Philosophical and Legal Views of the Ancient Greek Seven Sages and their Influence on Modern Ukrainian Jurisprudence

Abstract

Topicality. Just as it is difficult to imagine a river without a source, so without a study of the origins of law, we will not realize its spirit, justice and value. The origins of modern law date back to ancient times, arising from the realization by some people of that time that the processes taking place around them have not only a mythological, but also a rational character. It was in Ancient Greece in the 7^th–6^th centuries BC that people appeared who were not satisfied with the current explanations of the creation of the universe and the cosmos, only with myths about their creation by the gods and the key role of the latter over the processes existing in the universe. These people tried to find a rational explanation in natural phenomena, building on it their project of creating the universe, the cosmos and everything that surrounded them in their everyday life. Due to scientific discoveries, cultural achievements or management decisions, such people were called sages. Their crown was made by the so-called seven sages, whose lives are shrouded in legends, they were praised by poets in their works, and their wisdom was passed down from generation to generation, until today. Since wisdom is related to justice and is identified with it, the circle of interest of the sages did not bypass the state, law, law and the management system, and as a result – practically each of them left behind their own thoughts on the mentioned concepts. Such considerations could not leave us aside, and therefore the purpose of this article is a comprehensive study of the scientific heritage of the ancient Greek seven sages, the influence of their reasoning on the further development of law and the direct reflection of their wisdom in modern Ukrainian jurisprudence. Despite this, the level of research into the philosophical and legal heritage of the seven sages is extremely meager and is mostly reduced to a hasty mention of them by researchers of ancient Greek philosophy, without a detailed study of their reasoning. This gives the expected research considerable novelty, and the results of the research in this article give reason to come to the conclusion that the reasoning of the ancient Greek seven sages on the subject of the state, law and justice has a considerable influence on the formation of modern law, including Ukrainian law. Therefore, based on an onto-epistemological analysis using a historical-comparative methodological approach, this article presents the author's vision of the role and influence of the ancient Greek seven sages on the origin, development and formation of modern law in general and Ukrainian jurisprudence in particular. Which in its totality has great practical significance, because according to the authors, it can bring other researchers and everyone who is interested in the ancient Greek philosophy of law closer to a deeper understanding of the role of the seven sages on the path of the evolution of law from the beginning to the modern state.

Keywords: ancient Greek philosophy of law; seven sages; state; law; justice.