...------------------------------------------------- Thales of miletus By: Harry Magnus Adinata March 31, 2015 Oxbridge Guangdong Shunde Desheng School, Internation Education Division March 31, 2015 Oxbridge Guangdong Shunde Desheng School, Internation Education Division Thales of Miletus Thales of Miletus has always been one of my favourite philosopher. Although at first, I knew him through mathematic books I have read when I was at the primary school, but once I see his profile on philosophy, his thoughts became more and more interesting, which is why I chose him for this philosophy project. Thales of Miletus, was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor (Anatolia) and one of the Seven Sages of Greece (or Seven Wise Men). He was born estimated 624 BC and died estimated at 546 BC. A lot of people, especially Aristotle, claimed him to be the first philosopher in Greek tradition. He is well-known for his hypothesis that all matters in this world is originated from one substance: water. He was also the first to define general principles and set forth hypotheses, and as a result has been called the "Father of Science”. Besides being the first Greek philosopher and called as the “Father of Science”, Thales also considered as “the first Greek mathematicians”. He once used geometry to solve problems such as calculating the height of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. He is credited with the first use of deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four analogies to Thales' Theorem...
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...Heraclitus for his obscure, negative outlooks, and mysterious sayings, I would have to say that Thales of Miletus (in my opinion), has the most compelling ideas and philosophies in the pre-Socratic ages. He was usually credited for being the first systematic philosopher of the Western World. He believed that there was an explanation for everything instead of believing/ promoting supernatural causes. "Aristotle, the major source for Thales's philosophy and science, identified Thales as the first person to investigate the basic principles, the question of the originating substances of matter and, therefore, as the founder of the school of natural philosophy. Thales was interested in almost everything, investigating almost all areas of knowledge, philosophy, history, science, mathematics, engineering, geography, and politics." (Thales of Miletus, http://www.iep.utm.edu/thales/) He often developed logical, geometrical theories, such as devising some that allowed hi to measure the height of the pyramids from the ground, and used his intelligence and understanding of the world to predict crop outcomes, and be very profitable at it. It is also pretty interesting to find out that he was technically the first person to study electricity. "LORDZB" states, "It had been noticed that amber, when rubbed, attracted threads of fiber to it. It was this static electricity which Thales’ studied. When the negative particle of the atom was named it was called the electron, after...
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...Thales was born in 624 B.C., in Miletus. Miletus was an ancient Greek Ionian City, in the western coast of Asia Minor. His parents were Examyes and Cleobuline, who were just regular town people, however their family belonged to the Royal Phonenicia Family. Even though Thales never got married, because at first he was too young then he was too old, he is called “The Father of Science. Thales was the first Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, and Scientist, as while as being one of the first of the Seven Sages. The Seven Sages where a group of great thinkers who were the wise men of Greece. Thales founded the geometry of lines, angles, etc, giving him the credit for abstract geometry. Thales was able to all kinds of remarkable things just by thinking outside the box. After he studied the weather for some time, Thales predicted the weather and bought an Olive Press in Miletus. As he predicted, the weather was great for the harvest, so he earned alot of money. Another story...
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...Shapiro’s History of Science class at the University of Minnesota and Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle by G.E.R. Lloyd.) __________________________________________________________________ It is said that science began with the Greeks. However, development of science in Greece drew on the older, more mature cultures of Egypt and Babylonia. Scientific thought advanced and literature flourished in Babylon under King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) due to the stability of his reign. Babylonian astrologers kept records of the movement of planets and made detailed lists of stars and constellations. Known metals such as gold, silver, mercury, lead, tin, iron, and copper were matched with the brightest heavenly bodies: sun, moon, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus respectively. Symbols assigned to these metals by the ancient Babylonians are used today by astronomers as the symbols for the planets. The early Greek (Presocratic) philosophers were particularly concerned about the origin of the universe and began to explain natural phenomenon by natural causes rather than supernatural acts. Philosophers who lived in Miletus (on the coast of modern-day Turkey) were the most influential early thinkers. Thales of Miletus (582 BC) suggested that water was the basic substance from which the universe is composed and thought the earth floated on water. Anaximander of Miletus (555 BC) challenged Thales’ work, wondering how fire, which is opposed to water, could have come into existence. He...
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...ANAXIMANDER Anaximander (610 BCE - 546 BCE) was a Milesian School Pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher. Like most of the Pre-Socratics, very little is known of Anaximander’s life. He was born, presumably in 610 BCE, in Ionia, the present day Turkish west coast, and lived in Miletus where he died in 546 BCE. He was of the Milesian school of thought and, while it is still debated among Pre-Socratic scholars, most assert that he was a student of Thales and agree that, at the very least, he was influenced by his theories. He is infamously known for writing a philosophical prose poem known as On Nature, of which only a fragment has been passed down. In that fragment Anaximander innovatively attributes the formation of a regulating system that governs our world, the cosmos. Furthermore, he put forth the radical idea that it is the indefinite (apeiron), in both the principle (archē) and element (stoicheion), from which are the things that are. In addition to such ingenuity, Anaximander also developed innovative ideas and theories in astronomy, biology, geography, and geometry. For Anaximander, the origination of the world could not be reduced to a single element or a collection of elements alone. Rather, one needed to understand that the origin was in both principle and element not definable in a definite sense or attribution. While this was a radical perspective in relation to the more determinate theories of others from the Milesian school, it does seem to have some derivation from older...
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...GREEK CIVILIZATION The ancient Greek civilization has influenced the western world in many different ways. Greece influenced, science, democracy, art, and philosophy. A lot of what the ancient Greeks have discovered and learned is still used today in the western world. The sciences in ancient Greece have influenced the western world. Beginning with Thales of Miletus who lived approximately from 640-610 to 548-545 BC. Thales of Miletus brought Phoenician navigational techniques into Miletus. Thales also had revised the calendar. Using Babylonian mathematical knowledge he used geometry to solve problems like calculating the height of pyramids and distances from a ship to the shore. He also studied astronomy in Babylonia, and predicted an eclipse of the sun. He is also credited with the discovery of the electrical properties of amber also known as “electron”. Pythagoras, who lived from 569 to 475 BC, he was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. He studied astronomy, logistics and geometry. He founded the Mystic Pythagorean Cult, devoted to the study of numbers. They found that numbers were the principle of all proportion, order, and harmony in the universe. Pythagoras also investigated the ratios of lengths corresponding to musical harmonies, and developed methods of geometric proof. The Pythagorean theorem was his great discovery in geometry. Pythagoreans were the first to consider the earth as a globe that revolved around other planets. He put a mathematical equation to...
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...and lovers of wisdom “ they studied and analyzed the world with logic and reasons.Many people are interested on how does the world work? Why do things that happen the way they do ? There is many wroten book from greek philosophers or found items.There are some philosophers who made ancient greek important some were socrates,aristotle, plato etc they lived in athens for the most of their lives (philip stokes ). They were the starters of school “Athenian school “ ( composed of socrates,plato,and aristotle) the school of philosophy. Philosophy in the ancient greek provided a moral code of living back then and now. There were many greek philosophers and they had so many to do with the building of the world now for example there is thales of miletus , thales was one of the first person to investigate the basics of principles.” The first scientist and philosopher in western history “ ( philip stokes ). Xenophanes of colophon wandered the politics of ancient greece as a poet and free thinker. “ If horses could draw,they would draw their gods like horses”(philip stokes ). He was a traveling poet learning all about who lived in ancient greece during the sixth and the beginning of the 5th century. Herclitus “ war and strifre between opposistes is central condition of the universe “ .Hercaclitus thought the three principals elements of nature were fire, earth ,water He was a greek philosopher of the late 6th century. Parmenides of elea said “one cannot know that which is no that is impossible...
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...surrounded by a system of electrons, equal in number to the number of nuclear protons, the entire structure having an approximate diameter of 10-8 centimeter and characteristically remaining undivided in chemical reactions except for limited removal, transfer, or exchange of certain electrons. The history of the study of the atomic nature of matter illustrates the thinking process that goes on in the philosophers and scientist’s heads. The epistemological methods that scientists use provide us with the best known way of arriving at useful science and factual knowledge. Actually, the thought about electricity came before atoms. In about 600 B.C. Thales of Miletus discovered that a piece of amber, after rubbing it with fur attracts bits of hair and feathers and other light objects. He suggested that this mysterious force came from the amber. Thales, however, did not connect this force with any atomic particle. Not until around 460 B.C., did a Greek philosopher, Democritus, develop the idea of atoms. Democritus thought that it ended at some point, a smallest possible bit of matter. He called these basic matter particles, atoms. Unfortunately, the atomic ideas of Democritus had no lasting effects on other Greek philosophers, including Aristotle. In fact, Aristotle dismissed the atomic idea as worthless. People considered Aristotle's opinions very important and if Aristotle thought the atomic idea had no merit, then most other people thought the same also. (Primates have great mimicking...
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...philosophy is the rational attempt to formulate, understand, and answer fundamental questions (Voices of Wisdom). What makes people partake in philosophy. It is philosophy that we turn to when we have the need to seek out a guiding principle for our lives. Therefore, philosophy holds a prominent place in society and in the world. Basically, everyone is a philosopher, but it takes the creative genius and reasoning of brilliant thinkers to bring about earth-shattering concepts. Like Thales,Socrates,Plato and Aristotle to name a few. What are the origins of Philosophy? Philosophy started when human beings started to ask questions, about how and what things are actually, due to curiosity. The things that caused these questions to come about were the people started to realize that everything is not exactly what it appears to be. Philosophy started in the town of Miletus Greece, many early philosophers came from here. The philosophers started their work around 585 B.C. Thales, one of the early Miletus philosophers, left no writings behind, all we know about him is memorable incidents recorded by later writers... Philosophy encompasses a vast range of topics...
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...TRUE & FALSE 1. Zeno, Miletus, and Elea are presocratic philosophers. 2. The presocratics were introduced to, but rejected, early Christianity. 3. Believing something because you want it to be true is the same as believing something on the basis of evidence. 4. The presocratics broke decisively from their predecessors. 5. According to Thales, all is air. 6. Anaximander sees changes in the world like they are a type of justice being served. 7. Zeno’s paradoxes were regarded as trivial by those who came after him. 8. The aim of the “two rows” or “blocks” paradox is to show that motion is impossible. 9. Parmenides argues that there is one fundamental kind of change. 10. The Milesians adopt a common strategy, differing only in how they carry it out. * 1. On Plato’s view, a shadow of a feather is more real than the feather. 2. Plato’s metaphysical ideas can be summed up in the phrase “seeing is believing.” 3. Plato says that there are some things that last forever. 4. The parable of the cave illustrates the way Plato understands the learning process. 5. Plato’s line in the simile of the line is divided into four equal parts. 6. The shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave represent the forms. 7. A realist believes that there are mind-independent entities, while an idealist does not. 8. Plato is a realist. 9. Forms are the entities that Plato believes to exist...
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...participate in the ancient Greek Olympics. If two or more Greek city-states happen to be at war with each other when the game date arrived, war was halted for the duration of the games. Everyone wanted their city-state to win! Sciences Greece has importantly influenced the Western science in many ways. The Ancient Greeks especially contributed many things to the scientific world, from medicine to astronomy. The most famous ancient Greek scientists and their work are briefly described below. Thales of Miletus (640-610 to ca 548-545 BC) had travelled widely in quest of knowledge, visiting Crete, Phoenicia, and Egypt. Ηe brought Phoenician navigational techniques into Miletus. Thales is also said to have tried to revise the calendar. He also brought Babylonian mathematical knowledge to Greece and used geometry to solve problems such as calculating the height of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. He studied astronomy in Babylonia, and after his return to Miletus gained great fame by predicting an eclipse of the sun (28.5.585 BC, Julian Calendar or 22.5.584 BC Gregorian Calendar Famous Eclipse). He was first noted as...
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...Pythagoras suggested that “wisdom is something divine and man cannot be truly wise but a lover of wisdom.” (Owen, 2003) Greek philosophy began around 1200 B.C.E. Historians believe that it was born on the south-west coast of Turkey, in a city-state called Milatos. This was near the end of the Minoan period which did not make it past the Bronze Age civilizations. The city was then refounded by Ionian Greeks in the eleventh century B.C.E. Historians also believed that a young man from Miletus was one of the founding fathers of Natural Greek Philosophy, which questions “nature and the natural causes of what occurs in the cosmos.” (Beginnings of Greek Philosophy, pg 240) Thales believed “that everything is the world is made up of matter which might take various forms like solid, liquid, or a gas.” (Beginnings of Greek Philosophy, pg 240) He knew that water could take on all three forms. Thales knew that he could take a piece of ice and apply heat to it and it will turn into water. Then if Thales applies heat to water, the water will turn into stream and when the steam condenses, water will form again. He also knew that the universe needed water to grow living organism. These same theories are still taught in or school system of today. Children learn his theories in Science class and test them out by using the same piece of ice and watch water through the different...
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...and sentences, and it rejects metaphysical propositions as cognitively meaningless. Its emphasis is logic and language. On the other hand, the continental school defines philosophy in terms of the meaning of life and one’s relationship with the world and the Other (other human beings and/ or God). It considers the activities of the analytic tradition as meaningless to one’s life. Its emphasis is life. It is therefore advisable to just leave the definition of philosophy in its original etymological meaning, although even this is not safe. Quite recently, Hans-Georg Gadamer (1989), an hermeneute, has rejected epistemic wisdom as within the realm of human control. The ancient Greeks defined philosophy as love of (epistemic) wisdom. Thales, who is traditionally considered the father of philosophy, was interested in “knowing” the ultimate reality, or the funadamental/basic stuff out of which everything comes into being and to which everything eventually returns. Metaphysics is the study of ultimate reality, but to “know” the ultimate reality is to engage in an epistemological inquiry as a part of metaphysics. In other words, the wisdom to know the ultimate reality is an epistemic wisdom. Following Aristotle’s distinction, Gadamer...
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...| Greeks | CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1 Chinese | Indians and Hindus | Islam | God | Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumptions that there were many gods and goddesses. | The idea of Heaven (T’ien) plays a prominent role in indigenous Chinese religion. The term can refer to a god, an impersonal power, or both. The concept Is now well-defined, and religious scholars have had a difficult time deciding whether T’ien was believed to be a force like fate or a personal identity. It is also unclear whether the ancient Chinese believed T’ien responded to human supplication or simply worked in accordance with the principles of T’ien. | God created human beings and everything. | Monotheism, belief in one God, is the most important and foundational concept in Islam. Muslims believe in one God who created the universe and has power over everything within it. He is unique and exalted above everything. He creates, and His greatness cannot be compared to His creation. | Man | Men had the dominant role in public life in ancient Greece. They were engaged iin politics and public events, while women were often encouraged to stay in the home. | For the Chinese then, Philosophy is the translation of words into action or the application of theory into praxis. Thus for the Chinese, philosophy singles out a person to live on what he says/teaches thus, a man/woman of integrity who has word/s of honor. | In Hindu tradition, Manu is the name accorded to a progenitor of humanity...
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...The History of Geometry Geometry, from the ancient Greek “geo” meaning Earth and “metron” meaning measurement, arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was revolutionized by Euclid, who introduced mathematical rigor still in use today. In modern times, geometric concepts have been generalized to a high level of abstraction and complexity, and have been subjected to the methods of calculus and abstract algebra, so that many modern branches of the field are barely recognizable as the descendants of early geometry. The earliest recorded beginnings of geometry can be traced to early peoples, who discovered obtuse triangles in the ancient Indus Valley, and ancient Babylonia from around 3000 BC. Early geometry was a collection of empirically discovered principles concerning lengths, angles, areas, and volumes, which were developed to meet some practical need in surveying, construction, astronomy, and various crafts. Among these were some surprisingly sophisticated principles, and a modern mathematician might be hard put to derive some of them without the use of calculus. Greek Geometry The early history of Greek geometry is unclear, because no original sources of information remain and all of our knowledge is from secondary sources written many years after the early period. For the ancient Greek mathematicians, geometry was the crown jewel of their sciences, reaching a completeness and perfection of methodology that no other branch of their...
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