DOCSLIB.ORG

Chapter I., the Milesian School

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chapter I., the Milesian School CHAPTER I., THE MILESIAN SCHOOL 1. MiletusandLydia 2. Origin 3. TheEclipseForetoldby Thales 4. DateofThales 5. ThalesinEgypt 6. ThalesandGeometry 7. ThalesasaPolitician 8. UncertainCharacteroftheTradition 9. TheCosmologyofThales 10. Water 11. Theology 12. TheLifeofAnaximander 13. TheophrastusonAnaximander'sTheoryofthePrimarySubstance 14. ThePrimarySubstanceisNotOneoftheElements 15. Aristotle'sAccountoftheTheory 16. ThePrimarySubstanceisInfinite 17. TheInnumerableWorlds 18. "EternalMotion"andthe Dinê 19. OriginoftheHeavenlyBodies 20. EarthandSea 21. TheHeavenlyBodies 22. Animals 23. TheLifeofAnaximenes 24. HisBook 25. TheoryofthePrimarySubstances 26. RarefactionandCondensation 27. Air 28. TheWorldBreathes 29. ThePartsoftheWorld 30. InnumerableWorlds 31. InfluenceofAnaximenes 30 1.MiletusandLydia IT was at Miletos that the earliest school of scientific cosmology hadits home, andit is not, perhaps, without significance that Miletos is just the place where the continuity of AegeanandIonian civilisation is most clearly marked.1 The Milesians had come into conflict more than once with the Lydians, whose rulers were bent onextending their dominiontothe coast; but, towards the endof the seventhcentury B.C., the tyrant Thrasyboulos succeededin making terms withKing Alyattes, and an alliance was concludedwhichsecuredMiletos against molestationfor the future. Evenhalf a century later, when Croesus, resuming his father's forward policy, made war upon and conquered Ephesos, Miletos was able tomaintainthe old treaty-relation, andnever, strictly speaking, became subject tothe Lydians at all. The Lydian connexion, moreover, favouredthe growth of science at Miletos. What was calledat a later date Hellenism seems tohave been traditional inthe dynasty of the Mermnadai, and Herodotos says that all the "sophists" of the time flockedtothe court of Sardeis.2 The traditionwhich represents Croesus as the "patron" of Greek wisdom was fully developed in the fifth century; and, however unhistorical its details may be, it must clearly have some foundation in fact. Particularly noteworthy is "the commontale among the Greeks," that Thales accompaniedCroesus onhis luckless campaignagainst Pteria, apparently inthe capacity of military engineer. Herodotos disbelieves the story that he divertedthe course of the Halys, but only because he knew there were bridges there already. It is clear that the Ionians were great engineers, and that they were employed as such by the eastern kings.3 It shouldbe added that the Lydian alliance would facilitate intercourse with BabylonandEgypt. Lydia was anadvancedpost of Babylonianculture, andCroesus was onfriendly terms withthe kings of Egypt andBabylon. Amasis of Egypt hadthe same Hellenic sympathies as Croesus, andthe Milesians possessedatempleoftheirownatNaukratis. I. THALES 2.Origin The founder of the Milesianschool, andtherefore the first manof science, was Thales;4 but all we canreally be saidtoknow of him comes from Herodotos, andthe Tale of the SevenWise Menwas already inexistence when he wrote. He says that Thales was of Phoeniciandescent, a statement which other writers explainedby saying he belongedtoa noble house descendedfrom Kadmos andAgenor.5 Herodotos probably mentions the supposeddescent of Thales simply because he was believedtohave introduced certain improvements in navigation from Phoenicia.6 At any rate, his father's name, Examyes, lends nosupport tothe view that he was a Semite. It is Karian, andthe Karians hadbeen 31 almost completely assimilatedby the Ionians. On the monuments we find Greek andKariannames alternatinginthesamefamilies,whilethenameThalesisotherwiseknownasCretan.Thereistherefore noreasontodoubt that Thales was of pure Milesian descent, thoughhe probably hadKarianbloodin hisveins.7 3.TheEclipseForetoldbyThales Themost remarkablestatementHerodotosmakesaboutThalesis thatheforetoldtheeclipseof the sunwhichput anend tothe war betweenthe Lydians andthe Medes.8 Now, he was quite ignorant of the cause of eclipses. Anaximander andhis successors certainly were so,9 andit is incredible that the explanation should have been given and forgotten so soon. Even supposing Thales had known the cause of eclipses, such scraps of elementary geometry as he picked up in Egypt would never have enabledhim tocalculate one. Yet the evidence for the predictionis toostrong tobe rejectedoff-hand. The testimony of Herodotos is said to have been confirmed by Xenophanes,10 and according to Theophrastos Xenophanes was a disciple of Anaximander. Inany case, he must have knownscores of people whowere able to remember what happened. The predictionof the eclipse is therefore better attestedthananyotherfactaboutThaleswhatsoever. Now it is possible topredict eclipses of the moon approximately without knowing their true cause, andthere is nodoubt that the Babylonians actually didso. It is generally stated, further, that they hadmade outa cycle of 223 lunar months, within whicheclipses of the sunandmoonrecurredat equal intervals of time.11 This, however, wouldnot have enabledthem topredict eclipses of the sun for a givenspot onthe earth's surface; for these phenomena are not visible at all places where the sunis above the horizon at the time. We do not occupy a position at the centre of the earth, and the geocentric parallax has tobe takenintoaccount. It wouldonly, therefore, be possible to tell by means of the cycle that aneclipse of the sunwouldbe visible somewhere, andthat it might be worthwhile to look out for it, though anobserver at a givenplace might be disappointedfive times out of six. Now, if we may judge from reports by Chaldaeanastronomers whichhave beenpreserved, this was just the positionof the Babylonians inthe eighthcentury B.C. They watchedfor eclipses at the proper dates; and, if they did not occur, they announced the fact as a good omen.12 To explain what we are told about Thales nomore is required. He saidthere wouldbe aneclipse by a certaindate; andluckily it was visibleinAsiaMinor,andonastrikingoccasion.13 4.TheEclipseForetoldbyThales The predictionof the eclipse does not, then, throw any light onthe scientific attainments of Thales;but,ifwecanfixitsdate,itwillgiveusanindicationofthetimeatwhichhelived.Astronomers 32 have calculatedthat there was aneclipse of the sun, probably visible inAsia Minor, onMay 28 (O.S.), 585 B.C., while Pliny gives the date of the eclipse foretoldby Thales as Ol. XLVIII.4 (585/4 B.C.).14 This does not exactly tally; for May 585 belongs to the year 586/5 B.C. It is near enough, however, to justify us inidentifying the eclipse as that of Thales,15 andthis is confirmedby Apollodoros, who fixed his floruit inthe same year.16 The further statement inDiogenes that, according toDemetrios Phalereus, Thales"receivedthenameofwise"inthearchonshipofDamasiasatAthens, reallyreferstotheTale of the SevenWise Men,as is shownby the words whichfollow, andis doubtless basedonthe story of the Delphictripod;forthearchonshipofDamasiasistheeraoftherestorationof thePythianGames.17 5.ThalesinEgypt The introductionof Egyptiangeometry intoHellas is ascribedtoThales,18 andit is probable that he did visit Egypt; for he had a theory of the inundations of the Nile. Herodotos19 gives three explanations of the fact that this alone of all rivers rises in summer and falls in winter; but, as his custom is, he does not name their authors. The first, however, whichattributes the rise of the Nile to the Etesianwinds, is ascribed to Thales in the Placita,20 and by many later writers. Now, this comes from a treatise onthe Rise of the Nile attributedtoAristotle andknowntothe Greek commentators, but extant only ina Latinepitome of the thirteenthcentury.21 Inthis the first of the theories mentioned by Herodotos is ascribed to Thales, the second to Euthymenes of Massalia, and the third to Anaxagoras. Where didAristotle, or whoever wrote the book, get these names? We think naturally of Hekataios; andthis conjecture is strengthenedwhen we findthat Hekataios mentionedEuthymenes.22 We may conclude that Thales really was inEgypt; and, perhaps, that Hekataios, indescribing the Nile, tookaccount,aswasnatural,ofhisfellow-citizen's views. 6.ThalesandGeometry As to the nature and extent of the mathematical knowledge brought back by Thales from Egypt, it must be pointed out that most writers have seriously misunderstood the character of the tradition.23 Inhis commentary onthe First Book of Euclid, Proclus enumerates, onthe authority of Eudemos, certain propositions which he says were known to Thales,24 one of which is that two triangles are equal when they have one side and the two adjacent angles equal. This he must have known, as otherwise he couldnot have measuredthe distances of ships at sea inthe way he was saidto have done.25 Here we see how all these statements arose. Certainfeats inthe way of measurement were traditionally ascribedtoThales, andEudemos assumedthat he must have knownall the propositions these imply. But this is quite illusory. Boththe measurement of the distance of ships at sea, andthat of the height of the pyramids, whichis alsoascribedtohim,26 are easy applications of the rule givenby Aahmes for finding the seqt.27 What the traditionreally points tois that Thales appliedthis empirical 33 rule topractical problems whichthe Egyptians had never faced, andthat he was thus the originator of generalmethods.Thatisasufficienttitletofame. 7.ThalesasaPolitician Thales appears once more inHerodotos some time before the fall of the Lydianmonarchy. He is saidtohave urgedthe IonianGreeks tounite in a federal state withits
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 1 Unit 2 Pre-Socratic Thinkers and Their Contribution
    UNIT 2 PRE-SOCRATIC THINKERS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION Contents 2.0 Objectives 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Pre-Socratic Thinkers 2.3 The Schools of the Pre-Socratics 2.4 The Ionian School or The Milesian School 2.5 The Pythagorean Brotherhood 2.6 The Eleatic School 2.7 The Atomist School 2.8 Challenges to the Study of Pre-Socratics: 2.9 The Pre-Socratics as Scientists 2.10 So can we call Anaximanes a Scientist? 2.11 The Pre-Socratics and their Predecessors: 2.12 Pre-Socratics and Modern science 2.13 Let Us Sum Up 2.14 Key Words 2.15 Further Readings and References 2.16 Answers to Check Your Progress 2.0 OBJECTIVES This unit will help us to understand the following: • Who are the Pre-Socratics • Schools of the Pre-Socratics era • Pre-Socratics as Proto-Scientists or First Scientists • Pre-Socratics and modern Science. 1 2.1 INTRODUCTION It has become an academic sutra to say that the entire academic edifice of the western world is founded on firm foundation laid down by the Greeks. This revolution is said to have taken place in the sixth century BCE. But we know that science began even before the Greek period. Civilizations that developed around the basins of great rivers –the Nile, the Euphrates with the Tigris and the Indus manifest a lot of scientific know-how. These people developed science to meet their existential needs. But it was Greeks who discovered the philosophical explanation that led to the birth of theoretical science. This is accepted as their singular contribution as their contribution led to what we might call the scientific approach to the study of nature.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy Sunday, July 8, 2018 12:01 PM
    Philosophy Sunday, July 8, 2018 12:01 PM Western Pre-Socratics Fanon Heraclitus- Greek 535-475 Bayle Panta rhei Marshall Mcluhan • "Everything flows" Roman Jakobson • "No man ever steps in the same river twice" Saussure • Doctrine of flux Butler Logos Harris • "Reason" or "Argument" • "All entities come to be in accordance with the Logos" Dike eris • "Strife is justice" • Oppositional process of dissolving and generating known as strife "The Obscure" and "The Weeping Philosopher" "The path up and down are one and the same" • Theory about unity of opposites • Bow and lyre Native of Ephesus "Follow the common" "Character is fate" "Lighting steers the universe" Neitzshce said he was "eternally right" for "declaring that Being was an empty illusion" and embracing "becoming" Subject of Heideggar and Eugen Fink's lecture Fire was the origin of everything Influenced the Stoics Protagoras- Greek 490-420 BCE Most influential of the Sophists • Derided by Plato and Socrates for being mere rhetoricians "Man is the measure of all things" • Found many things to be unknowable • What is true for one person is not for another Could "make the worse case better" • Focused on persuasiveness of an argument Names a Socratic dialogue about whether virtue can be taught Pythagoras of Samos- Greek 570-495 BCE Metempsychosis • "Transmigration of souls" • Every soul is immortal and upon death enters a new body Pythagorean Theorem Pythagorean Tuning • System of musical tuning where frequency rations are on intervals based on ration 3:2 • "Pure" perfect fifth • Inspired
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of Cosmos in Milesian Philosophy
    The Concept of Cosmos in Milesian Philosophy Viivi Lähteenoja 19 July 2017 Tiedekunta/Osasto – Fakultet/Sektion – Laitos – Institution – Department Faculty Humanistinen tiedekunta Filosofian, historian, kulttuurin ja taiteiden tutkimuksen laitos Tekijä – Författare – Author Viivi Esteri Lähteenoja Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title The Concept of Cosmos in Milesian Philosophy Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Teoreettinen filosofia Työn laji – Arbetets art – Aika – Datum – Month and Sivumäärä– Sidoantal – Number of pages Level year Pro gradu -tutkielma 19 heinäkuuta 2017 83 Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract Tämä tutkielma käsittelee kreikan sanan kosmos käyttöä aikaisessa esisokraattisessa filosofiassa, eli miletoslaisten Thaleen, Anaksimandroksen, sekä Anaksimeneen ajattelussa. Tutkielman tavoite on haastaa nykyään yleinen ajatus siitä, että miletoslaiset olisivat olleet puhtaita luonnonfilosofeja, tutkimalla moniselitteisen kosmos-sanan käyttöä. Tämä saavutetaan kokoamalla kaikki näitä ajattelijoita koskevat tekstit, joissa kyseinen sana esiintyy. Ensin tekstit käännetään alkukielestä ja ne analysoidaan filologisesti. Filologisten havaintojen perusteella tekstit asetetaan seuraavaksi niiden filosofiseen kontekstiin, jolloin voidaan osallistua kirjallisuudessa käytävään keskusteluun näiden ajattelijoiden kokonaisfilosofiasta. Lopuksi esitetään vielä excursus liittyen kahteen muuhun keskeiseen esisokraattiseen termiin, phusis ja arkhê. Taustalla tässä työtavassa on ajatus siitä, että esisokraattisen filosofian tutkimuksessa on vuosisatojen
    [Show full text]
  • Master Essay Question List, Exam #1
    PHIL 320: HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY STUDY QUESTIONS FOR MID-TERM EXAM Milesians 1. What ideas do Thales and Anaximander have in common? Where do they disagree? What, do you suppose, accounts for their disagreement? 2. Explain the role of the apeiron in Anaximander’s system. Discuss at least two possible interpretations of what Anaximander means by ‘apeiron’. 3. Discuss and amplify, if you can, the claim (made by Bertrand Russell) that “the Milesian school is important, not for what it achieved, but for what it attempted.” 4. What was Anaximander’s objection to making a common element (such as water, as Thales had proposed) the archê? How did Anaximenes, who proposed air as the archê, avoid this objection? 5. It is often claimed that Anaximenes attempted to account for qualitative differences in quantitative terms. What can be said in favor of this claim? What can be said against it? 6. Compare the role of the traditional Greek elements in the theories of Anaximander and Anaximenes. Discuss the importance of the notion of opposition in each of the theories. 7. Compare the role of the notion of opposition in the theories of Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Heraclitus. Heraclitus 1. The notion of logos plays an important role in Heraclitus’s thought. Explain, in as much detaill as you can, what the notion is and what role it plays. 2. According to Plato, Heraclitus said that it is impossible to step into the same river twice. Heraclitus’s own words, in fragment 12, read as follows: “Upon those that step into the same rivers different and different waters flow .
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Greek Philosophy. Part 1. Pre-Socratic Greek Philosophers
    Ancient Greek Philosophy. Part 1. Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers. The pre-Socratic philosophers rejected traditional mythological explanations for the phenomena they saw around them in favor of more rational explanations. Many of them asked: From where does everything come? From what is everything created? How do we explain the plurality of things found in nature? How might we describe nature mathematically? The Milesian school was a school of thought founded in the 6th Century BC. The ideas associated with it are exemplified by three philosophers from the Ionian town of Miletus, on the Aegean coast of Anatolia: Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. They introduced new opinions contrary to the prevailing viewpoint on how the world was organized. Philosophy of nature These philosophers defined all things by their quintessential substance (which Aristotle calls the arche) of which the world was formed and which was the source of everything. Thales thought it to be water. But as it was impossible to explain some things (such as fire) as being composed of this element, Anaximander chose an unobservable, undefined element, which he called apeiron. He reasoned that if each of the four traditional elements (water, air, fire, and earth) are opposed to the other three, and if they cancel each other out on contact, none of them could constitute a stable, truly elementary form of matter. Consequently, there must be another entity from which the others originate, and which must truly be the most basic element of all. The unspecified nature of the apeiron upset critics, which caused Anaximenes to define it as being air, a more concrete, yet still subtle, element.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Philosophy Macmillan and Co., Limited London Bombay Calcutta - Madras Melbourne the Macmillan Company New York Boston * Chicago Dallas San Francisco
    of flijiiosopijp GREEK PHILOSOPHY MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA - MADRAS MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON * CHICAGO DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO GREEK PHILOSOPHY PART I THALES TO PLATO BY JOHN BURNET MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON 1924 COPYRIGHT First Edition 1914. Reprinted 1920, 1924. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN PREFACE THE preparation of this volume was undertaken some the Lexicon years ago, but was interrupted by my work on Platonicum, which has proved a more formidable task than was at first anticipated. I have to thank the editor of this series and the publishers for their generous indulgence in the circumstances. It is unfortunate in some respects that I have been in a form obliged to deal with certain parts of the subject which does not admit of detailed argument and still less Greek of controversy. The second edition of my Early Philosophy (referred to as E. Gr. Phf} makes this in large measure unnecessary in Book L, but there are certain parts of Book III. where I have had to state my conclusions baldly in the hope that I may have a later opportunity for the of discussing their grounds. My chief aim present has been to assist students who wish to acquire a firsthand of knowledge of what Plato actually says in the dialogues some- Jiis maturity. So long as they are content to know Platonism thing of the Republic and the earlier dialogues, must be a sealed book to them. I have not thought it well to present Greek names in a Latin dress.
    [Show full text]
  • (A) Natural Philosophy (Or Natural History): Its Meaning and Range 2
    Greek Natural Philosophy The Presocratics and their Importance for Environmental Philosophy First Edition By J. Baird Callicott, John van Buren, and Keith Wayne Brown Bassim Hamadeh, CEO and Publisher Marissa Applegate, Senior Field Acquisitions Editor Gem Rabanera, Project Editor Alia Bales, Associate Production Editor Miguel Macias, Senior Graphic Designer Alexa Lucido, Licensing Coordinator Sue Murray, Interior Designer Natalie Piccotti, Senior Marketing Manager Kassie Graves, Director of Acquisitions and Sales Jamie Giganti, Senior Managing Editor Copyright © 2018 by Cognella, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permis- sion of Cognella, Inc. For inquiries regarding permissions, translations, foreign rights, audio rights, and any other forms of reproduction, please contact the Cognella Licensing Department at [email protected]. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for iden- tification and explanation without intent to infringe. Cover image copyright © 2017 Depositphotos/Jrleyland. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-5165-2856-1 (pbk) / 978-1-5165-2857-8 (br) In memory of our early teachers in Greek natural philosophy: José Benardete and Catherine Lord, Syracuse University;
    [Show full text]
  • Classical Western Philosophy
    School of Distance Education UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION BA Philosophy (2011 Admission Onwards) V Semester Core Course Classical Western Philosophy QUESTION BANK 1 The original principle of this universe is------- according to Thales (a) Water (b) fire (c) air (d) ether 2 Thales is a------ philosopher (a)Milesian (b) Hebrew (c) Arab (d) German 3 -------- was counted among the Seven Wise Men (a)Plato (b) Socrates (c) Thales (d) Aristotle 4 The arche of things is apeiron, according to ------ (a)Plato (b) Socrates (c) Tales (d) Anaximander 5 According to Anaximenes--- is the first principle (a) Fire (b) water (c) infinite (d) air 6 Who said number is the essence and basis of all things? (a) Descartes (b) Pythagoras (c) Anaxagoras (d) Kant 7 Who is known as the Father of Western Philosophy? (a)Thales (b) Plato (c) Socrates (d) Aristotle Classical Western Philosophy Page 1 School of Distance Education 8. Aristotle is credited with --------- (a) Mathematical logic (b) Symbolic Logic (c) Syllogistic arguments (d) None of the above 9. Who advocated theory of atoms? (a) Plato (b) Democritus (c) Thales (d) Leibnitz 10. Who is the main atomist? (a) Leibnitz (b) Leucippus (c) Pythagoras (d) Kepler 11. Protagoras is a ------Philosopher (a) Sophist (b) spiritualist (c) Religious (d) idealist 12 Man is the measure of all things, according to ------ (a) Thales (b) Plato (c) Aristotle (d) Protagoras 13. Democritus and Leucippus are belonging to------ school (a)Ionian (b) atomist (c) idealist (d) Eleatic 14. ----- was the first Athenian born Philosopher (a) Thales (b) Plato (c) Aristotle (d) Socrates 15.
    [Show full text]
  • Thales of Miletus1
    Thales of Miletus1 1 Thales – Life and Accomplishments LittleisknownofThales.Bornabout624BCinMiletus,AsiaMinor (now Turkey), he was the son of Examyes and Cleobuline. He died about 546 BC in Miletos, Turkey. The bust shown above is in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, but is not contemporary with Thales. Indeed, though there are statues and other images of significant people of the time, there is little assurance of their authenticity. Some impression and highlights of his life and work follow: 1 c 2000, G. Donald Allen ° Thales 2 Thales of Miletus was the first known Greek philosopher, scientist • and mathematician. Some consider him the teacher of Pythagoras, though it may be only be that he advised Pythagoras to travel to Egypt and Chaldea. From Eudemus of Rhodes (fl ca. 320 B.C) we know that he • studied in Egypt and brought these teachings to Greece. He is unanimously ascribed to have introduced the mathematical and astronomical sciences into Greece. He is unanimously regarded as having been unusally clever—by • general agreement the first of the Seven Wise Men2 , a pupil of the Egyptians and the Chaldeans. None of his writing survives and no contemporary sources exist; • thus, his achievements are difficult to assess, particularly his phi- losophy and mathematical discoveries. Indeed, many mathematical discoveries of this early period have been attributed to others, often centuries later. In addition one must consider the ancient practice of crediting particular discoveries to men with a reputation for wisdom. This is no doubt certainly true in Pythagoras’ case. There is, of course, the story, related by Aristotle, of his successful • speculation in olive oil presses after he had concluded there would be a bountiful harvest — as testament to his practical business acumen.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Greek Philosophy
    Ancient Greek Philosophy “The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing…”- Socrates Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit Three EA * The Pre Socratics • The Archaic age saw a change in the way people thought of themselves. They became much more individualistic, and less focused on putting the polis before their own needs. • To go along with this change to the focus on the individual one can also look to the development and origins of philosophy. The periods of development of philosophy center on the most renowned of philosophers, Socrates, so that the period of philosophy before him is simply defined as the Pre Socratic Age, and those philosophers who came before him simply as The Presocratics. • So let us examine the history of philosophy in this age by asking you to look out the window at the world around you. What do you see? Everything you can describe is matter. Now look at those things you described and tell me what they are doing. These actions are examples of change. The questions that should occur to you as a result of these observations are, “What is matter?” and “What are all of these things made of?” and possibly “What causes these changes?” • A person of the ancient era would look to religion to answer these questions. For example, the sun is the god Helios, or Apollo, driving his chariot across the sky. A modern person knows the sun is a giant fusion reactor floating in the void of space. So what makes our modern understanding of the nature of the sun different from the ancient one? * The Pre Socratics • Religion tends to be an inflexible thing, so people tend to believe things that are disproven for long after the time that they are.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Philosophy by Cristian Violatti 2013
    Name: Class: Greek Philosophy By Cristian Violatti 2013 Cristian Violatti is a freelance writer and one of the editors of Ancient History Encyclopedia. The following text explores the evolution of ancient Greek philosophy, the concepts of some of its greatest thinkers, and the legacy it left on the world. As you read, take notes on the development of ancient Greek philosophy and how it influenced other cultures and schools of thought. Who are we? How can we be happy? Does the universe have a purpose? Greek philosophers approached the big questions of life sometimes in a genuinely scientific way, sometimes in mystic ways, but always in an imaginative fashion. Pythagoras considered a charlatan for claiming the doctrine of reincarnation, a half-naked Socrates haranguing people in the street with provocative[1] and unanswerable questions, Aristotle tutoring great generals: these are examples of how Greek thinkers dared to question traditional conventions and to challenge "School of Athens" by Raphael is in the public domain. the prejudices of their age, sometimes putting their own lives at stake. Greek Philosophy as an independent cultural genre began around 600 B.C., and its insights still persist to our times. The Pre-Socratics About 600 B.C., the Greek cities of Ionia were the intellectual and cultural leaders of Greece and the number one sea-traders of the Mediterranean. Miletus, the southernmost Ionian city, was the wealthiest of Greek cities and the main focus of the “Ionian awakening,” a name for the initial phase of classical Greek civilization, coincidental with the birth of Greek philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • The PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS (1) the Milesian School
    1 the PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS The appellation 'pre-Socratic' is a little misleading, since it refers to a number of philosophers who were contem- poraries of Socrates, and excludes both Protagoras and Socrates. It actually refers more to a brand of philosophy, dominated by an interest in the Natural world, mathematics, form, etc., and a quest to understand origins, mechanics, and to formulate hypotheses about the world. The ideas of Socrates, developed by Plato, instead allotted much more importance to social, political, and moral questions, and in doing so consciously reacted against the 'pre-Socratics'. Unfortunately most of what we know about the pre-Socratics comes from Plato and Aristotle, along with a number of other commentators (notably Theophrastus); we have almost none of the original writings of these philosophers. This is a great shame, but somewhat inevitable- as we shall see later, we are rather lucky to have any of the contributions of the Greeks available today. For our purposes the most important thing about the pre-Socratics is (i) the extent to which they anticipated both the later Greek ideas (indeed, some of the key ideas of Plato started from Heraclitus and Parmenides on the philosophical side, and from the earlier Pythagorean work in mathematics); and (ii) that their ideas in many ways represent the very beginnings of what we now call scientific enquiry. For this latter reason alone they deserve our attention- for although the beginnings of any really new area of human thought are always hard to understand, being inevitably somewhat disorganised, they are the crucial leaps that have brought us to where we are now.
    [Show full text]