Ancient Philosophy

Pre-Socratics

The Milesian School

In any introductory course on the history of philosophy, students are first told that philosophy began with Thales, who claimed that everything originates from water. This can bewilder the novice, who, while perhaps not exerting themselves too earnestly, tries to foster the respect for philosophy that the curriculum apparently intends to instill. Nevertheless, Thales provides ample reason for such respect, though perhaps more as a man of science than as a philosopher in the modern sense of the word.

Thales was a native of Miletus in Asia Minor, a prosperous trading city. In this city, there was a large population of slaves, and among the free population, a fierce class struggle raged between the rich and the poor. "In Miletus, at first the people prevailed, killing the wives and children of the aristocrats; later, the aristocrats gained the upper hand, burning their opponents alive, illuminating the city's squares with living torches." During Thales' time, similar circumstances prevailed in most cities of Asia Minor.

During the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, Miletus, like other Ionian trading cities, underwent significant economic and political development. Initially, political power rested in the hands of the landowning aristocracy, but it gradually shifted to a merchant plutocracy, which in turn gave way to the rule of a tyrant, who, as was often the case, rose to power with the support of the democratic faction. The Lydian Kingdom, located east of the Greek coastal cities, maintained friendly relations with them until the fall of Nineveh in 612 BCE. The fall of Nineveh freed Lydia to focus its attention westward, but Miletus largely managed to maintain cordial relations with its neighbor, especially with the last Lydian king, Croesus, under whom Lydia was conquered by Cyrus in 546 BCE. The Greeks also maintained significant connections with Egypt, whose king required Greek mercenaries and opened several cities to Greek trade. The first Greek settlement in Egypt was a fortress manned by a Milesian garrison; however, during the period from 610 to 560 BCE, the city of Daphne held the greatest importance. In Daphne, many Jewish refugees, including the prophet Jeremiah, found sanctuary from Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 43:5 and following). But while Egypt undoubtedly influenced the Greeks, there was no similar influence from the Jews. It is hard to imagine Jeremiah feeling anything but horror toward the skeptical Ionians.

As mentioned earlier, the best evidence for determining the time of Thales' life is his famed prediction of a solar eclipse, which astronomers confirm occurred in 585 BCE. Other similar evidence supports placing Thales' activities around this time. Predicting the eclipse was not an extraordinary feat of genius on Thales' part. Miletus had an alliance with Lydia, which maintained cultural ties with Babylon. Babylonian astronomers had discovered that eclipses recur approximately every 19 years. These astronomers could accurately predict lunar eclipses, but when it came to solar eclipses, they were confounded by the fact that they could be visible in one place but not another. Thus, they could only know that an eclipse was likely to occur at a certain time, and this was likely all Thales knew. Neither he nor the Babylonian astronomers understood the underlying cause of the cyclicity of eclipses.

It is said that Thales traveled to Egypt and brought back knowledge of geometry to the Greeks. The Egyptians’ knowledge of geometry consisted primarily of purely empirical methods. There is no reason to believe that Thales arrived at deductive proofs, such as those later discovered by the Greeks. Thales probably learned how to determine the distance to a ship at sea by observations made from two points on the shore, as well as how to find the height of a pyramid by knowing the length of its shadow. Many other geometric theorems are attributed to him, though these attributions are likely mistaken.

Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Each of these sages became famous for a particular wise saying. According to tradition, Thales' maxim was that "water is best."

Aristotle tells us that Thales believed water to be the primary substance from which everything else is formed, and that he also claimed that the Earth rests upon water. According to Aristotle, Thales asserted that magnets have souls because they attract iron; moreover, he believed that all things are full of gods.

The idea that everything originates from water should be regarded as a scientific hypothesis rather than an absurdity. Only two decades ago, the view that everything consists of hydrogen, which constitutes two-thirds of water, was a widely accepted theory.

The Greeks were bold in their hypotheses, but at least the Milesian school was willing to test its ideas empirically. Too little is known about Thales to fully reconstruct his teachings, but much more is known about his successors in Miletus, so it is reasonable to assume that some of their views originated with him. Thales’ science and philosophy were primitive, but they had the potential to stimulate both thought and observation.

Many legends surround Thales, but I doubt that much is known about him beyond the facts I have already mentioned. Some of these stories are astonishing, such as the one Aristotle recounts in his Politics:

"When Thales was reproached for his poverty, since it was said that philosophers made no profit from their pursuits, Thales, having foreseen through his astronomical observations a rich harvest of olives, invested a small sum of money to rent all the olive presses in Miletus and Chios before winter ended; he rented them cheaply, as no one competed with him. When the time came for the olive harvest, there was a sudden demand for the presses, as many sought them at once. Thales then leased them at whatever price he wished. In this way, he made a large profit, proving that philosophers could easily become wealthy if they so desired, but this was not where their interests lay."

Anaximander, the second philosopher of the Milesian school, is far more intriguing than Thales. The dates of his life remain uncertain, though it is said he was 54 years old in 546 BCE, and this estimate appears reasonable. Anaximander asserted that all things originate from a single primary substance, though not from water as Thales proposed, nor from any other substance known to us. This primal substance is infinite, eternal, timeless, and “encompasses all worlds,” for Anaximander believed that our world was but one among many. The primal substance transforms into the various substances familiar to us, which, in turn, shift into one another. Regarding this process, Anaximander offers a profound and notable observation:

"That from which all things arise is also that into which they return, according to necessity. For they pay penalty and make recompense to one another for their injustice, in accordance with the order of time."

The concept of both cosmic and human justice holds such significance in Greek religion and philosophy that it can be difficult for a modern reader to fully grasp. Indeed, our word "justice" scarcely conveys its meaning, though it is hard to find a more fitting term. Anaximander seems to express the idea that water, fire, and earth must exist in a harmonious proportion, yet each element (viewed as a divine force) eternally seeks to expand its dominion. However, there is a certain necessity, or natural law, that continually restores balance. Where fire once ruled, for instance, ashes—representing earth—remain. This notion of justice—of not exceeding boundaries established since time immemorial—was one of the Greeks' most profound beliefs. Like mortals, even the gods were subject to justice, but this highest force itself was not personal, nor did it represent a supreme deity.

Anaximander supported his claim that the primary substance could not be water or any other known element by reasoning that if one element were fundamental, it would have already absorbed the others. Aristotle informs us that Anaximander viewed the elements known to him as opposing forces: “Air is cold, water is wet, fire is hot.” Hence, “if one of them were infinite, the others would long since have perished.” Therefore, the primal substance must be neutral in this cosmic conflict.

According to Anaximander, eternal motion exists, and it is through this movement that worlds are formed. These worlds did not come into being through an act of creation, as in Jewish or Christian theology, but rather through development. In the realm of living beings, evolution also occurred. Living creatures emerged from the moist element when it was evaporated by the sun. Like all other animals, humans originated from fish. Man must have arisen from creatures of a different kind because, given the prolonged period of infancy that is characteristic of humans, early humans could not have survived on their own.

Anaximander is a remarkably intriguing figure from a scientific perspective. It is said that he was the first to create a map. He claimed that the Earth was shaped like a cylinder. Various sources tell us that he believed the Sun to be either the same size as the Earth or 27 or 28 times larger.

Wherever Anaximander is original, his ideas possess a scientific and rationalist character.

Anaximenes, the last of the Milesian triad, is far less compelling than Anaximander, though he makes an important advance. The dates of his life are completely uncertain. It is certain, however, that he lived after Anaximander, and it seems his activity flourished before 494 BCE, when Miletus was destroyed by the Persians during the suppression of the Ionian revolt.

Anaximenes declared that the primary substance was air. The soul is composed of air; fire is rarefied air; as air condenses, it first becomes water, and with further condensation, earth, and finally, stone. This theory has the merit of reducing all differences between substances to quantitative differences, dependent solely on the degree of condensation.

He believed that the Earth was shaped like a flat table, and that air surrounds everything. “Just as our soul, being air, holds us together, so breath and air encompass the entire world,” he says. It seems as though the world itself breathes.

Anaximenes was held in higher regard in antiquity than Anaximander, though almost any modern society would give the opposite judgment. He exerted significant influence on Pythagoras and many subsequent philosophical systems. The Pythagoreans discovered that the Earth is spherical, but the atomists adhered to Anaximenes' view that the Earth is shaped like a disc.

The importance of the Milesian school lies not in its accomplishments, but in its inquiries. This school arose from the interaction of the Greek spirit with Babylonian and Egyptian thought. Miletus was a wealthy trading city; through its dealings with many peoples, primitive prejudices and superstitions were diminished. Before Ionia was conquered by Darius at the start of the fifth century BCE, it was the most culturally significant part of the Greek world. The religious movements associated with Bacchus and Orpheus had little impact there; its religion was Olympian, though seemingly not taken very seriously. The philosophical speculations of Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes should be regarded as scientific hypotheses, and they rarely succumbed to the undue influence of anthropomorphic tendencies or moralistic ideas. The questions they posed were worthy of attention, and their boldness inspired later thinkers.

The next stage in the development of Greek philosophy, connected with the Greek cities of southern Italy, is more religious, and particularly more Orphic in nature. In some respects, it is more fascinating; its achievements are more remarkable, though in spirit it is less scientific than the Milesian school.