Philosophical doctrine in the works of Homer

The article notes the crucial role of Homer’s works in the appearance of the first European (ancient Greek) philosophy. Many scientific and educational books do not consider “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, the world-renowned works of Homer, as philosophical writings and define them as pre-philosophical knowledge. Based on the numerous texts of Homer and the scientific researches of the philosophers of the past centuries and the modern ones, the author proves that the writings of the first European thinker are a mature philosophical doctrine. This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that the main philosophical themes discussed by Homer (the doctrine of opposites, cosmological theory, the doctrine of fate (necessity)) have been studied by the philosophers both in ancient Greece and other countries in the next centuries. The novelty of this philosophical research is that in accordance with the significant historical and philosophical materials, the critical ratio between Homer’s philosophical doctrine and the teachings of the philosophers of the subsequent centuries is examined. The relevance of the article is based on the study of the current scientific publications devoted to the philosophical works of Homer that allows the author to be guided by the results of the study in his teaching activities.