Anaximander (610 - 546)
Anaximander, the second philosopher of the Milesian school, is much more interesting than Thales. His dates are uncertain, but he was said to have been sixty-four years old in 546 B.C., and there is reason to suppose that this is somewhere near the truth. He held that all things come from a single Primal Substance, but that it is not water, as Thales held, or any other of the substances that we know. It is infinite, eternal and ageless, and "it encompasses all the worlds" for he thought our world only one of many. Thales’ pupil Anaximander. This is a remarkable leap from the idea that the arche must consist of some form of matter. Unlike his teacher, he wrote a book, ‘On Nature’, Peri Phuseos, and a quotation from it by Simplicius counts as the very first recorded words of philosophy.
Greeks people said that Anaximander is master of Pythagoras.
Doctrine
| Aperion is central to the consomoloical theory created by Anaximander in the 6th century BCE |
Anaximander’s most distinctive thesis, however, concerns the arche. He said that the apeiron, ‘the infinite’ or ‘indefinite’, is that from which everything comes into being and into which everything finally reverts, by a process which is like reciprocity or compensation. Those famous first-ever words of philosophy, as quoted by Simplicius, express this idea: ‘where things have their origin there too their passing away occurs according to necessity; they pay justice and reparation to one another for their injustice in conformity with the ordinance of time.’ The concept at work is that nature operates according to laws, and when they are disturbed ‘reparation’ sets in to restore their proper operation. When ‘justice’ is interpreted as ‘balance’ the point becomes yet clearer. His view is reported at more length by Plutarch thus: ‘the infinite is the universal cause of the generation and destruction of the universe. From it the heavens were separated off and in general all the worlds, infinite in number. He asserted that destruction, and, much earlier, generation occur from time immemorial, all the same things being renewed.’
The primal substance is transformed into the various substances with which we are familiar, and these are transformed into each other. As to this, he makes an important and remarkable statement: "Into that from which things take their rise they pass away once more, as is ordained, for they make reparation and satisfaction to one another for their injustice according to the ordering of time."
Anaximander had an argument to prove that the primal substance could not be water, or any other known element. If one of these were primal, it would conquer the others. these known elements are in opposition to one another. Air is cold, water is moist, and fire is hot. "And therefore, if any one of them were infinite, the rest would have ceased to be by this time." The primal substance, therefore, must be neutral in this cosmic strife.
The idea of justice, both cosmic and human, played a part in Greek religion and philosophy which is not altogether easy for a modern to understand; indeed our word "justice" hardly expresses what is meant, but it is difficult to find any other word that would be preferable. The thought which Anaximander is expressing seems to be this: there should be a certain proportion of fire, of earth, and of water in the world, but each element (conceived as a god) is perpetually attempting to enlarge its empire. But there is a kind of necessity or natural law which perpetually redresses the balance; where there has been fire, for example, there are ashes, which are earth. This conception of justice of not overstepping eternally fixed bounds was one of the most profound of Greek beliefs. The gods were subject to justice just as much as men were, but this supreme power was not itself personal, and was not a supreme God. Anaximander had an argument to prove that the primal substance could not be water, or any other known element. If one of these were primal, it would conquer the others.
There was an eternal motion, in the course of which was brought about the origin of the worlds. There was evolution also in the animal kingdom. Living creatures arose from the moist element as it was evaporated by the sun. Man, like every other animal, was descended from fishes. He must be derived from animals of a different sort, because, owing to his long infancy, he could not have survived, originally, as he is now.
| The first map of the world |
Anaximander was full of scientific curiosity. He is said to have been the first man who made a map. he is said to have predicted an earthquake. He held that the earth is shaped like a cylinder. He is variously reported as saying the sun is as large as the earth, or twenty-seven times as large, or twenty-eight times as large.
Wherever he is original, he is scientific and rationalistic.
