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| "To what purpose should I trouble myself in searching out the secrets of the stars, having death or slavery continually before my eyes?" | | Name: | Anaximenes |
| School of Thought: | Atomism Materialism |
| Life Span: | 700 - 500 B.C. |
| Location: | Greece |
| Bio: | Anaximenes was Anaximander's pupil. He examined the natural world around him, then disagreed with his teacher. He believed the basic stuff that held everything together was air. He thought that all things were either thick air or thin air. As air got thicker it turned into wind, then clouds, then water then mud and stones. Fire was just very then air.
Anaximenes reasoned that air was the source of all life, because people have to breathe air to live. 'Air doesn't need to be supported unlike water' was a point Anaximenes used to discard Thales' theories. He also said people's souls were made of air. So his ideas about the universe explained both spiritual and material reality. He said, "As our soul, being air, holds us together and controls us, so does wind and air enclose the whole world."
Did you know?
- Anaximenes thought the Earth was flat and rode on air.
- He said the heavens moved around Earth like a hat on a head.
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| Perform a Google search on this philosopher. |
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