the philosopher Anaximander of Miletus was probably the second philosopher from the Western tradition and the second from the Ionian school. disciple of tales, he continued his master's studies in search of the probable origin of the Universe, having developed another theory.
Anaximander also had political influence in his time, having held administrative positions in the city of Miletus. THE cosmology de Anaximander points out that the possible origin for the Universe it would be an infinite, indefinable and immortal element, which he called apeiron.
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Anaximander Biography
Anaximander was born in the city of Miletus, region of Ionia (present-day Turkey), a portion of land belonging to the territory of Asia Minor, approximately in the year 610 BC. Ç. The Greek philosopher, astronomer and geographer met Thales, considered the first Greek philosopher, who influenced his thinking. Anaximander continued to search for the origin of the universe
(cosmology) of Thales, as opposed to the doctrines mythological, which explained the appearance of everything in a fanciful way.
There are no historical archives elaborated by Anaximander. What is known about him comes from reports left by Simplicio, Herodotus and Aristotle, who lived after him. Reports indicate that the second philosopher from Ionian wrote a book, the work about nature.
However, this work was never found. His contributions to cosmology, in addition to the theory of origin (arche) from nature (physis), include a theory about the Earth shape (which according to the thinker was that of a cylinder), the explanation of the existence and the movement of Sun (the thinker believed that the star was a ball of fire that started from the hole in the axis of the cylinder and moved around it), and a world map as it was known at the time.
Anaximander theory
Anaximander left contributions to the philosophy, to the astronomy and for the geography (which have already been refuted, but which are of immense historical importance). Below, we list his contributions to Western thought:
• Arché
As a pre-Socratic philosopher, the thinker was seeking to understand the origin and formation of the entire Universe. So, like Thales, his master, he entered a movement to search for the probable element that would have given rise to everything that exists, which was expressed by the Greek word arche.
Anaximander's observations of nature made the thinker, as opposed to tales, did not present a cosmological theory based on a definite and palpable element, but understood that there was a complex relationship in the Universe that would give rise to this. This elementary relationship he called apeiron.
• Apeiron
The word apeiron designates something infinite, therefore immortal and indefinable. This element was something that always existed, even before the existence of the Universe and beings, and it was invisible. O apeiron it was the result of a whirlwind of relationships between opposites (hot and cold, dry and wet, darkness and light...) that resulted in a unity and was present in everything.
According to the philosopher, the origin of everything would have emerged from this turmoil and everything was composed of a unity arising from the duality of opposite pairs. When ordinary beings ceased to exist, they would return to the apeiron.
Anaximander's Top Ideas
In addition to the generating principle of the Universe, Anaximander carried out studies of geography and astronomy. There are reports, based on the writings left by Simplicio and Herodotus, that Anaximander would have formulated a theory about the Earth shape. His theory said that the Earth it was a cylinder, suspended by a kind of shaft of fire. In this cylinder, the continental terrestrial portions were at one end. The sun was a ball of fire expelled from a hole and moved around the end of the cylinder.
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Anaximander Phrases
As there are no documents left directly by Anaximander, some sentences can bring us closer to his thinking. The following are two sentences attributed to him:
"All beings are derived from other older beings by successive transformations."
"Infinite is the origin of all things."
By M. Francisco Porfirio
Philosophy teacher