Xenophanes was the first to say that knowledge is acquired through discovery. The idea that knowledge comes from discovery allowed t Xenophanes, Tales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Heraclitus to each look to one single element or essence to understand the universe. The importance of "first principles" lies in the reliance on nature rather than the supernatural. Each philosopher chose his own principle; this concept did not lead to the assumption of one universal principle. Heraclitus believed that the first principle was fire; Tales chose water, Anaximenes air, and Anaximander the Unlimited. Each one questioned how his chosen principle could exhibit itself in the natural world that is available to human discovery. This provided more of a challenge because the order of things could not be attributed to the will of a being with thoughts, emotions, desires, and behaviors similar to those of human beings. Heraclitus, for example, chose fire to symbolize his idea that everything in the world is in constant flux. Fire is the only one of the four elements that has the power to effect significant physical change in what it touches. Fire is powerful, and has the ability to transform things. This supports the idea that nothing remains the same. I found it particularly interesting that Heraclitus chose fire as his first principle, but used water as a metaphor for the same concept. The quote from Heraclitus that "Into the same rivers we step and do not step," (frag. 110; 49a) represents the world as flowing water. The current and the constant motion of the water demonstrate that we may step into a river twice, but the second time is a different river. The water continues along its path and never rests in one place. This is particularly compelling because the river metaphor is a much simpler than reconciling fire with the physical manifestation of the notion of constant flux. .
Beginning with Xenophanes, the Presocratics attempted to define their experience of the world in terms of nature, itself.
During the time of the Presocratic philosophers, theorizing on metaphysics was an exceptionally popular subject. ... Out of the four main elements used in the Presocratic era (earth, air, fire, and water), water is the only one that can interchange between all three states. ...
During the time of the Presocratic philosophers, theorizing on metaphysics was an exceptionally popular subject. ... Out of the four main elements used in the Presocratic era (earth, air, fire, and water), water is the only one that can interchange between all three states. ...
Already exposed to lyrical poetry like that of Sappho, the first philosophers or the presocratics arose after lifetimes of compliance. ... These presocratic schools shared a common focus, it being to understand the origin of the world and the machine by which it was driven, however, they did not all share the same model. ...
Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes were the three men who started what is now known as philosophy in Miletus. Their main focus was to understand the nature of the things around them. The first philosophers thought that,the principles in the form of matter were the only principle of all things?. ...
Hinduism is a loosely used term referring to the religious traditions of Southern Asia, beginning in the second millennium b.c.e. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism does not advocate the worship of one particular deity. Rather, it represents a hugely diverse group of traditions, all based p...
Natural philosophy is the orderly investigation of the phenomena of the universe through the use of experimental observation and/or logical reasoning. It was introduce by Alexander the Great in his creation of the Library of Alexandria. This gave consent to the pursuit of knowledge and, since Alex...
What Is Real? Natural philosophy is the orderly investigation of the phenomena of the universe through the use of experimental observation and/or logical reasoning. It was introduce by Alexander the Great in his creation of the Library of Alexandria. This gave consent to the pursuit of knowledge ...
