Completion of Natural Philosophical Concepts in Cosmology: The Teachings of Empedocles and Anaxagoras

As we transition from early Greek philosophy to the classical period (5th-4th centuries BCE), we witness the culmination of natural philosophy, marked by the infusion of metaphysical concepts into its framework. This synthesis of natural philosophical and metaphysical ideas becomes a defining feature of several philosophical schools, notably those of Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Democritus.

Empedocles was a citizen of Acragas (modern Agrigentum) in Sicily, and his lifetime spanned approximately 490-430 BCE. His cosmological doctrine is encapsulated in a poem titled "On Nature," of which fragments have survived. This work reveals one version of the complex of ideas that Greek natural philosophy ultimately embraced.

Firstly, Empedocles posited that the world’s fundamental elements are the four classical elements: earth, water, air, and fire. He referred to these as "roots" (ῥίζαι) of all things:

"Equal in power are the elements from which everything we now see was born: Earth, the turbulent Sea, moist Air, and Titan Ether, which encompasses the whole world."

Sources also mention that these elements are composed of smaller particles, akin to elements of elements, which precede the four primary elements and are akin to minute particles. Empedocles called them "fragments" (ῥίζαι).

The second key concept in Empedocles' natural philosophy is the abandonment of the biomorphic model, which characterized the birth and death of things. Instead, he introduced a physical-mechanical model, where things come into existence through the combination (mixing) of elements and are destroyed through their separation (disintegration). This framework explains his acceptance of the four fundamental elements, for without them, there would be nothing to combine or separate. Furthermore, it is with Empedocles that fire, air, water, and earth are rightly designated as "elements" and "principles," as these terms denote the fundamental components from which things are constructed.

The transition from one model to another is evident in Empedocles' attempt to revise the language and terminology of natural philosophy. He moved away from biomorphic terminology, replacing it with new terms. "Coming into being" and "destruction" are merely names for the mutual joining and disintegration of entities. As Empedocles states:

"Among all mortal things, none has birth... nor... an end from cursed death, but it is merely mixing and separating of mixed elements. People call this 'birth'."

Plutarch comments that Empedocles eliminates absolute creation and destruction, reducing them to the mere transition from non-being to being and back.

Thus, things are a mixture of elements, but this mixture is not mechanical in the sense of simple conjunction, but rather "chemical," arising from the interaction and transformation of elements. Empedocles expresses this by stating that elements "pass through each other" and appear different due to the mixture. If elements did not change during mixing, we would only see earth, water, air, and fire in things, but this is not the case.

The concept of mixing elements necessitated the introduction of external forces that produce it. This is the third fundamental tenet of Empedocles' "new" natural philosophy. According to the ancient worldview of hylomorphism and panpsychism, these forces are found in the emotional-psychic realm of life’s impulses and instincts: Love and Strife. Nonetheless, according to ancient materialism, these forces are physical. Empedocles describes Love as "equal in length and breadth." Aristotle noted that Empedocles, unlike earlier philosophers, introduced a division of the moving cause, establishing not one but two distinct and opposing principles.

What is the nature of these forces? The common feature of their action is that it is characterized by compulsion (ἀνάγκη) and persuasion. Each force acts in its distinct manner: Love unites, while Strife separates:

"Under the action of Strife, all [elements] become diverse and separate. Under the action of Love, they come together and desire each other."

The relation of these forces to the elements is as follows: Love is present within (or among) the elements, while Strife is separate from them. Moreover, these forces, in their actions, move and alter their positions in space. One fragment mentions that as elements came together, Strife retreated to the outermost edge. The predominance or rule of each force over the elements is known as the preeminence or dominance of one force over the other, alternating due to Necessity.

Empedocles' universe is conceived as "pulsating" in the rhythm of heartbeats: Love is systole, the contraction of elements into one; Strife is diastole, the expansion of elements into many. Empedocles describes this rhythm:

"At times, through the action of Love, they come together into One, and at other times, under the fierce Strife, they scatter each in its own direction. Thus, the One grows to be the only thing from the many, then again splits to become many from the One, Fire, Water, Earth, and the immeasurable height of Ether."

What, then, does this process entail, and what are its fundamental aspects? Based on various fragments, it can be described as follows: the initial state of elements is their unity in One. The division of the One and the formation of the many following it is their coming into being. This crucial position shows that the One is an abstract primal matter that later manifests as its concrete forms, confirming earlier interpretations of the One by Parmenides and the One-and-All by Melissus as a substance. Subsequently, under the influence of Love, they coalesce into a unified cosmic structure. Then they once again form many as the One breaks apart. Thus, the cosmos alternately emerges and is destroyed, and this alternation is eternal.

The two phases of the cosmic process—One and the Many—can also be viewed as two kinds of being in the Eleatic spirit: the One as Sphere (Sphairos)—God—is the unified, immobile, and intelligible being, while the Many is the cosmos, the mobile and sensibly perceivable being. Thus, Empedocles’ doctrine integrates the metaphysical and physical levels of being, revealing the alternation of rest and movement.

Let us consider the two states of the cosmos. Empedocles posited Love as the creative principle of the intelligible cosmos, uniting elements into Sphere (Sphairos). In the Sphairos, things become One, and hence, it is without quality: neither fire nor other elements retain their individuality and lose their inherent form. In this "surrounding repose of the proud Sphairos," one cannot discern the sun, earth, or sea. The Sphairos is equal to itself from every side. The Sphairos is not just a metaphysical formation but a divine one. In describing the divine Sphairos, Empedocles, like Xenophanes, attempts to distance himself from the conventional anthropomorphic depiction of the deity: the Sphairos-God has no hands, shoulders, knees, feet, or reproductive parts.

The creative principle of the sensible cosmos is Strife, which forms the cosmos through the disjunction of elements. This occurs as follows: when Strife prevails, movement arises in the Sphairos, elements separate, and once separated, they form a mixture—that is the cosmos.

The pair of One (Sphairos) and Many (the cosmos) can be viewed as a unit or a single phase of infinite cosmic movement, as it involves the alternation of such pairs. The first member of this pair—One—is the beginning of the phase, while the second member—Many—is its completion. The transition from One to Many results in the cosmos. Empedocles explains the origin of the cosmos from the primary state as an unmoved mixture. He omits, as stated in one fragment, the cosmogony during the Age of Love, because the cosmos consists of already separated elements and thus must arise from undivided unity.

In more detail, the formation of the cosmos proceeds as follows: from the initial mixture of elements, air emerges and spreads around the mixture in the form of a sphere. Following the air, fire bursts forth and positions itself beneath the air of the sky. The separation of roots leads to their becoming parts of the visible world: earth (land), sea, sky, sun. This marks the period of the inanimate nature. The appearance of living nature completes the formation of the cosmos from elements, which, as Empedocles states, includes everything that was, is, and will be: trees, men, women, beasts, birds, fish, and enduring gods. The elements mixed in the form of humans, wild beasts, trees, and birds. Here, elements can be interpreted as natural forces whose interaction generates plants and living beings.

The formation of living nature occurs in several stages. According to Empedocles, the first generations of animals and plants were not whole but divided into unsorted parts. Initially, from a sort of pregnant earth, individual limbs (heads, hands, legs, eyes, etc.) emerged. The separate parts of the first animals were born during the Age of Love. From this follows an important conclusion: Strife, by separating the elements, created inanimate nature, while Love, by combining them, initiated living nature and continues to act within its framework, specifically by fostering the union of separate members of living beings.

On one hand, or in one part, the members of different living beings were joined together. These were phantom-like animals: "monstrous... with twisted legs and dismembered hands," "bull-like with human heads," "two-faced and two-breasted," etc. Such mismatched parts did not form a whole, did not survive, and perished. These were the second generations of animals and plants.

On the other hand, or in another part, the members of beings of the same kind joined together to create a complete nature. For example, a human head joining with a human body maintained its wholeness. Such formations became the third generation of properly born beings. These beings were able to survive, became animals, and sustained themselves through mutual satisfaction of needs: teeth cut and grind food, the stomach digests, and the liver transforms it into blood.

The third generation gave rise to the fourth generation of animals and plants, distinguished by the fact that living beings were born not from elements like earth and water but from one another. Plants accumulated excess food, and the beauty of female animals induced spermatic movement. Animals separated due to the varying composition of their mixtures: those more related to water gravitated towards it, others ascended into the air, heavier ones to the earth, and those with evenly mixed elements throughout their bodies developed speech.

It is evident that Empedocles' natural philosophy, especially in its later "biological" section, is directly related to the history of natural science, which is characteristic of ancient natural philosophers. Regarding philosophical conclusions, Empedocles departed from divine explanations of the origin of living beings, relying instead on purely natural causes. He also abandoned any form of teleology in this context: the emergence of viable organisms occurs by chance; nature operates by trial and error. Consequently, Empedocles is often seen as a distant precursor to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection.

Additionally, Empedocles’ explanation of sensory knowledge (perceptions) through a form of emanations (ἀκτίνες) coming from things and penetrating the pores of the senses is noteworthy, as it was later adopted by some philosophers.

Empedocles believed that everything that comes into existence has emanations. For instance, emanations come from objects reflected in mirrors; they also correspond to odors. Dogs, for example, do not smell a dead rabbit because the scent can no longer detach from the skin and ceases with the death of the animal. Odors are essentially qualities or substances, particles that have detached from their original source. This idea is reflected in phrases such as "the scent is the remnants of animal parts" and "dogs pick up emanations left by animals in the forest."

Empedocles' concept of emanations was likely an early attempt to understand the psycho-physiological mechanism of perception, as prior to him, philosophers merely acknowledged the existence of sensory and rational knowledge. Empedocles indicated that sensory knowledge is linked to some form of external influence on the sensory organs.

Empedocles' role in the development of natural philosophy is significant, as he represents one of the two main lines in the evolution of Greek philosophy. However, it's important to note that Empedocles' views also contain a substantial religious and moral component, as seen in fragments of his poem "Purifications."

Another version of natural philosophy involving the creation of the world from certain elements through a particular force was proposed by Anaxagoras from Clazomenae in Asia Minor (~500-428 BCE). He lived in Athens during the time of Cimon and Pericles and was later forced to leave Athens due to accusations of impiety, as he considered the sun a hot rock rather than a deity. He spent his final years in Lampsacus. Anaxagoras can be seen as the philosopher who introduced philosophy to mainland Greece and Athens, aiding its spread. His writings have not survived, only fragments remain.

Anaxagoras proposed that the primary substances of things are countless, infinitely divisible particles he called "seeds of things." These seeds are microscopic likenesses or copies of the things they form. The relationship between seeds and things can be likened to the analogy of microcosm and macrocosm. Aristotle referred to this characteristic of seeds as "homeomeria" (from ὁμοῖος, similar, and μέρος, part), meaning that a part is similar to the whole. This concept suggests that homeomerias are material models and examples of things.

From the similarity of seeds and the things formed from them, it follows that seeds must possess all the characteristics, qualities, and properties of the things they constitute, both apparent and hidden, which manifest during changes and transformations. Anaxagoras famously stated that "snow is black" because snow, under the influence of the sun, melts and turns black. Aristotle remarked that "any particle is a mixture similar to the whole, as it is evident that any thing arises from any particle." Anaxagoras formulated the principle that both seeds and things contain a universal set of qualities, expressed in the ideas "everything contains a part of everything" and "everything is contained in everything." This implies that the world is a system of universal connections, where everything is interrelated and connected. As Simplicius notes, "nothing exists separately; everything participates in everything." Some sources express this idea metaphorically: no axe can separate the warm from the cold, or the cold from the warm. Every thing is related to all others and contains many qualities.

However, every thing is qualitatively defined and limited in its properties. This can be explained, as Simplicius does, by the fact that in a given state, a thing is dominated by a group of homogeneous homeomerias: "Each thing is characterized by what predominates in it. Thus, something appears golden if it contains a lot of gold, even though it contains everything." Therefore, the qualitative definiteness of a thing results from the quantitative predominance of certain homogeneous seeds.

According to this description of the relationship between seeds and things, things arise from the simple aggregation of seeds, and the resulting whole is the sum of its parts and is reducible to them. The Roman philosopher and poet Lucretius wrote that bones arise from tiny bones, and so on. This implies that Anaxagoras, like Empedocles, concludes that there is no actual creation or destruction, only the combination and separation of homeomerias. Changes in things are essentially changes in the quantitative ratios of homeomerias within a thing. According to Anaxagoras, there are no genuine qualitative changes or transformations, only quantitative changes, meaning the increase or decrease in the number of homeomerias. In other words, he adheres to the principle of quantitativeness.

In summary, A. S. Bogomolov's commentary on the issue of transformation in Anaxagoras' doctrine of homeomerias highlights that, according to Anaxagoras, the new is never absolutely new but rather a manifestation of what already existed. Development is simply the growth of what was already present (this is the theory of preformation). If a bone arises from pieces of bone, then a raven arises from a tiny raven.

Anaxagoras' theory of homeomerias served as a means to explain physical phenomena, such as the aforementioned transformation of white snow into black, as well as biological phenomena, specifically the transformation of food into components of the human body: "We consume simple and homogeneous food—bread and water—and this nourishes hair, veins, arteries, flesh, muscles, bones, and other body parts... It must be agreed that the food we consume contains everything that exists." Anaxagoras acknowledged, as Simplicius comments, that "in food and water, if consumed by trees, there is wood, bark, and fruit." Food sustains organs and body components because it contains particles similar to body parts; otherwise, Anaxagoras argued, a contradiction would arise: hair could not come from non-hair, and meat could not come from non-meat.

The combination and separation of homeomerias, the formation of the cosmos, and the changes in things occur through a special external force—mind (νοῦς). Ancient authors explain that Anaxagoras considered homeomerias as matter, while mind was the active principle that organized everything. Cicero writes that Anaxagoras was the first to teach that the forms and images of all things are composed by the power and wisdom of an infinite intellect. For this reason, Anaxagoras was referred to as "Mind."

Mind touched the initial mixture of homeomerias, causing it to rotate in a circular motion or whirlwind, leading to the formation of the ether and air. Anaxagoras stated that "at the beginning, bodies were stationary; but the divine mind brought them into order and caused the emergence of the Universe." It seems that Anaxagoras' doctrine of the supremacy of mind and whirl in the Universe was widely known in Athens and perceived as undermining Zeus's power, as reflected in Aristophanes' "Clouds," which contains numerous lamentations on this topic. For example:

"Zeus is already retired, and now the whirlwind governs the universe."

In summary, the world was formed as follows: from air—the first to emerge from the whirlwind—clouds formed through condensation, from which came water, and from water, earth. Plants and animals originated from seeds dispersed in the air and carried to the ground by rain, as Theophrastus attests: "Anaxagoras says that air contains the seeds of everything, which are carried down by rain and generate plants."

Since the role of mind is to be the source and cause of the movement of homeomerias—material particles—it was understood in ancient times not as a psychic or mental force but as a physical, material force, and Anaxagoras was criticized for this. Plotinus wrote that "Anaxagoras... destroys the mind he introduces, not considering it as form or idea, and posits it not before matter but simultaneously with it." Simplicius notes that mind is "the subtlest and purest of all things." I. D. Rozhansky's monograph on Anaxagoras summarizes opinions on mind and concludes with two functions: first, mind is the primary impulse that causes particles to whirl or rotate; second, mind is the highest law or principle of cosmic formation. The term "mind" was developed to denote the concept of law, objective regularity, and in mind, one can see a rational law of being, similar to Heraclitus' Logos.

The outline of Anaxagoras' philosophical foundations shows that he stands alongside Empedocles. His nature theory contains a metaphysical component—homeomerias. Indeed, they are infinitely divisible, being infinitely small particles, which places them beyond the realm of sensory perception. Moreover, homeomerias as cosmic matter are transformed into the world by an external force—mind. This signifies a transition from a biomorphic model of cosmogony to a physical-mechanical one. As A. S. Bogomolov suggests, Anaxagoras rejects the ancient physis—self-generating and self-moving nature—as the source of all generation.