# Philosophy – the Midwife of All Canons. All Have Passed Through the Hands of Philosophers - Author: Paul Csavdari - Site: MEKORAH - Content type: Article - Editorial status: Current position - Canonical URL: https://paulcsavdari.blog/2026/07/15/philosophy-the-midwife-of-all-canons-all-have-passed-through-the-hands-of-philosophers/ - Published: 2026-07-15T01:36:32+02:00 - Last revised: 2026-07-15T01:36:32+02:00 ## Subject Collections - [Philosophy and Religion](https://paulcsavdari.blog/ai/category/philosophy-and-religion.md): Articles examining the relationship between Greek philosophy, religious doctrine, biblical interpretation, and the historical development of theology. Canonical category page: https://paulcsavdari.blog/category/philosophy-and-religion/ ## Official Summary All canons appear after 280 BC. If we look at history, we notice a fact that few people discuss: none of the great religions of the world started out with a fixed “canon.” Before the 3rd century BC, traditions were oral, diverse, and fluid. Communities… ## Full Text *All canons appear after 280 BC.* If we look at history, we notice a fact that few people discuss: none of the great religions of the world started out with a fixed “canon.” Before the 3rd century BC, traditions were oral, diverse, and fluid. Communities preserved stories, hymns, legends, and rituals, but in forms that differed from place to place. Diversity was the rule. And yet, at a certain point, something changes. Instead of a plurality of texts and traditions, the idea of a single corpus appears, declared immutable, inspired by God or by the Absolute. The other versions are either forbidden, burned, or pushed to the margins. This is the moment when the religious canon is born. Who produced this mutation? Not the simple “natural evolution” of traditions, but Greek philosophy, inherited from the schools of Plato and Aristotle and absorbed into Hellenistic culture. Philosophy brings in two decisive ideas: 1. **Truth is one** – if truth is unique, there cannot be several parallel versions of it. 1. **Truth is for everyone** – therefore it must be formulated in a clear, ordered text, accessible to the wider community. These two principles, coupled with imperial power that enforced order, gave birth to the canon. From this point on, all major religions will repeat the same pattern: a single text is fixed, rival versions are eliminated, the language in which it was written is sacralized, and a class of interpreters is created to explain it. ### Judaism and the Septuagint – The First Philosophical Canon The first step was taken by Judaism, but not in Jerusalem—rather in Alexandria, the capital of Hellenistic Egypt. Around 280 BC, under the patronage of Ptolemy II, the Torah and other Jewish writings were translated into Greek. This translation is known as the Septuagint (LXX). Officially, it was meant as a help for Jews in the diaspora who no longer spoke Hebrew. In reality, it was more than that: a universalization of the Jewish tradition. The fluid text of the Jews now becomes an ordered corpus, accessible in the language of philosophy and science of that time. Behind the project stood Demetrios of Phaleron, a disciple of Theophrastus (from the Peripatetic school, the direct successor of Aristotle), who administered the Library of Alexandria. This is no accident: the library aimed to gather and classify all the books of the world. The Jewish canon was integrated into this project. It is also important to note another detail: after the destruction of the Temple (70 AD), Jewish rabbis at Jamnia (Yavne) narrowed the canon to what is today called the Tanakh—only 24 books, in Hebrew, without Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Maccabees, etc. In other words, the rabbinic canon is a nationalist reaction to the philosophical universalization of the LXX. But the first real canon, born in a Hellenistic environment, was the Septuagint. ### Buddhism – From Oral Sermons to the Tipitaka The case of Buddhism is even more telling. Gautama Buddha (6th century BC) left no written texts. His disciples preserved the sermons orally, each community according to memory. For three centuries, Buddhism was a fluid tradition without a single canon. Everything changes in the 3rd century BC under King Ashoka. He convenes councils, gathers the sermons, organizes them, and fixes them into three collections: Discourses, Discipline, Analyses (Abhidharma). These become the Tipitaka canon (“The Three Baskets”). Toward the end of the 1st century BC, the canon is committed to writing in Sri Lanka so that it would never be lost again. Of course, concepts such as samsara, karma, or moksha already existed in India before Alexander; they were common in Jainism and the Upanishads as well. But these do not yet constitute a universal religious canon. The essential difference is that only after contact with Greek philosophy does Buddhism move from an Indian doctrinal core to a fixed, dialectical, and paradox-laden canonical corpus, comparable to what happens later in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. The influence of Greek philosophy is visible in the context. The Indo-Greek kings, heirs of Alexander in northern India, came into direct dialogue with Buddhists. The most famous example is *The Questions of King Milinda* (*Milindapañha*)—a dialogue between the Greek king Menander (Milinda) and the Buddhist monk Nāgasena. The discussion is conducted in a strictly dialectical style, reminiscent of Platonic dialogues. Later, in the 1st century AD, Mahayana Buddhism appears, introducing radical philosophical paradoxes: Nirvana is identical with Samsara, the person does not exist and yet must be saved. These paradoxes do not destroy the canon; they make it even more dependent on philosophical commentary. The canon becomes not just a collection of texts, but an inexhaustible source for interpretation. ### Hinduism – From Orality to Canonical Epics At first glance, Hinduism seemed impossible to reduce to a canon: Vedic hymns transmitted orally, endless myths, tribal rituals. Hellenistic philosophy and the pressure for systematization changed this. Between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD, the later Upanishads appear, offering a philosophical interpretation: the individual soul (ātman) is identical with the absolute (brahman), and the world is illusion (maya). At the same time, the epics **Mahabharata** and **Ramayana** are compiled and written down. In the Mahabharata, the **Bhagavad Gita** is constructed as a philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna—very similar in structure to a Platonic dialogue. Here too, paradoxes appear: how can killing be an act of duty (dharma)? How can reality be an illusion and still morally bind us? The answers came through philosophical commentaries (the Vedānta and Mīmāṁsā schools). The canon does not exist without philosophy, and philosophy becomes the mandatory interpreter of the canon. ### Christianity – From Textual Chaos to the New Testament The first Christian communities read a variety of texts: multiple gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, but also the Gospel of Thomas, of Peter, of the Egyptians, and others), epistles (some authentic, others debatable), apocalypses (not just that of John). There was no single New Testament. After Constantine legalized Christianity, unity became urgent. An imperial religion could not function without a clear canon. In 367 AD, Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a festal letter in which, for the first time, he listed exactly the 27 books that constitute the New Testament as we know it today. The rest were declared apocryphal, heretical, or inauthentic. Greek philosophy was present from the beginning. Paul had been educated in Tarsus, a Stoic center. Justin Martyr was a Platonist. Origen studied under Ammonius Saccas, the teacher of Plotinus. The Cappadocian Fathers and Athanasius formulated the doctrine of the Trinity in philosophical terms: *ousia*, *hypostasis*. Universal Christianity is not just religion; it is primarily systematic philosophy applied to the text. It is also important to say something else: the message of Jesus had a moral universalism—a call for the human being to live in truth and love. What historical Christianity became is a philosophical universalism, built through canon and dogma. ### Islam – The Uthmanic Canon Islam arose in the 7th century in Arabia. Muhammad recited the verses; his companions memorized them or wrote them on leaves and bones. After his death, different versions existed. Around 650 AD, Caliph Uthman ordered a standard version to be produced and all others to be burned. Thus the Qur’anic canon was born. Here, the same pattern repeats: a single text, rival versions burned, sacralization of the language (Classical Arabic). No translation is considered equivalent. Paradoxes and lexical ambiguities make the text dependent on interpretation (*tafsīr*). Arab philosophers (al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes) soon came to impose coherence through Aristotelian logic. The canon was “fixed by fire” but explained through philosophy. ### Protestantism – The “Reduced” Canon The last major episode of canonization appears in the Protestant Reformation. Luther removed from the Old Testament the “deuterocanonical” books (Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, etc.), keeping only what is in the Jewish Tanakh. The New Testament remains the same—27 books. But the success of this “reduction” did not come from theological purity, but from the support of German princes, who saw in the Reformation a chance to free themselves from Rome. The pattern is the same: a decision about the canon + political power to enforce it. ### The Canon – An Instrument of Power In all these cases, we see the same Greek logic of the canon: truth becomes norm through a fixed text, interpreted by an authorized caste, in the service of political power. Emperors and rulers gained, through this system, a double guarantee: ideological unity and the obedience of their subjects. Philosophers and theologians, in turn, gained a privileged position as “interpreters of the canon.” And the people lost the freedom to judge for themselves and were trapped in the formula: “It is written—therefore it is so.” The fact is that neither Jesus, nor Buddha, nor even Muhammad wrote a canon. They preached, lived, and transmitted their message orally. The canon always appeared after them, through the hand of those who had an interest in turning a spiritual movement into an institution. Therefore, the canon is not the expression of revelation, but an instrument of power. It fixes a single truth, eliminates alternatives, and creates an authority whose task is to administer interpretation. ## All Have Passed Through the Hands of Philosophers Viewed as a whole, the picture is clear: - All major religions initially had a plurality of texts. - All fixed their canon only after the 3rd century BC. - All did so under political support (king, emperor, caliph, prince). - All deliberately eliminated rival versions. - All introduced paradoxes that require interpretation. - All produced an elite of mediators and sacralized a particular language. Therefore, the canon is not a gift of the divine but a product of philosophy and power. Anyone who reads a “sacred text” and considers it eternal and unchangeable must understand that the text passed through the hands of philosophers, through the fire of book-burnings, and under the seal of emperors. What each religion presents as “eternal and immutable” is, in fact, a late construct, born in the Hellenistic age. Universal religion does not exist without canon, and canon does not exist without philosophy. This is why philosophy is the midwife of all canons. ## Essential Chronology **c. 280 BC** – The Septuagint (LXX) in Alexandria. Translation of the Torah and other Jewish texts into Greek under Ptolemy II. The Library of Alexandria, administered by Demetrios of Phaleron (disciple of Theophrastus, Aristotelian school), integrates the Jewish text into the philosophical project of universal classification. **c. 250 BC – 1st century BC** – The Buddhist councils under King Ashoka. Buddha’s sermons are gathered and fixed as the Tipitaka (“Three Baskets”). By the end of the 1st century BC, the canon is written down in Sri Lanka. **2nd century BC – 2nd century AD** – The late Upanishads, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana. Hinduism moves from orality to canonical compilations. The Bhagavad Gita is composed as a philosophical dialogue. **325 AD** – The Council of Nicaea: the trinitarian dogma is fixed politically. **367 AD** – Athanasius of Alexandria (Festal Letter 39) lists for the first time exactly the 27 books of the New Testament. The list becomes standard. **c. 650 AD** – Caliph Uthman orders the creation of a standard version of the Qur’an and the burning of all other variants. **1517–1555 AD** – The Protestant Reformation. Luther removes the deuterocanonical books from the Old Testament. The survival of the new version depends on the support of German princes (political, military, financial). ## Direct Links with Philosophy **Judaism (LXX):** Demetrios of Phaleron, disciple of Theophrastus (Peripatetic school, heir of Aristotle), organizes the translation and classification. The Library of Alexandria was a philosophical project of totalizing knowledge. **Buddhism:** *The Questions of Milinda* (Milindapañha) – a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander and the monk Nāgasena. The dialectical structure is clearly inspired by Greek philosophy. **Hinduism:** The Bhagavad Gita has the form of a philosophical dialogue; the Vedānta and Mīmāṁsā schools use logical instruments similar to the Stoics. Indo-Hellenistic influence is visible. **Christianity:** Paul, educated in Tarsus (Stoic center); Justin Martyr, a Platonist; Origen, student of Ammonius Saccas; the Cappadocians and Athanasius all work in a Platonic-Aristotelian conceptual language. **Islam:** The canon is politically fixed by Uthman, but philosophy enters immediately: al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes—all interpret the Qur’an through Aristotelian logic. **Protestantism:** Erasmus and Melanchthon, humanists and Renaissance philosophers; Luther, formed in Aristotelian scholasticism. The reduced canon is legitimized through philology and philosophy. ## Seven Universal Constants 1. **Political/imperial power imposes the canon** (Ptolemy, Ashoka, Constantine, Uthman, German princes). 1. **Elimination of variants:** burning, prohibition, labeling as “apocryphal.” 1. **Internal paradoxes:** every canon contains contradictions that require interpretation. 1. **Obsession with the One:** truth must be unique and universal. 1. **Creation of a mediator elite:** rabbis, brahmins, priests, imams, doctors of the Church. 1. **Sacralization of the canonical language:** Hebrew, Greek, Sanskrit/Pali, Arabic. Language becomes a barrier and tool of control. 1. **Exclusion of rival communities:** Samaritans, Gnostics, “heretical” Buddhist schools, Shia/Sunni splits. Thus we see the same pattern everywhere. The religious canon does not arise “naturally” from the life of the community. It is the product of Greek philosophy and political power, replicated in Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Protestantism. In every case we find the same mechanisms: power deciding, variants burned, paradoxes that require interpreters, sacralized language, and exclusion of rivals. All canons passed through the same mold. But neither Jesus, nor Buddha, nor Muhammad wrote any canon. They preached, lived, and inspired. The canon appeared only after them, through the hands of those who had an interest in turning a spiritual movement into an institution. From Alexandria to Uthman, from Ashoka to Luther, the mechanism repeated: political power imposed a single text, philosophy gave it the necessary language and paradoxes, and the remaining versions were eliminated. This is why the canon is not a gift of the divine, but the instrument through which Power and Philosophy fixed a single truth and controlled interpretation. ## The Canon – The Closing of Truth The idea of “bringing order” to texts, of separating “inspired” writings from “apocrypha,” comes directly from Greek philosophy. Aristotle invented classification by “categories,” based on “essences.” Exactly the same mechanism was applied to religious writings: from a plurality of traditions, a single version was imposed, declared “truth,” and the rest were eliminated. Thus the canon was born. But through the canon, truth was locked in. Instead of being allowed to manifest freely and prove itself, it was constrained, domesticated, and carried through the world as the property of those who “fixed” it. The canon turned revelation into an asset administered by an elite. And here lies the genius of philosophy: not in discovering truth, but in creating mechanisms through which any idea, once imposed as “truth,” can unify the masses and bring them under control. The canon was only the beginning. After it came dogmas, councils, excommunications—until philosophy itself, through the Enlightenment, declared that all who still believe in canons are “naive,” and imposed secularism as the new “universal truth.” Thus, the story of the canon is not about revelation, but about power. ## Attribution The interpretations and conclusions belong to Paul Csavdari. The AI-generated voice is the narrator, not the author. © Paul Csavdari. All rights reserved.