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Thales : - Coggle Diagram
Thales
:
arche
According to Thales, the fundamental principle from which everything originates and that underlies all existence
is water.
Chapter 2 “The Beginnings of Western Philosophy: The Pre-Socratics” pp 12-34, in Evans, C. Stephen, A History of Western Philosophy: From Pre-socratics to Postmodernism, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press, 2018
biography
originates from Miletus;
lived around 624-546 BC
explanation of the world
He believes that everything came out from water- the three states vapor, liquid and solid. He associates moisture with the origins of life, but not only that. He believes that the complexity of the world can be explained by a single simple element (water)
The universe is logical and intelligible. We can figure it out by using reason and logic. It’s not random or chaotic- it has an order
The universe is connected and everything in nature is part of a big system that can be explained by a few basic ideas or principles, even though it seems very diverse and full of change.
Reality isn’t always what it seems because things in the world might look one way to us, but their true nature could be different. To really understand them, we have to look beyond how they appear.
interesting facts
successfully predicted an eclipse of the sun in 585 BC
travelled to Egypt supposedly or at least was greatly influence by Egyptian culture
stories:
he was so 'intent' on observing the heavens that he once fell into a well he didn't see
he wasn't very wealthy, so he used his knowledge of the weather to monopolized olive presses in a year he knew the fruits will grow in record numbers
He found a way to measure the pyramids' height and his engineering solution allowed the Lydian army to successfully cross the Halys River
school
Milesian school
“naturalists” because their major concern was for an understanding of the natural world
but not contemporary naturalists: what is “divine” or supernatural would have been foreign to them.
