Dialogues on Philosophy: Anaximander by doriano

Fractal • Fantasy • posted on Jun 27, 2010

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Description

Anaximander (c.610—546 BCE) Anaximander was the author of the first surviving lines of Western philosophy. He speculated and argued about “the Boundless” as the origin of all that is. He also worked on the fields of what we now call geography and biology. Moreover, Anaximander was the first speculative astronomer. He originated the world-picture of the open universe, which replaced the closed universe of the celestial vault. First Principle for Anaximander is the Boundless (APEYRON), in which it is argued that the Boundless has no origin, because it is itself the origin. We would say that it looks more like a string of associations and word-plays than like a formal argument. It runs as follows: “Everything has an origin or is an origin. The Boundless has no origin. For then it would have a limit. Moreover, it is both unborn and immortal, being a kind of origin. For that which has become has also, necessarily, an end, and there is a termination to every process of destruction” (Physics 203b6-10, DK 12A15). The Greeks were familiar with the idea of the immortal Homeric gods. Anaximander added two distinctive features to the concept of divinity: his Boundless is an impersonal something (or “nature,” the Greek word is “phusis”), and it is not only immortal but also unborn. However, perhaps not Anaximander, but Thales should be credited with this new idea. Diogenes Laërtius ascribes to Thales the aphorism: “What is the divine? That which has no origin and no end” (DK 11A1 (36)). Similar arguments, within different contexts, are used by Melissus (DK 30B2[9]) and Plato (Phaedrus 245d1-6).

Comments (16)

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peedy

12:26AM | Sun, 27 June 2010

More beauties. Gorgeous lighting. Corrie

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alessimarco

12:47AM | Sun, 27 June 2010

Astounding work!

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Rerewhakaaitu

1:23AM | Sun, 27 June 2010

Thales built on the works of earlier 'lost' thinking. The survival of the idea is all===and nothing, because the conclusions are the same. Some of Anaximander's thoughts may well have come from the East.

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