Scientific Method Essay

Scientific Method Essay
Scientific Method
Thales of Miletus (624–546 B.C.) was the first to suggest a single material substratum for the
universe––namely water or moisture. His cosmology proposes that all objects in the universe are
composed of water. His choice of water as the component building block of all matter may have
been due to the apparent motion of bodies of water and the conversion of water to vapor and back.
Anaximander of Miletus (610–545 B.C.) was the foremost student of Thales. He denied Thales
claim that water was the basic matter of the universe, stating instead that the world was derived from
apeiron (meaning "unlimited"). The state of apeiron preceeded the separation into other qualities,
such as hot and cold or wet and dry , and thus ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Each generation of scientists takes the knowledge, theories and cosmologies of the generations of
scientists who came before, building and expanding on them in light of new developments and
knowledge. Does the fact that a theory of our scientific forefathers, which had been universally
accepted, is proven incorrect invalidate their efforts? I donÕt believe so, but Sir Karl Popper, in
Science: Conjectures and Refutations, would seem to argue otherwise when he states that "the
criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability."
The modern scientific method is composed of several steps: observation, hypothesis,
experimentation and verification. On observation of a phenomenon a scientist will attempt to
interpret the phenomenon is light of current scientific knowledge (theory). The scientist will then
attempt to develop experiments in which to determine the validity of the theory. Through this
experimentation the theory will either be validated or disproved. Popper states that any experiment
must be a serious attempt to disprove or invalidate the theory being tested, and further, that any
theory so disproven cannot be considered science.
Poppers views descend from the fact that the physical laws, whether known or as yet undiscovered,
are immutable. Science, though, is the discipline concerned with the search for these unchanging
physical laws. The history of science is a progression of insights and revelations based on the
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Questions On The Origins Of Philosophy
Eren Halliburton 12/1/2016 Problems of Philosophy Research Paper Dr. Hutcherson
The origins of philosophy began with the dynamic question of "What if?" followed by intellectual
reasoning for the ways of the world. To look past the general purpose of life and the things that
come with it; is when a new philosophy is discovered. The first recorded philosopher came about
early on in the sixth century B.C.E. His name was Thales of Miletus or what is now Turkey. The
first three philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, are known as the Milesians because
they all came from the Greek colony of Miletus on the Persian coast and because they constitute the
first school of philosophy. (Pg. 24) However, little is known about Thales due to the fact, there
weren't any pieces of literature connecting to him. However, he did make it known that everything is
fundamentally made up of water. This belief went against the theological perspectives of Greek
mythology, introducing a more scientific view of the cosmos. Thales made it known that he wanted
to find the Arche or unifying principle that linked every aspect of life together. According to Thales,
water is the one and only Arche.
Two of Thales successors and fellow Milesians, Anaximander and Anaximenes based their beliefs
off of Thales philosophy. However, they didn't seem to agree with Thales' ideology of everything
being broken down to water. Anaximander completely dismissed the idea of the four primary
elements,

Pythagoran Influence On Greek Society
The world of chaos and disorder has become the world of order and harmony. Ever since the ancient
Greek times, chaos has been in existence. This led people to start thinking outside of the box. Many
people started questioning why somethings were the way they were. As a result many philosophers
emerged in the pre–Socratic times. Many people did not understand the world around them back in
those times. Gods were created for various reasons so that they can help explain certain
phenomenons. For many years, people used to live like this until some people started using logic
and reasoning to explain how things happened in the universe. These people that started thinking
differently are known as pre–Socratic philosophers. Greek mythology came out ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
However these were not the only fields in which discoveries were being made. One of the many
men that had made a huge impact on Greek and modern culture is Pythagoras. He is known for
many things including the Pythagorean Theorem. Pythagoras was from the same city Thales was
from, Miletus. As his life went on he moved to Croton, which was in the southern part of Italy. This
is where the secret religious society: Pythagoreans, was established. The Pythagoreans had taken
over Croton and various other Greek cities in the southern part of Italy. Pythagoras was also know
for discovering harmonics and shapes. The concept of harmonics is known as music in the modern
word. The Pythagoreans identified a pentagram on their hands. They called it the "golden rectangle"
because it had special properties. As the number of Pythagoreans increased and all of this
knowledge started emerging, cosmos was starting to build. Cosmos was a fundamental Pythagorean
belief. Cosmos means orderly universe. The Greek culture transitioned from a society filled with
chaos where all gods controlled various things to, universe filled with

Why Do Thales Participate?
I find it interesting to be speaking about the Greek mathematician Thales, as I first heard about him
this semester in my Western Civilization class. According to mathopenref.com Thales was one of the
first seven wise men of Ancient Greece.Thales was also one of the earliest Greek philosophers.
Thales was the Discoverer of Geometry of lines. After the discovery of geometry lines, Abstract
geometry appeared. Thales was a teacher of Anaximander, who was a Greek scientist from Miletus.
Thales was the founder of the Ionian school of philosophy also located in Miletus. Miletus was an
ancient city of the Ionian Greeks in southwestern Asia Minor. Thales school of philosophy was not
only the only school founded in Miletus, Many schools were founded in Miletus. All of the schools
were a big attraction to scientist, philosophers, geographers and architects. Thales was known for the
theoretical and practical understanding of geometry. Many think that this discovery was not really
his but everyone gave him credit for it . He also has been confirmed by many sources to ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This is where he learned his skills of mathematical innovations. While in Egypt he was able to
establish the height of a pyramid by measuring the length of its shadow, when the length of his own
shadow was equal to his height. Thales learned many new things while in Egypt. One big thing he
learned about later helped Greek mathematicians. Thales learned about the Egyptian rope–pullers
and the methods. He brought all of his knowledge on mathematical innovations back to Greece. He
brought back notes on the rope–pullers method of Egyptians and had Greek mathematicians
translate the method into a system of points, lines and arcs. While Thales did geometrical research
he used triangles to apply his understanding of geometry to calculate the distance from shore of
ships and sea. This was important to Greeks for the reason of if the ships were coming for trade or

Ancient Egyptian Research Paper
Science – An endeavor dedicated to the accumulation and classification of observable facts in order
to formulate general laws about the natural world. "Science" comes from the Latin word "scientia"
which means "to have knowledge." The purpose of science is make general laws that explains the
world around us. Practicing science involves experimentation and observation. The history of
science started a long time ago. It is said that the first inklings of science were from 600 B.C. The
ancient Egyptians are said to have pretty sophisticated medical practices 3,000 years before Christ.
Most historians agree that the heart of the Egyptian medicine was trial and error. Egyptian doctors
would try one remedy, and if they saw it worked, would continue ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Now we know that that is actually true because certain bread molds produce penicillin, a chemical
that kills germs that infect wounds. Another thing the Egyptian doctors did was to feed their hurting
patients poppy seeds. The poppy seeds from the flower would heal the patients pain. Modern
scientists know that poppy seeds contain morphine and codeine, which are both excellent pain
relievers, and drugs that we still use today. Egyptians also made papyrus – an ancient form of paper,
made from a plant of the same name. They would cut really thin slices of the stem of the papyrus
plant, lay them crossed on top of each other, moisten them, and then press and dry them. This was a
much better system than the clay tablets they were using before. The papyrus paper they would roll
and that was how the medicine practices were passed down from generation to generation. Other
cultures that the Egyptians had inventions also. Around that time the Mesopotamians made the first
pottery using the first known potter's wheel. Not long after that horse–drawn chariots were being
used. Around 1,000 years before Christ, the Chinese were using

Heraclitus Research Paper
Heraclitus was a pre–Socratic Greek philosopher, who was born around 500 BCE. Heraclitus is best
known for his theories that things are constantly changing, the unity of opposites, and that fire is the
basic material of the world. The Milesians consist of three philosophers: Thales, Anaximander and
Anaximenes. First there is Thales, who was a pre–Socratic Greek philosopher born in 624 BC.
Thales is most well known for his theories that the world derives from water; the world rests on
water; the world is full of gods, and soul produces motion. Next, Anaximander was a pre–Socratic
Greek philosopher born in 611 BC, and a student of Thales. Anaximander's most famous theory is
the claim that the basic stuff of the universe is apeiron, infinite and boundless. Finally, Anaximenes
was a pre–Socratic Greek philosopher as well, who was born in 585 BC. Anaximenes is most
famous for his claim that everything is air. These philosophers all sought to explain the natural
world, with different theories, and a few similarities. This essay will ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Heraclitus believed that everything is in a constant stage of change. He uses fire as his principle
element to symbolize constant change. The elements of fire are constantly changing, but its essence
remains the same. Heraclitus regards fire as a process, instead of an unchanging, underlying element
of all things. If the fire were to stop changing, it would stop existing. "No man ever steps in the
same river twice, for it's not the same river and he is not the same man." No one can step into the
same river twice because the river is constantly changing, and it is no longer the same river that it
was the first time. At the same time, when stepping into the same river, this person is not the exact
same individual that they were the first time that they stepped into the river; people change, and so
does what is occurring around them. Nothing in the world is

Comparison: A Short Story Of Tetrahedron
Tetra was a turtle; She was not unlike other turtles. She had scutes on her carapace just like all the
others. However, she was also quite different from all the other turtles because her scutes were
shaped like tiny triangles, which between you and me is very unusual for a turtle.
________________________________________ In fact, that is how she got her name Tetra. Tetra
is short for tetrahedron; A tetrahedron is a three–dimensional solid having four triangular faces. In
other words, it is a triangular pyramid. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – There is one thing Tetra
loved beyond all else. Do you know what that thing was? Yep, ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
"Thales, that's right! How did you do that?" ________________________________________ "It's
easy, Tetra. It's all about proportions. If the angles are congruent then the sides have the same
proportions, just like equal fractions. The first two sides set up the proportion, 4/8 or 1/2. Once I
figured out your side was my side times 2, I was able to figure out the length of your next side just
by multiplying my side by 2." Then Thales let Tetra measure the last side of his stump, which came
out to be 9 inches. "Thales, my triangle's last side is 18 inches. We both have isosceles triangle
stumps because all three sides have different lengths." "They're not just isosceles triangles, they are
similar isosceles triangles, Tetra. Their corresponding angles are the same and their sides are
proportional." Tetra laughed "Triangles are so much fun, Thales. I love how much you can do with
them." ________________________________________ Thales said goodbye to her friend and flew
away. As Tetra walked home she replayed the day's events. She felt very lucky to have such good
friends who would tell her about so many new and interesting facts about

The Importance Of Life In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" acts as an epitome for the Christian values that dominated the time
period. But what of the science that was practiced in order to bring the monster to life?
What defines Life? Defined as "the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects
and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power
of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally" life, as a whole, has been a
controversial topic due to a variety of reasons such as religion, and the ever flowing shifts in
science. Contrary to popular belief, an organism does not actually die when the heartbeats ceases.
When human cells are cut off from oxygen, the oxygen and nutrition supply lasts for a surprisingly
long time. The human ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Before discovery, people were aware of certain fish giving a "zap" feeling when touched. Antiquated
societies around the Mediterranean realized that specific items, for example, bars of golden, could
be rubbed with feline's hide to draw in light protests like plumes. Thales of Miletus mentioned a
progression of objective facts on electricity produced via friction around 600 BCE, from which he
trusted that contact rendered golden attractive, as opposed to minerals, for example, magnetite,
which required no rubbing. Thales was off base in trusting the fascination was because of an
attractive impact, however, later science would demonstrate a connection amongst attraction and
power. As per a disputable hypothesis, the Parthians may have known about electroplating, in light
of the 1936 disclosure of the Baghdad Battery, which takes after a galvanic cell, however, it is
indeterminate whether the antiquity was electrical in

Shepher Thales Research Paper
Meteorology is the study of Earth's atmosphere. The word "meteor" is another word on the greek
meteron which is a term dealing with any objects thats in the sky.
thales was the first science in history .Thales was born into a rich family in the Ancient Greek city of
Miletus in about the year 645.B.C. His dad name was Examyes and his mom name was Cleobuline.
thales was famous for his short stories .When Thales was born, his town was one of the most
powerful in greek towns.
thales grew up where it was less education. thales had went to egypt to learn about astronomy and
math . astronomy was to learn about the heaven and what god was thinking about , when thales
came back home , he changed jobs, made lots of money and became the first scientist.

Discussion of the Pre-Socratics Essay
Discussion of the Pre–Socratics
Socrates is easily one of the most well known names in the history of philosophy. He is even
portrayed via the magic of Hollywood time travel in the popular movie "Bill and Ted's Excellent
Adventure" and was more recently quoted inaccurately on a t–shirt as saying, "I drank what?"
Despite his fame, Socrates was not the first philosopher by far, and certainly not the earliest to make
meaningful contributions to the field of philosophy. Some of the great "Pre–Socratics" include
Anaximenes, Parmenides, Xenophane, and Democritus. The philosophical issues of their days were
significantly different from the popular discussions today, though no less relevant, and provide
ample fodder for the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Anaximenes professed the belief that the one was indeed the element air and that all of that which
we view as the many is composed of air through a process of condensation or rarefaction.
"And all things are produced by a kind of condensation, and again rarefaction, of this air."
(Anaximenes, Fragment 2)
Parmenides believes that there is no many, only the one. He says that there may appear to be many
but that they are really one, for a plurality is incoherent. His arguments try to illustrate that there is
no possibility of change in the world. Parmenides states that what "is" by definition cannot possibly
be what is not. Therefore, what is not does not exist and should not be considered. If in turn, there is
nothing that is not, then nothing new can come into being or go out of being because that would
involve that which is not. So all of being and all of existence is one and the same, unchangeable,
infinite, and unable to be created or destroyed. Further, these are all one, for if something were to
have an identity that would mean that it was not another thing; this of course involves an application
of the incoherent concept of non–being.
Usually, when one says that two concepts contrast, it is assumed that those concepts have
similarities. In the case of the beliefs of Anaximenes' versus the beliefs of Parmenides in regards to
the problem of the one and the many it is difficult to draw a clear contrast since the two can be

The Cause And Philosophy Of Thales Of Miletus
Considered as the first philosopher, Thales of Miletus was the first to examine the cause and effect
of the natural world through scientific analysis (Adamson 6). Since Thales has left "no written
work," the only information that we know about Thales comes from testimonies, or paraphrase
reports from later ancient authors. However, since we are uncertain of the reliability of the text, we
only have different interpretations of what Thales's theory.
One source of information we gathered about Thales is from Aristotle. In Metaphysics, Aristotle
described Thales as a naturalist who "[sought] a rational understanding of nature (phusis)"(Terrence
33). Nature, according to Aristotle's definition, is the "first thing that any natural object consists of
or come to be from" –– "bronze is the nature of a statue and bronze ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Arche, in its verb form, could mean "either to begin... or to rule, to govern" (Barnes xxii). An arche,
in the Greek world, did not only mean the beginning, but it was also "the normal Greek word for a
public office or magistracy" (Barnes xxii). Applying this definition to Thales's principle of water,
Thales could have considered water as both the source of everything on earth and the ruling
principle in nature. However, what needs to be mentioned is that Thales could have believed that
water is the beginning of everything on earth, but not everything in the world. As I explained earlier,
Thales still believed the cause of everything in the world as "god's making" (Barnes 15). Although
we do not know whether he meant this God in the literal sense, or he considered souls as Gods, what
we do know is that water would not be representative of this God that constitutes everything and is
composed of divine souls. To sum up, Thales could have thought of water as an arche on earth, but
not of everything in the

Four Greek Astronomers
4 Greek Astronomers/Scientists Some of the top scholars in Greek history were Thales, Hipparchus,
Aristarchus, and Ptolemy. These astronomers, scientists, mathematicians, and more went beyond
their time to figure out problems and the world's science, as we know it today. All four of these men
have discovered, invented, or figured out a way to increase our knowledge of space and how it
works. Looking back on what they have accomplished, they must have been true masters of their art
to have figured out how things work with such limited resources.
Thales was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, politician and businessman. He was believed to
have lived between the years 620 B.C. and 540 B.C. He was born in a place called Miletus, which
would be ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Hipparchus recorded that every year the Sun traces out a circular path known as an ecliptic and that
it passes through the Earth's center. The two points at which the ecliptic and the equatorial plane
intersect where known as the vernal (spring) and Autumnal equinoxes and the two points of the
ecliptic farthest north and south from the equatorial where the summer and winter solstices.
However, Hipparchus found that the Sun's passage is not symmetrical giving us seasons that are not
symmetrical. Hipparchus came up with a mathematical model that could calculate not only the Sun's
orbital location on any date but its position from Earth. Hipparchus would also try to measure the
length of the tropical year, the period for the Sun to complete one passage through the ecliptic. By
comparing his own observations of the solstices with other observations from the 5th and 3rd
centuries BC estimated the tropical year and was only six minutes too

The Emancipation Of Thought From Myth By H And H. Frankfort
The 'Emancipation of Thought from Myth' (1946) is an essay written by H and HA Frankfort which
explains the history of thought from the Pre–Socratics (600BC – 470BC) in terms of philosophical
and mythopoeic views. Throughout this essay, I will touch on specific concepts such as
philosophical and mythopoeic thinking. Furthermore I will clarify the grounds on why the Pre–
Socratics were regarded as philosophical thinkers rather than mythopoeic through their conception
of humanization and rational reasoning.
Firstly, in order for us to understand and distinguish the difference between philosophical and
mythopoeic ways of thinking, we need to grasp their concepts. Philosophical thinking can be
regarded as the primary nature of knowledge, society, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He basically uses 'Logos' in terms of expressing the concept of unification within nature. (Frankfort,
1946, p. 381) He uses a systematic and rational approach to portray his ideas of the cosmos.
However, Heraclitus does not use 'Logos' as the material of which created the cosmos, but rather as
the source of all things. In other words, Heraclitus concentrated on the material origins of the
cosmos. And with that, he encouraged the concept of nature, and its constant change and movement.
On the other hand, Heraclitus had also established a significant material source, known as 'fire'. He
uses this material not as an element of which created the cosmos, but as character of change. The
use of 'fire' was seen as a sign of 'Logos', with that, it promoted a factor of an infinite cosmos (with
no beginning and ending) as well as that all things are derived from the inevitable change and
transformation of fire. Heraclitus also relates to Anaximanders' flux of opposites, by creating his
own ideologies on general tension between opposites of all sorts. He refers to this tension as the
'Harmonia'. Heraclitus refers to such structures of tension as measures, whereby these measures
create the possibility of intelligibility. (Frankfort, 1946, p. 382) "Fire lives in the death of air and air
lives in the death of fire;

Thales Proclamation That Everything Is Water
Throughout the world's existence, scientists and engineers alike have integrated the use of science
and technology into every day life through the use of theories, hypotheses and experiments. In the
period of time science has been present, it has left a more substantial impact on the world compared
to technology, by improving and shaping the way the human race thinks, and by providing an
environment and capacity for advancement.
According to the aim of science or "a body of knowledge which describes reality" (Oberdan 26)
daily life constantly challenges the question of why a current situation is taking place. "Thales
proclamation that everything is water" (Oberdan 45) has since evolved into a science that shapes
society as more than just ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Determinism again proves that "the universe at any given time is nothing but the effect of its state at
some earlier instant" (Oberdan 11) and with the realization of materialism blossoms the issue of
misconception in humanity. During the Industrial Revolution, society believed "science drives
technology, which, in its turn, drives progress." (Oberdan 15) But, as history proves, advancement in
society does not solely rely on technological advancement because it searches for more depth
pertaining to solid knowledge like that of the Enlightenment thinkers and

Similarities Between Homer And Hesiod
Philosophy is a very important part of people's lives. Philosophy is quite basically asking inquiries
about existence, reality and nature of knowledge. To better understand philosophy we must look
throughout history. Looking back through history helps better show what the philosophers thought
during the time period in which they lived. The relativity of the theories, to the time period, is a very
important factor in how efficient these theories they were. The first philosopher's ideas to people
today would be considered either very basic, or insane. Yet, in the time period they lived in, they
were considered to be geniuses. Also, looking back through time and studying philosophers and
what they believed can help create a better idea for ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Hesiod was another important poet in the transition period between myth and Presocratics. He wrote
of a story of how everything was created. He stated that in the beginning there was chaos or a
yawning gap. This was because the Greeks did not believe in creation from nothing. He used
personification to tell a story of how the earth and sky mated to create the gods. Hesiod and Homer
were both credited with the theogony, or creation of gods, of Greek civilization. The reason they
both have the mythic worldview is because they both include supernatural and fictional aspects in
their works. By including these aspects they are creating a false story that has aspects of truth hidden
behind it. Hesiod also states in his works that he is not really the person who created the story. He
states that he was told the story by muses, or goddesses, while he was tending to his sheep. This is
also an aspect that keeps him in the category of myth. Hesiod is the first real transition between the
mythic worldview and the Presocratic. He is considered a transitional writer because in his work of
explaining the creation he is getting some form of a rational explanation as to how the earth was
made, while Homer was mainly focused on telling the stories of the Golden Age. Thales was the
next person in the chronological history of philosophy. He was an astronomer and a

The Beginnings of Greek Philosophy Essay
The Beginnings of Greek Philosophy
The Milesians and Heraclitus
Long before the time of Thales, a citizen of Miletus, in the district of Ionia on the west coast of Asia
Minor, Chaldaen astrologers had listed data on the position of the stars and planets. As Thales
studied these tables he thought he discerned a pattern or regularity in the occurrence of eclipses, and
he ventured to predict a solar eclipse that occurred on May 28th 585BC. Some scholars think that
this was just a lucky empirical guess, but if it was the discovery of an astronomical regularity or
natural law, then Thales may be credited with distinguishing Greek philosophy and science from the
somewhat aimless observations and disjointed information of the Eastern wise ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Since, too, a general theory must attempt to explain biological phenomena as well as physics and
astronomy, another reason for selecting water may have been its indepensibility to life. And a little
ingenuity can invent other considerations. But Anaximander (610–545?BC), Thales' successor, in
additions to specific contributions to science, saw a difficulty in Thales' general cosmology. If water
were he basic substance, he thought, fire could never have come into existence, for there is an
essential antagonism between their peculiar qualities. For the same reason, if the substratum were
fire, the existence of fire could not be explained.. Therefore, Anaximander assumed a Boundless that
was neither wet or dry, hot or cold, but rather indeterminately both wet and dry, cold and hot. Thus,
the matter of the universe was Boundless, not merely because it extended throughout infinite space,
but also, and mainly, because it was not bounded, limited, or defined by any quality. This original
substance produces the world and its content by a swirling motion that separates four qualities out of
the chaotic mass. This swirl explains the revolution of the starts and planets.
The third member of the Milesian school, Anaximenes (590–525BC) could not be persuaded to look
for the universal substratum beyond the

Greek Gods And Goddesses In Hesiod's Theogony
The worldview held in Hesiod's Theogony heavily emphasizes the Greek gods and goddesses and
their crucial role in creating the universe. Together, as told by Hesiod, "Gaia, the Earth, came into
being" (Theog. line 117) and from Gaia "Ouranos, starry heaven" (Theog. line 126) was born.
Following Ouranos came the mountains, sea, and ocean. Not only does Hesiod credit gods and
goddesses for creating the world, but he also gives them credit for creating different aspects of
humans, such as "Death, and Sleep and the brood of Dreams". (Theog. line 212) Hesiod depicts
these gods and goddesses in an all–powerful, glorified manner. Through word choice he further
shows his admiration for these higher beings–which is turn creates a sense that these figures ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The Milesians claimed that nature and matter were the foundations of the world; they believed that
"The cosmos began as a single stuff that changed to become the universe as we see it today".
(Thales 8) The Milesian's have a scientific worldview in comparison to Hesiod's Theogony, and as a
result can be seen as having more realistic beliefs in our world today. Our society in it's current state
is built on scientific reasoning and explanation more–so than spiritual beliefs; as a whole we focus
on tangible substances–which is what the Milesians tried to focus on as well. Although the three
philosophers who made up the Milesian "school" held slightly different beliefs, the common theme
among them is that they searched for scientific evidence as opposed to spiritual evidence. Thales
"Argued that the basic stuff of the universe was one thing, water, by which he meant either that
everything is really one form or another or that everything comes from water" (Thales 9);
Anaximenes explained that "clouds occur when the air is furthered. When it is condensed still more,
rain is squeezed out. Hail occurs when the falling water freezes, and snow when some wind is
caught up in the moisture." (Thales 13); and Anaximander claimed that "The single original material
of the cosmos is something indefinite or boundless."

Thales Of Miletus And The Elastic School Of Philosophy
From Thales of Miletus, the first ancient Greek philosopher, to Socrates and Aristotle, ancient Greek
philosophy has set the standard for modern intellectual and rational thought. They developed new
ways of reasoning and logic to explain the natural phenomena that surround them. Reality,
existence, and the essence of things were the basis of what these philosophers sought to rationalize.
In this paper, I will be discussing the epistemology and ontology presented by The Eleatics, the
Pluralists, and The Atomists. These three Pre–Socratic schools often opposed one another's
epistemological and ontological views. However, each critic resulted in even more theories and laws
that we still use to this day. Their works also improved the standard for argument which became of
great use to the future Classical and modern philosophers.
The Eleatics
The Elastic School of Philosophy, established by Parmenides in the fifth century, was best known
for the development of early philosophers including Zeno of Elea and Xenophanes of Colophon.
The Elastics works often pointed to their use of logic and reason rather than sense experience to find
the "ultimate truths". These "ultimate truths" were concerned with the Being and Becoming of
things rather than the origin of the things themselves. In this section, we are going to focus primarily
on the school's prominent advocates: Parmenides, writer of On Nature, and Zeno, founder of the
dialectic method. Together, Parmenides and Zeno laid the

What Coyote And Thales Can Teach USmmary
What Coyote and Thales Can Teach Us: An Outline of American Indian Epistemology by Brian
Yazzie's Burkhart uses the coyote from Native American tales and Thales from Greek philosophy as
a form of metaphor towards the interpretation and use of knowledge. Brian Yazzie Burkhart book
provides a philosophical argument into why the fundamental principle of how westerners perceive
and understand knowledge is incorrect, in comparison to Native American philosophy. Within
Native American philosophy, the understanding of knowledge is participatory and focused on four
main principles: principles of relatedness, limits of questioning, meaning–shaping principle, the
moral universe principle. The Limit of question principle and the moral universal principle ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Instead, as stated by Native American philosophy, knowledge is founded upon one's experiences
with the world and the places around them
The concept of knowledge in many ways has opposing forms within the Native American context in
comparison to the western context. The mutual area of which these two branches of philosophy meet
is in respect to phenomenology. Phenomenology relates to science and truth prior to modern science
and therefore has more of a connection natural existence of the world. The ideology of knowledge
natural existence is key to Native American philosophy of knowledge Knowledge is not something
that is sought as it part of what is provided within ones gained experiences with everything around
them. Also, people cannot acquire knowledge on their own, as it is a group effort, "we", to be able to
truly understand the knowledge being obtained around. Western philosophy in ways attempts to
search for the unreal, the parts of knowledge that are supposed to be unknown. In doing so, it fails to
experience the simplicity around it and the knowledge that can be gained from that. As stated by
Brian Yazzie's Burkhart, There are simply ways of being, within Native American

Homer Vs Thales Vs Homer
Thales Vs Homer Thales and Homer are two great philosophers who contributed a lot in the field of
philosophy. Philosophy is a broad field of knowledge that seeks to understand scientific reason of
the world and its inhabitants. The general understanding of knowledge in academics has its roots in
philosophy. The existence of the two philosophers was important in the generation of their lives.
This essay seeks to establish their contribution to science and the existence of the supernatural
being.
Thales is believed to have been born in the 620s BC in Miletus along with his parents. Thales was
the first philosopher in Miletus, also known as the "master" in his era. Thales believed there was a
scientific explanation to everything in the world . He was was recognized for his work that help us
understand what it means to explain something according to logos. Miletus was home to the
"Milesian School" of philosophy. Thales believed that there was a existence of a supernatural force
that ruled over everything person or thing and that every matter had its god. Which lead the
explanation to the nature of explaining the existence creation such as the solar system and the earth.
One of the main theories that Thales stated was that earthquake is a result of the earth hitting or
colliding with a powerful wave. Thales believed that the earth was a hard substance that was floating
in the water. Since the earth had more water in the form of seas and oceans, therefor many waves
exist. Following that a powerful wave could collide with the earth and cause an earthquake. Thales
reasoning was due to some factors. First, there were no chances that there was a discovery of the
difference between the hard matter of the Earth and its fluid.. Secondly, his reasoning could be
easily proved as right by putting a floating substance in a basin of water. When this happens, the
floating object could be shaken by the waves produced in the basin. However, a scientist had proven
that the current continents were once a single substance that has disintegrated to the current
continents. By following the continents shapes that resemble a puzzled and perfectly attached as a
whole. Secondly, Thales believed in the existence of a

Scrooge : The Thale Of A Christmas Carol's Christmas
Scrooge! He is a whale of a grouchy person who despises Christmas. Based on the passage, it says
"Does not need to spend an extra cent on anything! Therefore, this show's he is indeed omnivorous
and astringent. Another sentence from the text show's "If Scrooge sees anyone singing a Christmas
carol he will whack them in the face as forceful as he can" this also shows he is tight fisted and
harsh. People around him sees him as an isolated,harsh,selfish scarce and greedy character. The text
started with his best acquaintance Marley was dead on Christmas eve. Marley was not just a friend,
but a business partner. Since his partner died near Christmas, time, Scrooge is even extra irrational
during Christmas time. Scrooge's biggest catchphrase is BAH HUMBUG! Furthermore, this, is one
text evidence on why Scrooge hates Christmas! All of this confirmation sites on why Scrooge is a
grouchy,harsh,omnivorous,selfish and hates Christmas! Scrooge despises Christmas, but the public
around him adores Christmas. So on another filthy rich day Scrooge and his substituted partner are
working in the aged money bank the doorbell rang it was his joyful Christmas nephew! He comes in
and yells out a Merry Christmas and a cheerful New Year to his uncle Scrooge, but the gray man
grunts and growls at his merry nephew. While they ended the argument the nephew left with joy and
a merry face still as he entered. After that, two merry men come in asking for donations for the poor.
Scrooge

Lucretius Creation
There's not a definite explaining as to who, what, when, where, and how everything in this world
was created. One of the greatest creation questions is how or who created humankind. According to
many religious writings, God was the one that created everything, from the universe down to every
cell in our body. According to the Bible, God was the one who created human and everything else.
However, in the section, "Creation and the Cosmos", some texts contradict with this idea that God
created all things. One pre–Socratic, Thales of Miletus, an early Greek scientific thinker, argues that
the world is made of one substance and that substance is not God. The epic On the Nature of Things,
by Lucretius, he denied the idea that God was the creator ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
The epic tells the story of the world's creation. Before anything existed, even gods, Mother Ocean,
Tiamat, and Fresh Water, Apsu merged together to create the first pair of gods, and from there on
created more gods/ goddesses. Then gods created humankind. From this we can see that gods are the
creator of mankind. However, if we trace back, it was the two bodies of water created gods. It's like
a chain effect, if gods created mankind and waters created gods that means it was water is the one
that truly created us. Water is created out of nature. Therefore, nature is the one who created

Greek Philosophers
People travel from many parts of the world to view the great architectural structures Greece has to
offer. They are not only intrigued by the beauty of the buildings but also by their complex
development. Greeks' tradition of building structure came from the ideas of Philosophers such as
Thales,Pythagoras, and Archimedes, who questioned their being and challenged their world to find
meaning to certain practical applications. From their inquisitions, the Greek Philosophers developed
basic but complex strategies that served the purpose of a foundation to many other technical
advancements. The Philosopher's concepts were questioned at times for they went completely
against the Greeks normal way of life. In the Greek culture, gods were ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
With Archimedes invention of the Archimedes Screw water from a lower location could be easily
transferred to a higher point. This advancement of simple technique placed Archimedes' face on the
wall of great Philosophers. The screw pump was only just a start to the development of the piping
system. Farmers mostly benefitted from this advancement for now they were able to transfer water
from their wells to other parts of the field. With the screw pump came the lever principle. If there is
a heavy weight on one side then it should be equalized on the other side in order to make it move.
Architectures used this law of mechanics to make their work easier as they would be able to move
boulders that were in the way of their duty. Greek Philosophers have made drastic changes from a
basic lifestyle to one of questioning. Their persistence to find meaning behind basic concepts has
lead to great technological advancements that are still used in today's world. The law of nature by
Thales proved that there is a system to the world and there is more to what is seen. Pythagoras uses
that strategy of observation to create a rule for sound and the way it travels. Archimedes used both
theories to point out the rule of mechanics and the way things move. Without these early
advancements, the world would probably be an era

Article Review: 'How to Profit from Lean Advertising' by...
Review of "How to Profit from Lean Advertising":
How to Profit from "Lean Advertising" is an article written by Thales Teixeira to examine and
explain the concept of lean advertising and how philosophies of this concept are enabling small
marketing budgets to obtain value of big brands. Generally, lean procedures, philosophies, and
methodologies are slowly becoming common aspects of advertising for both small and large
companies. The emergence of leaning advertising as an important part of modern marketing is
influenced by the ongoing spread of lean thinking. Actually, lean advertising is not only a procedure
or methodology but also a philosophy that has transformed contemporary advertising methods. As a
result of its widespread growth, small, medium, and large companies are faced with the need to
adopt lean advertising.
In his article, Teixeira begins by examining how the footwear industry has conventionally been
characterized with memorable advertising to an extent that major brands have spent millions of
dollars in creating spectacular TV advertisements. Some of the major brands mentioned in the article
are Reebok and Nike that have spent huge amounts of money in hiring advertising agencies and
signing athlete–endorsers. He proceeds to examine how most of the big brands are using online
mechanisms in advertising their products through shooting videos and sharing them on YouTube.
After the brief introduction of how big brands are using conventional advertising methods

Compare And Contrast Thales And Homer
Jean de Dieu Kamiri Professor Steven Phil 1301 02/08/2018 Title: Thales vs. Homer Abstract:
Thales is the Greek philosopher, he is the first person to investigate the basic principles, the question
of the substance of matter, and he foundered the school of natural philosophy. He is in among seven
sages of Greece. He did research almost all areas of knowledge, mathematics, politics, history,
science, engineering, and philosophy. He suggested concepts to explain many of the events of
nature, the main substance, the support of the earth, and the cause of change. Water was his first
principle and he wrote anything many ancient people reports credit him with writings. Homer
known as the first Greek poet, he is the one who started write down the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Later generations told many anecdotes about this man, who was reckoned among the seven sages,
but it is difficult to verify the reliability of these stories. He may have traveled to Egypt, where many
Greeks and Carian's were welcome as merchants and mercenaries, but on the other hand, it was
expected that a wise man made a long voyage to gain knowledge, and this story may have been
invented to prove that the sage of Miletus was a wise man indeed. (Similar stories are told about
Solon and Pythagoras.) It is not even certain whether Thales is the author of published texts. The
three titles that are attributed to him may be later inventions, or three names of one and the same
poem: Nautical astronomy, on the solstice, and on the equinox. What seems certain, however, is that
Thales predicted the solar eclipse of 28 May 585, which was remembered (according to the Greek
researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus note) because the Lydian king Alyattes and the Median
leader Cyaxares were fighting a battle on that day. However, it must be noted that "predicting"
merely meant that Thales announced that it was possible that an eclipse could take place during a
particular new moon, because by then, not even Babylonian astronomers were able to predict this
impressive phenomenon more accurately. Still, even establishing a possibility was a great leap
forward for Greek science. According to a famous story told by Herodotus of Halicarnassus, in
c.547 BCE, Thales also changed the course of the river Hales in order to facilitate the crossing of an
army of the Lydian king Croesus. Note if this story is true, Thales must have died after this year.
Another, perhaps more reliable bit of information is that Thales did geometrical research, which
enabled him to measure the seize of the pyramids of Egypt or the distance to a ship at sea. He also
proved that a circle is bisected by its diameter, that the angles of the base of an isosceles

How Did Babylonians Contribute To Greek Geometry
Soon after civilizations emerged so did geometry. The early civilizations of the
Egyptians and Babylonians had a good grasp on mathematics and carried out calculations in
practical ways for building structures. The Egyptians and Babylonians even appeared to know the
Pythagorean Theorem, filled by tablets with impressive tablets of triplets. (Mlodinow,
2002) Despite the Egyptians accomplishments and Babylonians cleverness their contributions to
mathematics were limited to providing the Greek with a collection of concrete mathematical facts.
The discovery that mathematics is more than algorithms for calculating volumes of dirt or the
magnitude of taxes is credited to a lone Greek merchant– turned philosopher named
Thales.(Mlodinow,2002) Thales ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Central to Eudoxus' idea was the distinction between magnitude and numbers. A magnitude was not
a number but stood for entities such as line segments, angles, which could vary continuously.(Kline,
1990) Since no quantitative values were assigned to magnitudes, Eudoxus was then able to define a
ratio in terms of its magnitude, and proportion as an equality between two ratios. By taking numbers
out of the equation, he avoided the trap of having to express an irrational number as a number.
Eudoxus' proportion theory enabled the Greek mathematicians to make tremendous progress in
geometry by supplying the necessary logical foundation for incommensurable ratios.(Kline,

Comparing Greek Philosophies, Anaximander And Whales
From the beginning of early civilizations, humans have been trying to discover many things.
Discover which animals can be preyed upon, which plants can be eaten without deadly consequence.
As time went on, these discoveries became a little more advanced. Humans would discover new
ways to build architecture that was both aesthetically and structurally sound. They would discover
new technologies that would allow communication across different continents. In this essay I will be
comparing what two greek philosophers, Anaximander and Thales, believed the arkhe to be and who
had the superior argument. In the late seventh century B.C., two philosophers, known as the
Milesians which referred to three philosophers in the Greek town of Miletus, were trying to discover
what the arkhe could be. The arkhe refers to a Greek word that can be translated into "origin", "first
principle", and "beginnings". To discover the arkhe would be to discover the beginning of
everything. Despite their teach–pupil relationship, with Thales being the teacher, Anaximander and
Thales had vastly differing ideas of what the arkhe was. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He believed this because water is everywhere. It is the center of life. Without water, life would not
exist as we currently know it to be. It was believed during this time that the land rested upon a great
body of water that filled the entire planet. Thales' viewpoint makes sense when considering how
important water is to life. At one point during his argument, Thales explains that "the seeds of all
things have a moist nature". I will explain this quote by quoting another well–known philosopher,
Jeremy Carey, "reproduction is moist". Seeing that the existence of life could not exist without
water,

Reaction Paper On Thales Of Miletus
Considered as the first natural philosopher, Thales of Miletus is known as the first to understand the
natural world through scientific analysis. Since Thales has left "no written work," the only
information that we know about Thales comes from testimonies, or paraphrase reports by later
ancient authors. Although we do have some information about Thales, we are uncertain about the
reliability of such information.
One source of information we gathered about Thales is from Aristotle. In Metaphysics, Aristotle
describes Thales as a naturalist who "seeks a rational understanding of nature (phusis)"(Terrence
33). Nature, according to Aristotle's definition, is the "first thing that any natural object consists of
or come to be from" –– "bronze ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Water is the origin of earth is a plausible theory, since evidences suggests that Thales may have
borrowed the doctrine from [Egypt], recorded by Simplicius in Commentary Aristotle's On the
Heaven, and his Phoenician origin (Histories I, Herodotus) could have allowed him to access the
near–eastern conceptions of cosmogony. Indeed, both Babylonian and Egyptian conception of
cosmogonies resemble Thales's theory that "the earth rests [on water] because the earth can float,
like a log or something else of that sort," is recounted by Aristotle in On the Heavens. The Egyptians
believed that the earth was a "flat, rimmed dish resting upon water" (Kirk 92). In the Babylonian
myths, "the Earth was created by the god Marduk as a raft floating on fresh water (Apsu)
surrounded by a vastly larger body of salt water (Tiamat)." Thus, it is very likely that Thales
considers water as the source of the creation of the earth –– It is "out of water" that the earth and
existing things on earth emerge. However, believing that out of water that the earth emerges does
not equate his belief that out of water, everything emerges.
3. In addition, Thales also theorizes that water is an essential source of life. He says, through the
account of Simplicius that "corpses dry up," in the sense that without nourishment of water, there is
no life (91 Kirk). [Also, the Pre–Socratics often associate life with motion, as another testimony of
Aristotle on Thales implies –– "a magnet has a soul, so does amber"

The Differences Of Mythology
Mythology
Mythology is word derived from Greek 'mythos' (means story of people) and 'logos means (the
spoken story of people). It is the study of sacred tales of culture which we called 'Myths'. Myths are
supposed to be real stories and they are usually observed as truthful explanations of history. Myths
passed from one generation to other and can be grown to take several versions and diverse stories.
The ultimate characters in mythology are mostly considered supernatural beings like gods and
goddesses. Over these unseen characters there is a visible effort to describe the evolution and the
mysteries of the cosmos. Some might accept an indifferent attitude towards myths and reject them
any truth–value, while others might be generous and consensus some cognitive–value to them.
According to the functionalist theory given by Malinowski, myths are like songs and fairy tales
which are possessed by certain substitute clans. He ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
On the other hand myth continues to understand the actions in terms of creating images of
supernatural beings.
Mythology taught us the fundamental things to answer by keeping in mind the traditional aspects
and beliefs. As compared to philosophy taught us to answer the fundamental nature of knowledge
and reality by giving reasons.
In earlier times the purpose of myth is to provide the truth to society for the people to understand it
with the limitation of science. However in Modern times which is known as the evolutionary era of
science the purpose of philosophy is to logically providing the truth to people with the possibility to
understand.
Philosophy breaks the limitations of reality, by creating a pleasant world for us. On the other hand
myths make our traditions and

The Origins Of The Origin Of Philosophy
The origins of philosophy began with the dynamic question of "What if?" followed by intellectual
reasoning for the ways of the world. To look past the general purpose of life and the things that
come with it; is when a new philosophy is discovered. The first recorded philosopher came about
early on in the sixth century B.C.E. His name was Thales of Miletus or what is now Turkey. The
first three philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, are known as the Milesians because
they all came from the Greek colony of Miletus on the Persian coast and because they constitute the
first school of philosophy. (Pg. 24) However, little is known about Thales due to the fact, there
weren't any pieces of literature connecting to him. However, he did make it known that everything is
fundamentally made up of water. This belief went against the theological perspectives of Greek
mythology, introducing a more scientific view of the cosmos. Thales made it known that he wanted
to find the Arche or unifying principle that linked every aspect of life together. According to Thales,
water is the one and only Arche.
Two of Thales successors and fellow Milesians, Anaximander and Anaximenes based their beliefs
off of Thales philosophy. However, they didn't seem to agree with Thales' ideology of everything
being broken down to water. Anaximander completely dismissed the idea of the four primary
elements, earth, wind, fire, and water being the Arche. He believed the elements could not be the
Arche,

Why Were Thales Able To Measure Triangles
Thales had a variety of interest and had created theorems and other rules that are now used in today's
world. He was mostly known for being a mathematician and astrologist he was also a genius in these
fields of work. He is also known as the "Seven Greek Sages" which are men known throughout
history for their knowledge and wisdom. He was also known for his hypothesis that he tested and
turned out to be experimented with ending with being theories. He was also a well–known genius in
the mathematics field for his work in how to measure triangles. In this essay Thales will be
introduced from his backstory, his mathematics achievements, and what he was mostly known for
throughout his whole life. Thales came from Miletus, Turkey in 624 B.C.; his father and mother
were well known throughout where he lived. There is not much backstory known of Thales so there
is not much information to be given. He was mostly seen as a mathematician and astrology;
however, his actual career was a successful engineer. He had made many theories that actually ...
He worked mostly on the different types of triangles and was inspired to work with these shapes
because of the pyramids of Egypt. He was interested in measuring the height, width, and how to
measure the pyramids of Egypt's shadows and how it changes. He then started using formulas that
are now known as Pythagorean theorem and started working on how to measure the pyramids. With
these inventions and rules created by Thales, it has helped the Math field in today's world by making
life easier. These rules have made us discovered how to work smarter, it has helped us measure the
pyramids and other architecture's. Another example, was that he went to visit the pyramids of Egypt
to begin his idea of the equation and he began measuring what he needed to. He used geometry to
solve the measurement of the pyramids by measuring the height and

The Development of Ancient Greece through Philosophic...
The Ancient Greeks founded for western culture a basis of understanding and appreciation of
wisdom that still carries substantial influence in modern times. During this time, the need for
understanding became predominate as humankind readied themselves to begin looking beyond
religion and mysticism for answers upon the fundamental principles in life. Although, the pre–
Socratics focused more toward a material aspect on the physical nature of things, Socrates and his
disciples established an influential analysis into philosophy as the modern world knows it today,
which spurred into stoicism, epicureanism, skepticism, and Neoplatonism during the time. This
analytic foundation provides the basis for today's metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and logic. This
revolution of thought began with the pre–Socratics. Initiated by Thales of Miletus, others who
followed him (Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Damon, Xenophanes,
Parmenides, Zeno, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus, and Democritus) renounced the naivety of
mysticism to question the processes of nature. Aquisitioning the elements of earth, water, fire, wind,
and the void to categorize their discoveries the pre–Socratics are responsible not only for
philosophical development, but math, physics, astronomy, biology and most other natural sciences.
Although Thales encouraged this movement of thought, Anaximander (Thales' pupil) gains
recognition as the first writer of philosophy and Pythagoras gave philosophy

Analyse The 2013 Financial Report Of Thales
I have chosen to analyse the 2013 financial report of Thales, to illustrate how non–current assets
have been applied in a company. Thales Group is a French multinational company. Thales designs
and builds electrical systems and provides services for the aerospace, transportation, defense and
security markets. The company changed its name from Thomson–CSF to Thales back in December
2000 not long after the £1.3 billion acquisition of Racal Electronics plc. 60% of Thales' total sales
are military sales, which makes Thales the 11th largest defense contractor globally.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thales_Group#Financial_information) For my assignment, I will be
looking at Thales' accounting records, identifying their intangible assets, including property, plant,
equipment and good will and impairment on assets. Thales uses the international financial reporting
standards (IFRS) as their current accounting standards. The relevant standards for non–current assets
that I will be looking at in detail are: IAS 38 for intangible fixed assets, IAS 16 for property and IAS
36 for impairment of assets. IAS Standards Objective Scope Measurement IAS 38 – Intangible
assets To discuss the accounting standards for intangible assets that are not dealt with in another
IFRS. IAS 38 applies to all intangible assets other than: financial assets, exploration and evaluation
assets, intangible assets covered by another IFRS, such as intangibles held for sale and

History And Philosophy Of Ancient Philosophy
Kateryna Stoianova
History of Ancient Philosophy
Fall 2016
Final Exam – Sec. A (10:00)
Question #1 A principle is a fundamental source or basis of something. A principle cannot be
proven, because to prove something we have to go back to the basics and principle is basis of
everything. Although, what most philosophers seem to be doing to prove the validity of their
theories is by showing that if we accept something else as a principle it would make no sense. The
Pre–Socratic philosophers were all searching for that one fundamental principle of reality that
everything is based on. That factor was called arche, which literally means – beginning, origin or a
source of something. The Pre–Socratic philosophers are called that because they all came before
Socrates, and he is a major figure in ancient philosophy, because he was the first person to develop it
as a distinct kind of knowledge. Most of the early philosophers were looking for a materialistic
arche.
Thales of Miletus (624–546 BC) is considered to be the first philosopher and he considered water to
be the fundamental principle of everything. He thought that all things were composed of water,
because it could take all three forms (liquid, solid and gas). He also observed that all living things
needed water to stay alive and grow. Aristotle wrote about Thales' views: "nourishment of all things
is moist, and that even the hot itself comes to be from this and lives on this –getting this idea from
this

Thales And Heraclitus Research Paper
Thales and Heraclitus, two Pre–Socratic philosophers, proposed two notable, but very different,
belief systems to explain the world around them. Thales, the first Western philosopher, introduced a
non–mythological way of viewing the world. Prior to Thales, the Greeks believed their gods
controlled all natural forces. However, Thales philosophized that everything originated from some
fundamental substance. He reasoned that this substance must be water. He based his belief on the
idea that this fundamental substance needed to be both flexible and appear in different forms.
Although, Thales' s water theory proved incorrect, his belief that the world could be explained in a
simpler, non–divine manner opened the door for metaphysics and science.

Thales was the First Recorded Philosopher from Miletus
Thinkers within the realm of philosophy possessed a different train of thought that allowed them to
make massive discoveries. Thales is regarded as the first recorded philosopher from Miletus. He
believed reality was defined by water. Water rests on earth, reflects objects, and conforms to the
shape of other objects. During what we call the ancient period, 600–300 BCE, communities lived by
water supplies. Water is necessary to have the ability to obtain other means of survival. As opposed
to referring to religion, Thales rejected the concept of Gods on Mount Olympus. The reality beyond
mythology for Thales relied on the basis of water. Thales touched base with the concept of
knowledge through observing and perceiving the way water functioned around him.
Opposed to Thales, Anaximander perceived reality to be apeiron. Apeiron is defined as the
indefinite. Anaximander believed the origin (arkhe) of reality to be divine and eternal while
containing and guiding all within it. For him, water was too "concrete" of an object to be divine. In
addition, remaining opposite elements triumphs water. Anaximander reasoned even if water were
reality, it lacks in areas that makes it unable to be divine. Apeiron is an indefinite reality that is
beyond the fixed matters on Earth. Anaximenes rejected this theory. In turn he contradicted that
physics translated into objects surrounding us. The concept of aer does not refer to the air we breath
rather a thick mist containing two processes:

Magnificent Pythagorean Paradoxes In Ancient Greece
Subsequent to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, the ancient Greeks established
possibly the greatest center of learning at the time in Alexandria. Indeed, history purports that
perhaps this great library rivaled even the great library in Athens, especially considering the fact that
the Alexandrian library produced such significant mathematical figures as Archimedes and Euclid,
the works of whom likely depended on the earlier works of great Greek mathematicians like Thales
and Pythagoras (Lahanas, 2016). Although even those preceding mathematicians likely expounded
upon the mathematical methodologies and computational techniques developed in earlier
Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations. Still, there can be no doubt that modern mathematics, ...
The premise behind the paradoxes was that the method of describing motion using Pythagorean
thought, treating numbers solely as discrete, arguably demonstrated the impossibility of motion. His
four paradoxes illustrating this line of thinking are The Dichotomy, Achilles and the Tortoise, The
Arrow, and The Stadium. The paradox presented in The Dichotomy is that a race, from beginning to
end, is a finite distance. Zeno purported that there are infinitely many half distances, which meant
that you could never reach the end, according to Pythagorean thought. This paradox offered a
precedent to the idea of the limit of an infinite sequence, in that an infinite number of half distances
can add to a finite distance. Achilles and the Tortoise presented a similar paradox about infinite
measures within a finite distance, and demonstrated that the boast of Achilles, that he could beat the
tortoise even when the tortoise had a head start, could not come to fruition based on Pythagorean
thought. The Arrow presented a paradox between the Pythagorean thought, that discrete units of
instances make up time, and the premise that if Pythagoreans were correct then the arrow could not
move. Thus, claimed Zeno, time must be continuous and not discrete. The Stadium presents a
situation which proves that there is no smallest unit of time, as Pythagoreans believed, and therefore
time must be both finitely divisible and infinitely divisible (Andrews, Development of calculus:
More about the paradoxes, 2016). Although Zeno's arguments were sound, they did not negate the
influence that Pythagoras had on the study of mathematics. Indeed, another famous Greek
philosopher, Plato, professedly transferred his knowledge of Pythagorean mathematics to one of his
students, Eudoxus (Lahanas,

Why Do Thales Believe In Animism
Thales of Miletus was a pre–Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, and one of the Seven
Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Western
tradition. In early times before the beginning of human civilization and development of philosophy,
people believed in the idea that Gods controlled every individual aspect of human existence
controlled the world. Although the Greek culture did not believe in Animism, an Ionian named
Thales adopted this idea in his own way. Thales was born in the Greek city–state of Ionia in the mid
620's (BC.) Thales was the first philosopher to ask questions about the structure and nature of the
cosmos as a whole. He searched for the " physis" of objects that cause them to act or behave in their
own way. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"He said this principle is water because it is wholly from water that life itself comes from and into
which it dissolves, he also declared that the earth rest on water getting the notion perhaps from
seeing that the nutriment of all things is moist and that heat itself is generated from moisture and
kept alive by it, and that from which they come to be is a principle of all things. He got his notion
from this fact, and from the fact that seeds of all things have a moist nature, and that water is the
origin of the nature of moist things." He explained earthquakes, for example, by hypothesizing the
Earth floats on water and that an earthquake occurs when the Earth is rocked by waves. He was also
an important innovator in astronomy, and he had an effective theory of the path of the sun from
solstice to solstice. Some have attributed him with the "discovery" of the seasons of the year and the
365–day

Essay On Animism And The Contributions Of Thales,...
In the early times, before the beginning of human civilization and development of philosophy,
people believed in the idea that Gods, who basically controlled every individual aspect of human
existence, controlled the world. Some primitive people believed in the idea of Animism, or
Hylozoism. (The belief that everything in the universe, especially material objects, have some kind
of sole or is a living being.) These people believed that rocks, trees, and water had some kind of
sole. Animism can still be seen today in Native American tribes as well as the Aboriginal people of
Australia.
Although the Greek culture didn't believe in Animism, an Ionian named Thales
adopted ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He is even credited for creating the first sundial.
Anaximander believed in the theory of "apieron." Apieron is the unlimited, indeficit, indestructible
substance out of which individual things are created with and destroyed.
Although he believed apieron was real, he also believed that it was unexplainable. It would be like
saying that the letter W explained the alphabet. He also believed that the formation of the world was
due to the separation of opposites, and that the opposites were constantly at war. With these factors,
he believed that moderation is the key to success.
Although some of his theories were proved wrong, Anaximander was the first person to brush the
theory of evolution and was the father of Astronomy and cosmology. Many of
Anaximander's accomplishments are still regarded today.
Anaximenes was another Greek philosopher who lived around the time of
Anaximander. He was Anaximander's most notable student, but disagreed with
Anaximander on many levels. Anaximenes disagreed with the notion of apieron, but went back a
generation of thought to Thales ideas on the substance of which life is made.
Anaximenes' ideas were much different from the ideas of Thales because Anaximenes believed that
air was the ultimate substance, rather than water or apieron. Anaximenes introduced the ideas of
condensation and rarifacation. To prove this theory he said that when air is rarified, it becomes

Scientific Method Essay

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Scientific Method Essay

Similar to Scientific Method Essay (15)

More from Lisa Fields

More from Lisa Fields (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Scientific Method Essay