Understanding Physis: Nature, Essence, and Arche in Greek Thought
Understanding Physis: Nature, Essence, and Arche
The term physis has two main uses:
- As a set of beings inhabiting the universe, excluding those made by humans.
- As something intrinsic and permanent.
Key Features of Greek Philosophy of Nature
- Necessity: Linked to the concept of necessity, reflecting order rather than chaos. Every being has its place by nature’s demand.
- Dynamic: Nature is not static but dynamic, with the universe in constant motion (stars, seasons, etc.). Intrinsic motion is natural, distinguishing it from the artificial. The Greeks viewed the universe as a living organism, not a machine.
Nature vs. Essence
Nature, defined as the “permanent self of things,” can be related to the concept of essence. However, they differ: essence ignores variable and changing aspects, while nature explains these changes and variations.
- Nature is what things truly are, the foundation of their appearance.
- Nature is the unifying principle generating plurality.
Early Questions of Greek Philosophers
- What generates the beings of the universe?
- What is the ultimate substrate of being in the universe?
- What causes the transformation of beings in the universe?
Principle or Arche of Things
Nature, as the origin and producer of things, is called the arche by the Milesians.
Definitions of Nature by the Greeks:
- Authentic reality of things.
- The opposite of the artificial and conventional.
- The set of things not created by humans.
The concept of nature as the principle and origin of everything was diminished as Western culture embraced Christianity, which attributed the origin of things to God, the opposite of nature. The Greeks were the first to attribute the origin of things to nature, leading to their branding as materialists.
Different Solutions to the Origin or Arche of Things
A) The School of Miletus
Representatives: Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes.
- Thales: Water is the arche, based on:
- Influence of Oriental and Greek cosmology (gods making nature from chaotic water).
- Water’s importance for life.
- Thales’ admiration for Egyptian culture and the importance of water there.
- Anaximander: The arche is apeiron (indeterminate), with instinctive movement leading to individual beings.
- Anaximenes: The arche is air, with dilatation, condensation, and rarefaction forming cold, hot, fire, water, and land.
B) The School of the Pythagoreans
Representatives: Pythagoras, Alcmaeon, and Archytas.
For this school, the origin of things is number. Their mathematical dedication influenced their explanation of nature. The principle or arche is not physical but formal and abstract.