While we sometimes think of philosopher as a discipline of scholars closely associated with formal education, early Greek philosophy grew up in the streets and in politics rather than academia. Before 500 BCE, Miletus was the largest and richest of the Greek cities. Thales, sometimes considered the first philosopher was born in Miletus about 624 BCE.
For Thales philosophy was about thinking about every aspect of life. It was not about accepting the old, traditional myths and stories. In looking at the world around him and thinking about it, he came to the conclusion that water was the basic principle of everything. Everything originated with water and would ultimately return to water. It should be pointed out that Miletus was a sea port and so its very existence depended on water.
Like the Greek philosophers who came after him, Thales was familiar with Babylonian science, and particularly Babylonian astronomy. Using this knowledge, he predicted the solar eclipse of 585 BCE.
Like other philosophers of this era, Thales undoubted perceived the world as a globe. Viewing water as the founded, he viewed the earth—that is the land mass—as floating on the water. Since earth floats on water, Thales felt that this was the source of earthquakes.
Thales is generally credited with the founding of the Milesian school of natural philosophy and developing the scientific method (though part of this was borrowed from the ancient Babylonians.)
With regard to politics, Thales lived at a time when the Greek cities in Ionia were being constantly threatened by powerful Asian monarchies. As a solution, Thales suggested the formation of a league of Greek cities. While it was an interesting idea, it was not particularly popular and the league was never formed. In 545 BCE, Ionia was conquered by Persia, two years after Thales died.
None of Thales’ writings exist today and there are some who feel that he didn’t actually write anything. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
"There is no direct evidence that any written material of Thales was available to Plato and Aristotle, but there is a surprisingly long list of early writers who could have known Thales, or had access to his works, and these must be considered as possible sources for Plato, Aristotle, and the philosophers and commentators who followed them."
Welcome to Street Prophets Saturday. This is an open thread—you don’t have to be a philosopher to join in.