Thales of Miletus (9 mayo 624 año aC – 24 oct 546 año aC)

Descripción:

Thales, one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece. Key notions:

1. Everything is water.
2. Prediction of Eclipse.
3. Thales's Theorem.

Thales was perhaps one of the first figures in Ancient Philosophy to adopt elements of a 'scientific attitude' towards the world. He sought to discover the origin of all things. It is cautiously claimed by Aristotle that he believed the origins of all things to be in water (although this may be a distorted reference to Babylonian mythology in which the world emerges from a swamp). Part of his thinking for this Aristotle speculates, is that water - in modern terminology - can be a gas liquid and a solid. Further, all living things require water and areas lacking in water are barren landscapes. Aristotle also claims that Thales believed land to be balanced upon water and that earthquakes are caused by the rocking of the waves.

The significance of these speculations is the fact that Thales appears to be making the essential transition from Mythos to Logos, a mythological accounting for phenomenon to an - albeit impoverished - logical account. Earthquakes and the worlds spacial positioning is not being attributed to the workings of the gods but to natural influences.

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