The document provides a summary of early philosophical thought from Hesiod (~700 BCE) through the medieval period. It describes the ideas of early Greek philosophers including Thales of Miletus, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras of Samos, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Democritus, Epicurus, and Lucretius. It also discusses Platonic idealism, Aristotelian cosmology, Ptolemaic astronomy, the stationary earth view in the Bible, and the development of alchemy and universities during the medieval period under the Kaliphate from 632 to 850 CE.

1. Before the “Revolution”

2. Ch. 1 - 3
pp. 11 - 103

9. Hesiod
~700 BCE
In the beginning there was only Chaos, the
Abyss
But then Gaia, the Earth, came into being,
Her broad bosom the ever-firm foundation of
all,
And Tartaros, dim in the underground depths,
And Eros, loveliest of all the Immortals, who
Makes their bodies (and men’s bodies) go limp,
Mastering their minds and subduing their wills.

16. Thales of Miletus
~624 to ~546 BCE
“Western philosophy began with
Thales” (Bertrand Russell, 1945)
Natural explanations for
observed events, e.g. earthquakes
What is the “first
principle” (arche) from which all
things are made?
Is change real? What causes it?

17. Anaximander
~610 to ~ 546 BCE
Accepts material monism but
not water
Aperion is in motion and splits
into hot (fire) and cold (air &
earth)
Change occurs due to law-like
forces

18. Anaximander
~610 to ~ 546 BCE
“[T]he first animals were produced
in moisture, enclosed in thorny
barks ... they came out onto the
drier part”
“Humans were born from other
kinds of animals”
“[T]here arose from heated water
and earth either fish of animals very
like fish. In these, humans grew ...”

19. Anaximenes
died 528 BCE
Aer rarefies to become Fire
Aer condenses to form wind
(then cloud, water, earth &
stone)

20. Were the Milesian School “scientists”?

21. Shared Values
Commitment to argument and critical inquiry, together
with a view about the nature of justification
Commitment to the idea that the natural world could
be explained in terms that do not refer to anything
beyond nature itself

22. Pythagoras of Samos
~570 to ~495 BCE
Akousmatikoi (“listeners”) saw him as
a religious and ethical leader
Mathematikoi (“learners”) studied
philosophy, mathematics, astronomy,
music
Mathematics was key to
understanding the kosmos

24. Heraclitus
~535 to ~475 BCE
“The Riddler”
Τα Πάντα ῥεῖ - “Everything flows”
The logos (account, word) was the
single divine law of the universe that
governs all change and we can come
to understand it.
Logos manifests itself as fire, always
changing yet always the same.

25. Parmenides
Born ~515 BCE?
The world as it appears is false.
Change is impossible, and existence is
timeless, uniform, and unchanging.
Clear influence on Plato.

26. Democritus
~460 to ~370 BCE
There is no purpose (telos),
prime mover or final cause
Mechanistic explanation
involving indestructible atoms.
The universe is composed of
nothing but tiny atoms
churning which collide
together to form larger units.

27. Epicurus & Lucretius

28. Aristarchus
310 to ~230 BCE
Proposed heliocentric model of solar system
Believed stars to be great distances away

30. Platonic Idealism

31. Aristotelian
Cosmology
Sphere Change Composition
Terrestrial Mutable Four Elements
Celestial Immutable Quintessence

33. Ptolemaic Astronomy

35. Ptolemaic Universe

37. A Stationary Earth
“The LORD is king, robed with majesty; the LORD is robed,
girded with might. The world will surely stand in place, never
to be moved.” [Psalms 93:1]
“The LORD is king. The world will surely stand fast, never to
be moved. God rules the peoples with fairness.” [Psalms 96:
10]
“You fixed the earth on its foundation, never to be
moved.” [Psalms 104: 5]
“Tremble before him, all the earth; he has made the world
firm, not to be moved.” (1 Chronicles 16: 30]

38. A Mobile Sun
“Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when
the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the
children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon,
in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and
the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written
in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the
midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a
whole day.”

39. The Kaliphate
632 to 850 CE

40. Alchemy

41. Medieval
Christianity
Aristotle & Plato (Timaeus)
Universities