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Thales of Miletus
c. 624–546 BC· Philosopher· Reality, mind & God
Mostly agreedGood evidence; some details uncertain.
A sage of Miletus, traditionally the first Greek philosopher, who said everything comes from water.
See it on the Philosophy map →The idea
Idea: all things come from one basic stuff, water. Reasoning, as Aristotle guessed: food and seeds are moist, and life needs moisture; modern readers add that water can be solid, liquid or vapor. The breakthrough was the kind of answer, one natural cause rather than gods. Aristotle also says he foresaw a big olive harvest, leased every press cheaply in winter, and sublet them at a profit. Main objection: his successors argued no single element could produce its opposite, such as fire.
Why it matters
He set the template for philosophy and science: explain the world by a natural cause, and expect others to argue back.
Legacy and sources
No writings survive, if he wrote any. Herodotus, Aristotle and Diogenes Laertius report his ideas and stories; the eclipse he supposedly predicted is dated astronomically to 28 May 585 BC.
Still debated
Whether he really predicted that eclipse, and how without the needed astronomy, is doubted; many stories about him may be later legend.
Connections (2)
▸Thales of Miletus began the tradition of The Presocratic philosophersMostly agreed
The connection
Thales was the first Greek on record to explain the world by one natural substance instead of gods. Fellow Milesians Anaximander and Anaximenes rejected his answer and offered their own, starting the chain of proposal and criticism that defines the Presocratic tradition.
When and how
Miletus, a rich Greek trading city in Ionia (western Turkey), around 585 BC, followed by Anaximander (c. 610–546 BC) and Anaximenes (c. 586–526 BC).
How sure are we?
Aristotle names Thales the founder of this kind of philosophy in Metaphysics Book 1; later summarizers repeat the line of teacher and successor.
Debates and open questions
Whether Thales truly started it or simply became the conventional first name is unknowable; Babylonian and Egyptian learning likely influenced the Milesians.
▸What is ultimately real? was first answered by Thales of MiletusMostly agreed
The connection
The question of what lies beneath appearances got its first recorded Greek answer from Thales: water. The answer was soon dropped, but its form, one natural principle (arche, 'origin') explaining everything, framed every later attempt.
When and how
Miletus, Ionia, early 6th century BC.
How sure are we?
Aristotle's Metaphysics reports the water claim and offers reasons for it, while admitting the reasons are his own guess.
Debates and open questions
'First' is doubtful: Upanishadic sages in India asked about ultimate reality around the same time, and little is known of Greek thought before Thales.