Anaximander Vs. Thales

Delencio Blanco-Halstead

Professor Luis Guzman

Philosophical Explorations I

October 14, 2015

Anaximander VS. Thales

                Once lived, there were great philosophers that walked on what we call earth today. Philosopher comes from the Ancient Greek which means lover of wisdom. These philosophers believed in many things, some things many people discouraged them for and some people were greatly influenced by them positively. Early pre-socratic philosophers such as Permenides, Plato, Anaxagoras, Thales, Heraclitus, Anaximander and many more. The philosopher Thales believed in the material principle, while his successor Anaximander who was also his student believed in the principle of aperion. These philosophers had many similarities and differences.

                Thales originated from Miletus, Turkey and he existed from 624 B.C. till 546 B.C. Thales searches for the answer of “What is ?”. Thales was also an expert in astrology and an expert mathematician. He believed in the fact that everything originated from nature and nothing else. Also known as a materialist, furthermore being that only matter exist. Thales also proceeds to argue that all things have the interior of gods. What he argued was the same as his first view because the most important property of the gods is immortality. Which leaves leaves us to believe that saying all things are filled with the gods is the same as saying that there is the property of immortality in all things.Thales identified that everything emerged from water and everything that exist has water inside of it, such as us humans, flowers, trees, and so on.

                Thales says that water is the building blocks for the earth, because the universe is supported by water. Water is the only element that can be changed from a solid matter to liquid matter to gas matter, and water is constant element that is required for self-preservation. To expand on his theory the form of matter was the only principle for all things in that early time period. Nature comes from all things moist and a moist nature is started with water. Water is the natural principle of moist things. Thales also stated that humans were exceptionally selfish and only thought about themselves, which happens to directly relate to self preservation.         

                Anaximander was a greek philosopher living in Miletus, a city of Ionia. Anaximander became Thales successor by attending the Milesian school and being taught by Thales.  He lived from 610 B.C. until 546 B.C. Just like Thales, Anaximander stated that there was a substance that was filled the universe. Anaximander believed in the principle of apeiron. Apeiron was the source of all things and it meant all things natural were infinite. Further expanding on that meaning that all things that die, will return to the element in which they came to be. For example when when paper is burned it turns to ashes, just like wood and even a living being. They all originate to be ash. Therefore nothing has an ending.