The Milesian School

The Milesian School The first thing that is mentioned in any philosophy history taught to students is that Thales, who claimed that everything is formed of water, invented philosophy. The novice finds this discouraging since they may not be striving too hard to feel the respect for philosophy that the program seems to demand. Nonetheless, Thales has a lot to be respected—possibly more as a man of science than as a philosopher in the contemporary sense. Thales was born in the thriving commercial city of Miletus in Asia Minor, where there was a sharp social divide between the affluent and the poor among the free people as well as a sizable slave population. "In Miletus, the people were first in control and killed the aristocrats' wives and children; later, the aristocrats overcame their opponents and set fire to their bodies, illuminating the city's open areas with live torches." * When Thales lived, similar circumstances were present in the majority of the Greek towns in Asia Minor. Similar to other Ionian trade cities, Miletus saw significant political and economic transformations in the seventh and sixth centuries. Initially, a land-owning nobility held political authority, but over time, a plutocracy of merchants took their place. They were succeeded by a despot who, as was customary, came to power with the backing of the Democratic Party. Despite being east of the Greek coastal towns, the kingdom of Lydia maintained amicable relations with them until Nineveh's destruction (612 B.C.). Lydia was free to focus on the West after this, although Miletus was generally successful in maintaining cordial ties, particularly with Croesus, the final Lydian monarch who was overthrown by Cyrus in 546 B.C. Important relationships also existed with Egypt, whose ruler had allowed Greek trade in some cities and was dependent on Greek mercenaries. The earliest Greek colony in Egypt was a fort with a Milesian garrison residing there, although Daphnae was the most significant during the 610–560 B.C. era. It is clear that Egypt had an impact on the Greeks, but the Jews were not affected, and it is unlikely that Jeremiah felt anything other than dread toward the doubting Ionians. It is at this location that he and many other Jewish exiles sought safety from Nebuchadrezzar (Jeremiah 43:5–ff). As we have seen, the strongest evidence supporting Thales' date is that he was well-known for having predicted an eclipse, which scientists believe had to occur in 585 B.C. His activities may be roughly placed at this period based on other information. His prediction of an eclipse does not prove great brilliance. Lydia had cultural ties to Babylonia, Miletus was allied with them, and the Babylonians had recognized that eclipses reoccur in cycles of around nineteen years. They were able to accurately anticipate lunar eclipses, but their ability to predict solar eclipses was limited by the possibility that an eclipse might be seen in one location but not in another. That is likely all Thales knew. As a result, all they could know was that it was worthwhile to search for an eclipse on such and such a day. He didn't know why this cycle existed, and neither did they. It is supposed that Thales traveled to Egypt and then brought the study of geometry to the Greeks. The majority of the geometry that the Egyptians understood was applied mathematics, and there is no reason to think that Thales arrived at deductive proofs, as the Greeks did later. He appears to have figured out how to determine a ship's distance at sea based on observations made at two sites on land, as well as how to determine a pyramid's height by measuring the length of its shadow. He is credited with several more geometric theorems, most of which are most likely incorrect. He was one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, each of whom was particularly well-known for a proverb; the custom holds that his was "water is best." Aristotle asserted that the world is supported by water and that water is the initial material from which all other substances are generated. Aristotle also quotes him as saying that everything is full of gods and that the magnet has a soul since it pushes the iron. It is important to recognize that the idea that water makes up everything is a scientific theory, not an absurd one. Two thirds of water, or hydrogen, was thought to be the basis for everything twenty years ago. Though the Milesian school was at least ready to verify its theories practically, the Greeks were impetuous in their conjectures. Though considerably more is known about his successors at Miletus, it is plausible to assume that some of their perspectives originated with Thales. Too little is known about Thales to allow for a satisfactory reconstruction of him. Although his philosophy and science were simplistic, they were thought-provoking and observation-provoking. Though he is the subject of several stories, I don't believe we know much more about him than what I have already said. Aristotle recounts a few amusing incidents in Politics (1259a), such as how he was chastised for his lack of wealth and that this proved philosophy to be useless. Having a little money, he gave deposits for the use of all the olive presses in Miletus and Chios, which he hired at a low price because no one bid against him. The story goes that he knew by his skill in the stars while it was still winter that there would be a great harvest of olives in the following year. He made a significant amount of money by letting them go at any price he chose when harvest season arrived and many were suddenly needed all at once. As a result, he demonstrated to the public that while philosophers may certainly become wealthy, their goals are different. Compared to Thales, Anaximander, the second philosopher of the Milesian school, is far more fascinating. Although his exact dates are unknown, it is reasonable to assume that the sixty-four-year-old estimate made for him in 546 B.C. is close to the reality. He maintained that everything originates from a single primordial material, which is neither water as Thales said or any other known substance. It "embraces all the worlds" and is limitless, everlasting, and timeless, since he believed that our planet was just one among many. The basic material is changed into the other substances we are familiar with, which are then changed into one another. He says something significant and noteworthy about this: "They pass away again, as is ordained, into that into which things take their rise, for they make reparation and satisfaction to one another for their injustice according to the ordering of time." Greek religion and philosophy included the concept of justice, both cosmic and human, which is difficult for a modern to comprehend. In fact, the word "justice" hardly captures the essence of the notion, but it is impossible to come up with a better term. Anaximander appears to be conveying the following idea: while there should be a specific amount of fire, earth, and water in the universe, each element—when viewed as a god—is always trying to expand its dominion. However, there is a type of need or natural law that constantly restores equilibrium. For instance, ashes are earth and may be found where there has been fire. This idea of justice, which is to stay within boundaries that are always there, was among the most fundamental of Greek ideas. Justice applied to the gods in the same ways that it did to humans, but this ultimate authority was neither a supreme God nor was it personal. Anaximander had a defense to show that water or any other element that is known could not have been the primordial material. One of them would subdue the others if it were primordial. He is quoted by Aristotle as stating that these components are known to be antagonistic to each other. Since fire is hot, water is wet, and air is chilly, if any of these were limitless, the others would have ceased to exist by now. Therefore, in this cosmic conflict, the primordial essence must remain impartial. The universe began as an endless motion, which brought about the planets' creation. Unlike Jewish or Christian theology, which holds that worlds are created, the worlds developed. The animal kingdom also underwent evolution. As the wet element was absorbed by the sun, living things emerged. Fishes are the ancestors of man, just as all other animals. Since he could not have survived as an infant due to his lengthy infancy, he must have descended from creatures of a different kind. Anaximander had a great interest in science. It is said that he was the first person to create a map. He believed that the earth has a cylinder-like form. There are conflicting reports that he stated the sun is twenty-eight times larger than the earth, twenty-seven times larger than the earth, or equal to the earth. He is rationalistic and scientific wherever he is inventive. The final member of the Milesian triumvirate, Anaximenes, makes some significant advancements but is not quite as fascinating as Anaximander. His dates are wildly erratic. He was undoubtedly Anaximander's successor, and he was in full bloom prior to 494 B.C., when the Persians devastated Miletus as part of their campaign to put down the Ionian uprising. He said that air is the basic ingredient. Air is the soul; fire is air that has been rarefied; air condenses to form water, earth, and eventually stone if it is further condensed. One advantage of this approach is that it quantifies all the variations between various substances by focusing just on the level of condensation. "Just as our soul, being air, holds us together, so do breath and air encompass the whole world," he reasoned, noting that the planet is fashioned like a round table. The planet appears to be breathing. In antiquity, Anaximenes was more revered than Anaximander, a view that is nearly universally held today. He had a significant impact on Pythagoras and a lot of later conjecture. The earth is spherical, as the Pythagoreans found, but the atomists continued to follow Anaximenes' theory that it is formed like a disk. The Milesian school is noteworthy for its attempts rather than its accomplishments. It originated from the Greek mind's interaction with Egypt and Babylonia. Miletus was a wealthy trading city where contact with many different countries tempered ingrained biases and superstitions. Up until Darius subjugated it at the start of the fifth century, Ionia was the most significant region in Greek culture. It was almost spared from the religious movement associated with Bacchus and Orpheus; its religion, Olympic, was apparently not given much credence. The theories of Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes should be considered scientific conjectures as they seldom ever exhibit excessive anthropomorphic wishes or moral precepts. They posed insightful questions, and their zeal encouraged other researchers to follow up. The next phase of Greek philosophy, linked to the Greek towns of southern Italy, is more religious and especially more Orphic; while in some respects more fascinating and remarkable in its accomplishments, it is less scientific in spirit than that of the Milesians.