Sources of Metaphilosophy: Philosophy at Different Stages of Ancient Culture

The concept of “metaphilosophy” appeared in the 40s XX century, though it is based on the positions of antique philosophy. Understanding of this phenomenon of culture can be found in philosophy from the early stages of its existence. The authors considered the philosophical discourse from the position of historical-philosophical and metaphilosophical methods combined. The research was aimed at studying the transformation of understanding and functioning of philosophy of the ancient philosophical tradition and its peculiarities at all stages of development. It was found that in the pre-classical period of ancient Greek culture, philosophy functioned primarily as intelligence about nature and later became a striving for wisdom and knowledge. A philosopher was perceived as a practitioner of what he taught, wrote and researched. The further development of metaphilosophy was influenced by a two-vector understanding of ancient philosophy – theoretical and practical