Anaximenes of Miletus
Anaximenes (in Greek: Άναξιμένης) of Miletus (585 B.C.E. - 525 B.C.E.) was a Greek philosopher from the latter half of the 6th century, probably a younger contemporary of Anaximander, whose pupil or friend he is said to have been.
He held that the air, with its variety of contents, its universal presence, its vague associations in popular fancy with the phenomena of life and growth, is the source of all that exists. Everything is air at different degrees of density, and under the influence of heat, which expands, and of cold, which contracts its volume, it gives rise to the several phases of existence. The process is gradual, and takes place in two directions, as heat or cold predominates. In this way was formed a broad disk of earth, floating on the circumambient air. Similar condensations produced the sun and stars; and the flaming state of these bodies is due to the velocity of their motions.
What makes the three milesic philsophers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximedes, stand out is that the theorethical human has become a reality. The way of thinking has in its basic form moved away from the mythological thinking (or mythos) and into the domain of the theorethical thinking (or logos). From now on it is about explaining the universal and the general. Everything in the universe can now be approached by the thoughts of humans.
See also: philosophy
Reference
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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