jan 2, 585 BC - Thales (c. 585 BCE)
Description:
Presocratic philosopher who first proposed rational explanation of the natural world. In fragmentary reports from other philosophers, Thales is supposed to have held that "All is water." His Milesian followers commonly disagreed with this simple identification of the αρχη [archê].Recommended Reading: G. S. Kirk and J. E. Raven, The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History With a Selection of Texts (Cambridge, 1988); Jonathan Barnes, The Presocratic Philosophers (Routledge, 1982); and The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy, ed. by A. A. Long (Cambridge, 1999).
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 2, 585 BC
Now
~ 2612 years ago