Ancient Philosophy Timeline

Thales - Monist 624-546 BCE -Believed that the world is made from water because it can be transferred into the three physical gas, solid, and liquid. -Known as the first philosopher. -Started looking for more logical answers to the world's questions, instead of looking for answers in religious ways.

Anaximander - Monist 610-556 BCE -Agreed with thales that the world is made up of one single element, but disagreed that the world was made up of water. -Anaximander thought that world was made up of “Apeiron”, Meaning the infinite or boundless. -Everything returns it original form in the end. -Natural philosopher.

Anaximenes - Monist 585-528 BCE -Agreed with Anaximander and thales about monism, meaning the world is made up of one element. -Thought that the world was made of air, because air gives life to the human body. -Believed that solid object are just highly compressed air.

Heraclitis - Monist 535-475 BCE -Believed in divine logos, Meaning things happen for a reason. -A balance of opposites is the unity of the universe. -monist = everything is part of one process or substance, he also believed everything must changing or flowing. -Opposite belief of Thales and Anaximander, believing things are unchanging.

Parmenides - Monist 515-445 BCE -though logically, from Pythagoras teachings they both used reason to try to determine what the worlds made from. -Disagreed With Heraclitis by saying nothing changes, and everything that exists has always existed so nothing can come from nothing. Agreed this Hersclitis that the world is made from one main element -Didn’t believe senses were reliable, and only relied on his reasonings. -“it is, or it is not” the idea that change is a illusion.

Anaxagoras- Reductionist 500-428 BCE - Anaxogoras used Empedocles ideas to form his own, he believed the world was made of an infinite number of very small particles. - He also agreed with Empedocles two main forces but he believed in a third force: Order is the force that created animals, humans and plants, he also thought of this forces as intelligence. - “Being cannot arise from non-being”

Empedocles - Pluralist 495-430 BCE -Believed in pluralism, that the world is made up of four substances fire, air, earth, and water. -Agreed with Heraclitis that the world was in constant change, disagreed with Parmenides about the world being one fixed entity.

Democritus - Atomist 460-371 BCE -Believed in atomism meaning the world was made up small particles that you cannot see, called Atoms. -Democritus agreed with Parmenides that thing aren't constantly changing, they never change. -He thought when atoms move and collide they will make new arrangements, making things appear to change. -There is an infinite number of atoms but they can only be arranged in a certain amount of ways, this is why there is only a certain amount of materials on earth.

Democritus - Continued -The atoms that make up human bodies do not get broken down into the ground but disperse into other people. -Democritus was the first philosopher to come up with all his ideas and beliefs not including a god or gods.