THE MILESIAN SCHOOL

They existed before philosophy became more mystical with Socrates. Yes, I'm talking about some of the "presocratics" today.

In this article, you will find 3 important names of natural philosophy, which is quite extensive: Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander. The first known physicists of humanity, the first scientists...

In fact, they all had the same question. “What is the arche of the universe, of existence?”, “How does the operation of nature progress?”

However, this did not prevent all of them from finding different answers and a cumulative accumulation.

Let's start by explaining the concept of "arche". Arche means "beginning, first cause" in Greek. We also use the word arkhe for concepts such as the main substance of existence, the first cause, the source of existence. While this concept played a major role in the development of metaphysics and science, especially physics, it was also one of the most important focuses of Ancient Greek philosophy.

Russell, in History of Western Philosophy, says that after Socrates and his students, Greek philosophy moved away from its scientific foundations.

Although the comments that Socrates is a worthless philosopher may sound a bit daring, I can say that Socrates led philosophy to mystification and superstition by leading philosophy to the study of human, not nature. Because while those before him were wondering "How", he wondered "Why". But I can't speak angry about this situation. After all, a thinker can think whatever he wants about what he wants.

In the first weeks of life, a person is a solipsist, that is, he defines his environment as a part of himself. Just like this, the fact that the first offspring of philosophy are called "Natural Philosophers" is that they see their environment from nature itself and want to learn and understand it.

For the Miletus school and other natural philosophers, the production in question was science rather than philosophy. Miletos, located in the south of Ionia, in what is now southwestern Turkey, was open to different cultural traditions as it was an active trade center between East and West. Ionian science began with Thales in the 6th century and reached its peak two centuries later with the atomism of Democritus, a contemporary of Socrates and Plato.

Milesian school philosophers are monists, that is, they argue that the Universe has only one arche.

THALES

Aristotle, in the first books of "Metaphysics", declared Thales to be the pioneer of research on arkhe. Because Thales was of the opinion that the universe arose from a primordial body of water. Isn't that a reasonable assumption? If we are to look at it materialistically, water is transformative, vital, majority… It wanders among the physical states of matter, life is born from water, seventy percent of the human body, 3/4 of the world is water. All this must have made Thales think that the essence of everything is water.

ANAXIMANDER

Thales' student Anaximander, on the other hand, will explain the arche of the universe with a concept he calls "aperion". Aperion is personal, "indefinite in quality, unlimited in quantity", and that which is perceived as abstract but concrete.

The source from which existing things derive their existence is also that to which they return at their destruction.

Anaximander speaks here of the existence of everything with its opposite. From the aperion came first the hot and cold water, then the wet water and the dry soil. Is it familiar? Yes, the antimatter we still talk about in the 21st century.

At the same time, with Anaximander, the idea that arkhe is not only a "first" source, but also a "principle" underlying changes appears for the first time. For the aperion is a principle inherent in the world, which not only constitutes the universe, but continues to surround and govern everything.

Anaximander is a philosopher well ahead of his time for me and many others because he talks about evolution, dark matter, antiparticle and much more. And he talks all these BC. in the 600's.

ANAXIMENES

Let's come to his student Anaximenes. He determines the source of natural transformations as the air that surrounds the universe, like our spirit, which is originally air and keeps us alive. There is air around everything, and air enters and leaves the human body, allowing it to live.

He is also the first philosopher to use the concept of soul. It should not be forgotten that this word, which is “psykhe” in Greek, means breath before the soul.

Anaximenes' thoughts exhibit elements specific to the Ionian philosophers' thoughts on the universe such as emphasizing the reality of material elements, breaking away from the mythological models

What made these three thinkers immortal, not their scientific accuracy, was their primary effort, their work and courage.

I recommend "Before and After Socrates, F. M. Cornford" for further readings.