The Presocratics Lecture 2 - The Milesians. In the last lecture we introduced the Presocratics, noted why they are significant, and explained the difference between mythology and philosophy. In this lecture we will discuss the earliest Presocratics, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, who are widely considered the first philosophers in Western Civilization. All three philosophers lived in the city of Miletus in the sixth century BC. And for this reason are referred to as "The Milesians". Miletus was located in Anatolia on the western coast of Asia Minor or what today is western Turkey. The Milesians were physiologists. As they attempted to provide a rational account or '"logos" of nature, the Greek word for nature being "physis". Hence the word physiologist, or one who provides a logos of physis. Note that today the word "physiologist" has a different meaning. In attempting to give a rational account of nature. Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes were all interested in the fundamental question, what is the world made of? Looking out into the world they noted that reality displays two fundamental characteristics; firstly, everything in the world is constantly changing or constantly in flux. This is why philosophers often call the world we perceive as a "world of becoming" as everything is always becoming something else. Secondly, they observed that for all practical purposes There are an infinite plurality of different things in the world. In other words; any single thing that exists is different than anything else that exists, has existed, or will ever exist. The world displays infinite variation. When the Milesians asked what is the world made of they concluded that underlying the plurality of things in this world and underneath all the transformations these things undergo, there exists a single and permanent substance, in other words; they proposed that everything in the world is made of the same stuff and that this stuff although undergoing modifications in this world always retains its unity and fundamental identity This material substance underlying the world the Ancient Greeks called the "Arche". David Roochnik explains the meaning of the term; In the above quote as we've already explained Roochnik notes that the Arche is the underlying source and origin of all things, but what does he mean when he says that the Arche was thought of as the ruler or as exerting authority? In order to understand this idea, we must heed the advice of the early twentieth century professor of Ancient Philosophy, Francis Cornford, who stressed that; The Arche, the underlying substance and source of all things. Was thought by the Milesians to be a physical or corporeal material as the concept of immaterial spirit, or pure mind had not yet been arrived at by the Greeks. However, at the same time this underlying substance was thought to be alive and endowed with spirit. Considered to be divine and imbued with intelligence. The Arche, being alive, was therefore the author of its own movement or self caused, so to speak. And hence was the ruler of all things. And exerted it's authority by guiding the birth, transformations and death of all things. This view that matter is imbued with life and intelligence and is also divine, is called "Hylozoism". With respect to the question, what is the Arche made of, each Milesian offered a different answer, and we will now proceed to investigate exactly what Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes proposed to be the source and underlying identity of the world. Philosophy, Bertrand Russell declared in his book, "A History Of Western Philosophy"; Begins with Thales. As the first philosopher, Thales is credited with proposing the first philosophical account of the universe, and he concluded that the substance underlying everything, the Arche, is water. Aristotle elaborated on this idea, contemplating why Thales would have chosen water as the Arche; However since so little is known about Thales, this idea is mere conjecture and all we can safely say with any certainty is that he thought everything in the world was made of water. But remember the early Presocratics were Hylozoics. So this water was no ordinary water, it was alive, divine, intelligent and the source and ruler of everything that exists in the world. We know quite a bit more about Anaximander's ideas, and in order to understand his main proposition regarding the nature of the Arche, we must first discuss a belief that was widespread in Ancient Greece; the Greeks thought the world and everything in it was made of four primary elements; "Earth", "Water", "Fire" and "Air." Anaximander, building on such a belief, reasoned that since each of these elements is finite and limited, none of them can be the Arche. Thales, he concluded, was wrong to claim the Arche was water. For the Arche, if it is to exist, cannot be limited, for it is the eternal underlying source of everything and therefore must be something unlimited. Anaximander proposed that the Arche was not any material substance we perceive in this world, but instead is a non-perceptible substance, he called "The Apeiron". The word "Apeiron" is a Greek word which was constructed by combining the privitive 'a', indicating 'absence', with 'peras', meaning limited. Hence, the Apeiron is that which is absent of limits or the unlimited. Yet, it is also referred to as the boundless or the indefinite. For Anaximander the Arche and hence underlying origin and source of the world was a boundless and non- perceptible material substance that surrounds the world. Some have suggested that a more accurate translation of Anaximander's Apeiron, is the indefinite, instead of the unlimited? Anaximander thought the world we experienced was made out of two pairs of opposites, the hot and the cold and the wet and the dry. These opposites correspond to the four primary elements, which as we mentioned, the Greeks thought the world was made of; fire, air, water and earth. The two pairs of opposites or four elements were proposed by Anaximander to be originally mixed together with each other in the Apeiron. Hence the Apeiron is not a definite material things such as air or water, but instead is the indefinite, as all four elements are mixed together in it to form an undifferentiated mass. Because the Apeiron is engaged in eternal motion, these opposites are separated out of their potential state in the Apeiron, and in doing so, form the world as we experience it. This process of the primary elements separating out from the Apeiron is not a one-time event. Instead, Anaximander thought this separation of the opposites out of the Apeiron was continuous and could explain the flux we perceive in this world. As things are constantly being born from the Apeiron, while simultaneously other things are dying and perishing returning home, so to speak, back into the Apeiron. Anaximander of Miletus, the Philosopher Aetius wrote; The last of the Milesian philosophers was Anaximenes. He proposed that the Arche, or underlying substance, and origin of all things was air. In calling the Arche, a definite substance. He seems to have failed to grasp Anaximander insight, that if the Arche is to exist it must be an indefinite substance. However, some have claimed that Anaximenes represents an advance on Thalis and Anaximander, because unlike his predecessors, he gave a scientific explanation as to how the Arche, air in his case, transforms itself into all the different things we observe in the world. To do this, Anaximenes utilized the physical processes known to us as condensation and vaporization condensation occurs when water vapor condenses, changing it's physical state from a gas to a liquid. It is the process responsible for the formation of clouds and thus rain and snow. Anaximenes reasoned that if air can change into mist and water, if condensed further it can also change into earth and rock. Vaporization is the opposite of condensation and occurs when water changes from a liquid to a gaseous state and following the same line of reasoning as before, Anaximenes proposed that if water can turn back into air, then if vaporized further it could also transform into fire. Hence, Anaximenes's provided a scientific theory as to how air, the underlying substance and identity of all things, can transform into water, earth and fire, or the other three elements the Greeks thought everything was made of. While today we don't believe that all things are made of water, air or an unlimited substance. In searching for an underlying unity amidst the plurality and flux we observe in our experience of the world. The Presocratics over 2,000 years ago, were undergoing the exact search which continues to this day. In his book "The Second Creation: Makers Of The Revolution In 20th Century Physics" Robert Crease wrote; The first philosophers, the Milesians were also engaged in an attempt by sheer force of reason, to construct a theory of everything. And they too thought the time was right before unification. Although the tools have changed and our knowledge base has increased since the Presocratics laid down their bold theories. Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes were in search of exactly that which consumes the minds of modern theoretical physicists. In the next lecture we will consider the life and ideas of Heraclitus.
