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Notes on Pre-Socratic PhilosophyPhilosophy 131: Philosophy of Religion - Epperson

Milesian School

Thales of Miletus 624-548Anaximander of Miletus 610-546Anaximenes of Miletus fl. 545

Pythagorean School Pythagoras 580 - 500 founded s!hool in "roton

Heracleitus of Ephesus 540 # 480 fl.504-501

Eleatic School $eno%hanes &e%uted founder 'ut no e(iden!e.

Parmenides )ounder* +orn 515 dialogue ,ith o!rates 451-44/eno 4 5 - 4 0

Empedocles of Akragas 4 0 - 4 0

Anaxagoras 500 - 428 !ame to Athens in 480

Atomist School eu!i%%us fl. 400 # 500 3f the leati! !hool student of /enoemo!ritus 460 # 0

T7 M A9 :733

Introduction

T7 * The genesis of ;ree< %hiloso%hy !an 'e %la!ed in the onian %hiloso%hi!al tradition.

onia ,as the !radle of ;ree< %hiloso%hy Miletus =modern day Tur


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;ree< mathemati!s influen!ed 'y gy%tian mathemati!s ;ree< astronomy influen!ed 'y+a'ylonian astronomy 'ut neither ,ere @deri(ed from these. ;ree< math ,as more theoreti!althan gy%tian ;ree< astronomy more em%iri!al than +a'ylon s astrologi!al di(inations.

BniCue to ;ree!e* esire to dis!o(er the essen!e of things. "no,ledge for its o,n sa 9ot tied to %ra!ti!al 'enefitseither = astern %hiloso%hy D ,ays of a(oiding unha%%iness et!>

Thales of Miletus 624-548Anaximander of Miletus 610-546Anaximenes of Miletus fl. 545

Thales of Miletus* The earliest onian %hiloso%her. )o!used on !hange from 'irth to death (iagro,th and !hange.

Attem%ted to dis!ern the @%rimary su'stan!e undergoing !hange?i.e. the %ermanen!eunderlying an e(er !hanging ,orld. 7ere the !on!e%t of %rimary @su'stan!e is defined 93T as @matter in the !on(entional sense instead the idea of %rimary su'stan!e is thatof @archê #i.e. the @origin of all things andEor the @defining %rin!i%le of all things.>

Farious onian %hiloso%hers differed on their notions of @%rimary su'stan!e 'ut all heldit to 'e material.

Thales D ,ater Anaximenes D air 7era!litus D fire

9ot sheer @materialists though 'e!ause no distin!tion 'et,een s%irit and matter. onians ,erethen more %rimiti(e s!ientists than %hiloso%hers in the stri!t sense of the ,ord. id more thanmerely o'ser(e though* used s%e!ulati(e thought to theoriGe the fundamental !hara!teriGation of the (arious %rimary su'stan!es. Therefore onian materialism is more an @a'stra!t materialismthan modern em%iri!al materialism. The idea is that unity is fundamental* Bnity in differen!eand differen!e entering in to Bnity. Also a la,-go(erned uni(erse ,here 'alan!e is thego(erning %rin!i%le.

Thales of Miletus

Predi!ted the e!li%se of 585 '! a!!ording to 7erodotus died in 546 almana! na(igation (ia ursaminor.

Hater is the %rimary su'stan!e. Hater 'e!omes @air through heat 'e!omes i!e =and 'yextra%olation @earth > (ia !old.


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)or Anaximander this @%rimary su'stan!e E archê ,as ne!essarily indeterminate or@'oundless. This is 'e!ause only the 'oundless is in!a%a'le of further redu!tion to some morefundamental archê . At the same time any definite or limited su'stan!e ,ould ultimately 'eredu!ed to its %rimary un'ounded su'stan!e?sin!e the latter has no limits restri!ting itsen!roa!hments into other non-%rimary su'stan!es. Therefore if the %rimary su'stan!e ,ere,ater %er the thesis of Thales e(erything ,ould ultimately ha(e 'een redu!ed to ,ater long ago,hi!h isn t the !ase. The %rimary su'stan!e as archê for Anaximander is su'stan!e ,ithoutlimits.

n!roa!hments of one element u%on another =heat in ,inter !old in summer> are !onsidered@inIusti!es.

ternal motion 'rings things into 'eing. Fortex-li


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:ommon ground 'et,een 3r%hi!ism =,orshi% of ionysius> and Pythagoreanism* 'othorganiGed into !ommunities ,ith initiations et! 'oth %osited the transmigration of souls? that the soul is the im%ortant %art of man not the im%risoning 'ody.

9ot essentially a %oliti!al grou% 'ut in(ol(ed in %oliti!s. 7ad %oliti!al !ontrol in "roton 'uttheir lodges ,ere 'urnt do,n and they ,ere su'Ie!t to %erse!ution in 440-4 0 '! o!ietylater re(i(ed in Tarentum taly in the fourth !entury.

deas !entered around %urity and %ra!ti!es of %urifi!ation and the transmigration of souls.The soul is aided trained and %urified (ia silen!e musi! and mathemati!s.

The soul is the seat of %o,er in man not the 'ody =in !ontrast to the 7omeri! @shades or

@shado, image of the de%arted>. +ut there is no self-!ons!iousness or self-identity 'ound u%,ith the soul self-identity doesn t transmigrate in other ,ords.

Many of the %hiloso%hi!al and mathemati!al !ontri'utions ,ere li


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This is not the most im%ortant feature of his %hiloso%hy though sin!e it is not no(el =,e sa, itin other onian %hiloso%hers>.

The fundamental !on!e%t ex%ressed in his @Hord * Bnity in di(ersity differen!e in unity.

Anaximander !onsidered the en!roa!hements of o%%osites on ea!h other as @inIusti!es and adisorder that mars the %urity of the @3ne. 7era!litus says that the !onfli!t among o%%osites isessential to the 3ne. The only 3ne exists in the tension of o%%osites and this tension is essential.

He must


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Plurality is then also an illusion.

&eIe!ts Pythagorean s!hool 'e!ause it em'ra!es the !on!e%t of !hange.

ntrodu!es a duality of Truth #s&A%%earan!e or &eason (s. ense. Ma 'ut Permenidesasserted +eing ex!lusi(e of +e!oming.

Plato synthesiGes the t,o* Parmenides s distin!tion 'et,een sense-o'Ie!ts and true o'Ie!ts(ia reason the latter the only reality 'e!ause the former are su'Ie!t to the 7era!litean @flux.The o'Ie!ts of true


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a!!ording to !on!rete sta'le forms =a la Plato> only forms of !on!rete material. Thedilemma of Parmenides is sol(ed 'y a!!ounting for @'e!oming (ia the !on!e%t of Potentia.+eing does not arise out of nothing nor out of 'eing %re!isely as 'eing @a!tu 'ut rather outof Potentia?a different .

Net 7era!litus %hiloso%hy ,as also unsatisfa!tory in that it !ould not suffi!iently a!!ount forsta'ility in the uni(erse and ,as 'ound u% ,ith materialisti! monism.

MP 3: 3) A"&A;A

A in i!ily. A%%rox 444-4 . Amalgamated %re(ious %hiloso%hies.m'ra!ed Parmenides !on!e%t of material 'eing ,ithout end indestru!ti'le et!. 9othing arises

from nothing something !annot arise out of nothing. +ut a!!ounted for the ex%erien!e of!hange motion and %lurality (ia an atomist do!trine* :olle!tions of atoms may !ome into and

go out of 'eing 'ut the atoms themsel(es do not.

m%edo!les in(ented the classification of !atter into the four classes: Earth% Air% 'ire% and(ater . These !annot inter!hange. 3'Ie!ts !ome into 'eing (ia the intermingling of the fourelements and !ease to 'e (ia the se%aration of the elements.

m%edo!les mediates the %hiloso%hy of Parmenides and the fa!ts of sensory ex%erien!e.

The %ro!esses of nature re* these four %arti!les are attri'uted to TH3 )3&: * o(e =attra!tionharmony> 7ate =re%ulsion dis!ord>. The former 'rings the four elements together the latterse%arates them and destroys the unity of the %arti!les thus destroying the !om%osite @o'Ie!t.

Horld-%ro!ess is !y!li!* tarts ,ith o(e =mingling of elements> then mo(es to 7ate=disso!iation of %arti!les into their indi(idual element grou%s>. The ,orld as ,e


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Pre-so!rati! Philoso%hy !enters on the ,orld not the self. The early ;ree< %hiloso%hers ,ere %rimarily !osmologists. The stum'ling 'lo!

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