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person~620–546 BCE

Thales

Disciplines:
philosophy
mathematics
astronomy
reformation/pre-socratic

Summary

Milesian philosopher traditionally regarded as the first Greek philosopher — who argued that all things are made of water — and who predicted a solar eclipse and demonstrated that philosophy can be profitable (cornered the olive press market by predicting a good harvest).

Core Contribution

Performs the first philosophical move in the Western tradition — asking what everything is made of and giving a natural rather than mythological answer — establishing the method of seeking a single material principle for all phenomena that defines natural philosophy.

Historical Influences

Egyptian and Babylonian astronomy

Intellectual Lineage

Miletus Ionia

Contemporaries & Peers

Anaximander Solon

Minds Influenced

Anaximander Pre-Socratic tradition Jonathan Bi

Intellectual Posterity

Thales as first philosopherWater as archêMilesian schoolThales's theorem

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Thales

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