Pre-Socratic Philosophers and the Origin of Thought
The Dawn of Philosophy
Philosophy emerged between the seventh and sixth centuries BC in the Greek colonies. Within the independent city-states (polis), free citizens cultivated free thought. Three elements unified them: religion (whose absence fostered rational thought), theatre, and the Olympic Games (traditions rooted in Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, and Hesiod’s Works and Days and Theogony). This era allowed for both slavery and the pursuit of philosophy (“primum vivere, deinde philosophare” – first live, then philosophize).
The Milesians and the Search for Arche
The first philosophers, known as the pre-Socratics, lived in colonies, focusing on the study of nature (physis). They sought the ultimate principle of reality (Arche) and its composition (essence). We primarily know of their work through fragments and accounts by later writers (doxographers). The fifth century BC saw the rise of Athens, the Persian Wars, the Delian League, and the Peloponnesian War. This period culminated in the condemnation of Socrates.
Early explanations of the world were mythical-religious, relying on uncorroborated stories about gods and heroes. Philosophers shifted towards logos, “speech full of reason,” using reason to understand reality. This contrasted with relying solely on the senses.
Key Pre-Socratic Figures
- Thales: Predicted a solar eclipse in 585 BC. Believed water was the Arche, suggesting the earth floated on water and life depended on it.
- Anaximenes: Proposed air as the Arche, transforming through rarefaction and condensation into wind, clouds, water, and earth.
- Heraclitus of Ephesus: Known for his aphorisms, emphasizing the dynamic nature of reality. Believed fire was the Arche and saw a universal harmony in conflict through logos.
- Anaximander: Created the gnomon and early maps. Proposed the Arche as Apeiron (infinity, unlimited, undetermined), also representing justice.
- Pythagoras of Samos: Founded a philosophical school. Explained reality through numbers, representing them geometrically (e.g., Tetractys). The Pythagoreans held mystical beliefs about the transmigration of souls, reincarnation, and the kinship of living things. Their community rules emphasized silence, music, mathematics, and the spherical perfection of the universe.
- Parmenides: Distinguished between truth (deductive, rationalist) and opinion (inductive, empirical). Believed the Arche was Being, governed by the principle of identity (existence is thought). Being is immutable, eternal, unique, and continuous.
- Empedocles: Proposed four roots: water, fire, earth, and air. Envisioned a cyclical nature, from unity to multiplicity through cosmic forces.
- Anaxagoras: Proposed a mixture of seeds (spermata) with qualities, where everything contains a portion of everything else.
- Democritus: Proposed atoms as indivisible parts with quantitative qualities.
- Sophists: Focused on humanistic concerns, criticizing institutions and emphasizing doubt. They taught rhetoric and dialectic.
- Socrates: Sought moral truth through irony (awareness of one’s ignorance) and maieutics (knowledge within). His philosophy centered on doing good and avoiding evil.