The birth of philosophy from the genesis of tragedy

The study is devoted to the analysis of the genesis of ancient philosophy, in particular, the influence of tragedy on the formation of Plato's philosophical thought. The relevance of the work is due to the need for an in-depth understanding of the origins of philosophy as an independent discipline, as well as the relationship between cultural, mythological and philosophical aspects of the ancient world. The novelty of the study lies in the consideration of Plato's philosophy as a result of rethinking the ancient tragedy and its key elements – mimesis and catharsis. The author offers an original view on the process of “privatization” of theory (θεωρία) by philosophy and its transformation from religious and mythological context into intellectual practice. The paper aims to trace the process of the formation of philosophy as an independent discipline through analyzing the influence of ancient tragedy on Plato's philosophical system, and to identify the key cultural and mythological preconditions of this process. The work uses historical-philosophical, cultural and comparative approaches to examine ancient philosophy in the context of its cultural and mythological origins. Special attention is paid to analyzing the works of O.M. Freidenberg, M. Heidegger and other researchers. The study is based on the analysis of texts of ancient authors (Plato, Aristotle), as well as modern interpretations of their works. The methods of historical reconstruction, conceptual analysis and intertextual comparison are used. The author concludes that Plato's philosophy is formed on the basis of rethinking the ancient tragedy, its key elements – mimesis and catharsis. Plato transforms the pre-philosophical understanding of θεωρία (contemplation) into intellectual practice, which becomes the basis for distinguishing philosophy as an independent discipline. The results of the study can be used in courses on the history of philosophy, cultural studies and ancient literature, as well as for further study of the relationship between philosophy and culture. A promising direction is an in-depth study of the influence of other elements of ancient culture on the formation of philosophical thought, as well as a comparative analysis of the philosophical systems of Plato and Aristotle in the context of their cultural origins. The article is recommended for specialists in the field of ancient philosophy, cultural studies and literary history, as well as for all those interested in the relationship between philosophy and culture.