Editing Eclecticism (section)

==Origin<!--linked from 'Aetius'-->==
Eclecticism was first recorded to have been practiced by a group of [[Ancient Greek philosophy|ancient Greek]] and [[Roman philosophy|Roman philosopher]]s who attached themselves to no real system, but selected from existing philosophical beliefs those doctrines that seemed most reasonable to them.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Eclecticism |volume=8 |page=887}}</ref> Out of this collected material they constructed their new system of philosophy. The term comes from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐκλεκτικός}} (''eklektikos''), literally "choosing the best",<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica&nbsp;– in philosophy and theology, the practice of selecting doctrines from different systems of thought without adopting the whole parent system for each doctrine</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De%29klektiko%2Fs {{lang|grc|ἐκλεκτικός}}],
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref> and that from {{lang|grc|ἐκλεκτός}} (''eklektos''), "picked out, select".<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De%29klekto%2Fs {{lang|grc|ἐκλεκτός}}], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref> Well known eclectics in [[Greek philosophy]] were the Stoics [[Panaetius]] and [[Posidonius]], and the [[New Academic]]s [[Carneades]] and [[Philo of Larissa]]. Among the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Cicero]] was thoroughly eclectic, as he united the [[Peripatetic school|Peripatetic]], [[Stoicism|Stoic]], and New Academic doctrines. Philo's successor and Cicero's teacher [[Antiochus of Ascalon]] is credited with influencing the Academy so that it finally transitioned from [[Skepticism]] to Eclecticism.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy, 13th edition|last=Zeller|first=Eduard|publisher=Routledge|year=2001|isbn=9781315822976|location=Oxon|pages=253}}</ref> Other eclectics included [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] and [[Seneca the Younger]].

According to Rošker and Suhadolnik, however, even though eclecticism had a Greek origin, the term was rarely used and it was even given a negative connotation by historians of Greek thought, associating it with the description for impure and unoriginal thinking.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Yields of Transition: Literature, Art and Philosophy in Early Medieval China|last=Rošker|first=Jana|last2=Suhadolnik|first2=Natasa|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2011|isbn=9781443827140|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|pages=229}}</ref> Scholars such as [[Clement of Alexandria]] maintained that eclecticism had a long history in Greek philosophy and it is underpinned by a deeper metaphysical and theological conviction concerning the [[absolute (philosophy)|absolute]]/God as the source of all noble thoughts and that all parts of the truth can be found among the various philosophical systems.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Clement of Alexandria: A Project of Christian Perfection|last=Ashwin-Siejkowski|first=Piotr|publisher=T & T Clark|year=2008|isbn=9780567032874|location=London|pages=104}}</ref>