life are taught using basic philosophy.

Ethics and their influence on society and how we might act are assuming important dimension in society. We live in the Digital Age; a world dominated by the Internet where ethical values come into play such as in the role of morality in cyberspace, privacy and personal information on the internet and consumer privacy.

The role of Philosophy has permeated life and death issues and how we should regulate reproductive technology (IVFET, Morning After Pill, surrogacy and cloning), euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and deciding life and death.

Discussions on these matters challenges the person in the way he/she thinks and how to go about these delicate issues not only on an emotive level but learning how to think and understand opinions. There are idiotic opinions going around as well and therefore opinion should be based on rational and valid arguments.

Indeed the value of Philosophy in contemporary Maltese society is extremely relevant and challenging to find the ideal speech when putting the message across on ethical, controversial and delicate matters as humanity searches for the right answers for the betterment of our lives. Philosophy provides the assistance that simplifies matters and helps in providing the answers.