Sophie’s World Notes
The Natural Philosophers
assumption: existence has always existed
question: What was the basic stuff that created all things?
project: understand nature without relying on mythology
Thales, 585 BC, Miletus (Asia Minor)
water is the source of all things
‘all things are full of gods’
Anaximander, Miletus
all things come from and return to the boundless
Anaximenes, 570-526 BC, Miletus
air (vapor) is the source of all things (earth, water, fire)
Parmenides, 540-480 BC, Elea (Southern Italy)
everything that exists has always existed
perception is an illusion, reason alone is the source of all true knowledge
no such thing as actual change
Heraclitus, 540-480 BC, Ephesus, Asia Minor
change is most basic characteristic of nature
‘everything flows’
world cannot exists without interplay of opposites
there is a universal law or reason which governs all things
Empedocles, 490-430 BC, Sicily
four elements (earth, air, fire, water) are root of all things and
transformations
two force that act upon the elements
o love = pulls elements together
o strife = pushes elements apart
distinguishes between substance and force
Anaxagoras, 500-428 BC, Athens
nature is constructed of infinitely reducible particles
the mind (intelligence) force brings order to the particles
accused of atheism and banished
Democritus, 460-370 BC), Greece
everything is built up of tiny invisible blocks, eternal and immutable
named the blocks ‘atoms’ (uncuttable)
believed nothing but material things existed
no design or cosmic intelligence ordering atoms, only natural causes
soul atoms dispersed upon death, no immortal soul
Vocabulary:
Rationalism: the view that appeals to human reason as the source of knowledge or
justification
Materialism: the view that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter
Additional Info:
Democritus was also the first philosopher we know who realized that the
celestial body we perceive as the Milky Way is formed from the light of distant
stars. Other philosophers, including later Aristotle, argued against this. Democritus
was among the first to propose that the universe contains many worlds, some of
them inhabited:
"In some worlds there is no Sun and Moon, in others they are larger than in our
world, and in others more numerous. In some parts there are more worlds, in
others fewer (...); in some parts they are arising, in others failing. There are some
worlds devoid of living creatures or plants or any moisture."
Although intelligence is not allowed to explain the organization of the
world, according to Democritus, he does give place for the existence of a soul,
which he contends is composed of exceedingly fine and spherical atoms. He holds
that:
"spherical atoms move because it is their nature never to be still, and that as they
move they draw the whole body along with them, and set it in motion."