SEJARAH PEMIKIRAN ZAMAN KUNO: MESIR, YUNANI DAN CINA

Abstrak

Sejarah pemikiran zaman kuno di peradaban Mesir, Yunani, dan Cina menjadi fondasi intelektual peradaban modern, di mana Mesir menekankan keseimbangan kosmis melalui konsep Maat dan ritual keagamaan, Yunani mengembangkan rasionalitas kritis via filsuf seperti Socrates, Plato, dan Aristoteles beserta demokrasi polis, serta Cina memprioritaskan harmoni sosial melalui Konfusianisme, Taoisme, dan Legalisme yang membentuk etika politik serta Mandat Langit. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi asal-usul, perkembangan, tokoh, dan kontribusi pemikiran ketiga peradaban tersebut untuk memahami landasan ideologis yang masih relevan hingga kini. Metode sejarah diterapkan melalui tahapan heuristik (pengumpulan sumber), kritik sumber (eksternal dan internal), interpretasi data, serta historiografi untuk menyusun narasi runtut. Hasil dari analisis mengungkap perbedaan khas: Mesir religius-ritualistik, Yunani rasional-sistematis, dan Cina pragmatis-kolektif, dengan pengaruh luas pada etika, politik, ilmu pengetahuan, serta budaya kontemporer. Disimpulkan bahwa pemikiran kuno ini saling melengkapi dalam evolusi peradaban manusia, menawarkan perspektif luas tentang problem eksistensial dan praktis.

The history of ancient thought in Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese civilizations became the intellectual foundation of modern civilization, in which Egypt emphasized cosmic balance through the concept of Maat and religious rituals, Greece developed critical rationality through philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, along with polis democracy, and China prioritized social harmony through Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, which shaped political ethics and the Mandate of Heaven. This study aims to explore the origins, development, figures, and contributions of the thinking of these three civilizations to understand the ideological foundations that are still relevant today. The historical method was applied through the stages of heuristics (source collection), source criticism (external and internal), data interpretation, and historiography to compile a coherent narrative. The results of the analysis reveal distinctive differences: Egypt was religious-ritualistic, Greece was rational-systematic, and China was pragmatic-collective, with a broad influence on ethics, politics, science, and contemporary culture. It is concluded that these ancient thoughts complement each other in the evolution of human civilization, offering a broad perspective on existential and practical problems.