Thales

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Thales of Milet

Thales of Milet (griech. Θαλῆς ὁ Μιλήσιος; * around 624 v. Chr. in Milet, small Asia; † around 546 v. Chr.) was a Greek nature philosopher, a statesman,Mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Of it is the saying:“Endorsement, already is mischief there”, comes.

to the person of the Thales

it already applies since the time Platons and Aristoteles 'as founders of philosophy and science, in particular the astronomy. It was considered as the oldest of the seven ways in such a way specified, in the antique onepoliticians, poets and philosophers of high repute.

Thales was coined/shaped clearly by its hometown Milet, a very much meaning handels and port in Ionien (= small Asia). Here met one another the most diverse ethnical groups, languages and religions and maintained usually a peaceful coexistence. Howeverat the same time 6 prevailed in. Century v. Chr. in Milet very strongly minted class warfares between the people and the aristocracy, whereby a frequent change of the winners is to be reported. Thales is probably to be counted to the aristocracy.

Aristoteles wrote in its“Politics” over Thales of Milet the following:“One reproached to it its poverty to probably prove in order that one comes with philosophy not very far. How the storyteller continues, Thales from its knowledge of the star world knew, although it still winterit was that in the coming year a rich olive harvest was to be expected; since it possessed little money, it rented all olive presses in Chios and Milet; he got it inexpensive, since nobody over-bid him. As suddenly to the Erntezeit all presses at the same timewere needed, borrowed he her to each amount in its liking out and earned a quantity money of it. So bewies er der Welt, dass auch Philosophen leicht reich werden können, wenn sie nur wollen, dass das aber nicht ihrAmbition is. “ (see also for this: Material option) the anecdote shows that it in the antique one not only when philosopher had, but also as a buyer a certain call. Even as a statesman it is occasionally designated, whereby however with all agreement over itit prevails that he was above all a philosopher, who arrives at its realizations by a very exact observation of nature. Admits became it, there it for the 28. May of the yearly 585 v. Chr. successfully a solar eclipse forecast. Thus is a war terminated between the Lydern and the Medern its - both sides were frightened in such a manner by the natural occurence that they closed peace. (After another excessive quantity Thales is to have informed the army about the existing solar eclipse: itno reason is for uneasiness and will not for a long time persist. The other army however believed in a curse of the Gods, the weapons fall to let and thus the battle lost. Source: Professor. Rudolf Taschner in an interview with the daily mirrorof 17. July 2005.)

From Thales is not delivered, anything noting, one is not even safe itself whether it ever fixed somewhat in writing. Therefore it does not surprise also if only little admits from its life is andto be still less than really secured regarded can. From this also understandably it follows that it is very uncertain, whatever really come it attributed realizations from it. The few source fragments, which specify set up realizations allegedly from it, originate usually from thatRepresentations of Platon or Aristoteles. In addition the Greek philosopher Proklos ( 412 - 485 n reports. Chr.) of the alleged mathematical realizations of the Thales - however with a considerable distance of approximately 1000 years!

It was with Anaximander and Anaximenes Representative of Ioni philosophy, the oldest direction of Greek philosophy, and ranks thus among the Vorsokratikern in such a way specified.

mathematical realizations and theorems of the Thales

on the basis Thales it becomes clear that the way of the knowledge over Egypt and Babylon in the Greek small Asia and from there to Greece arrived. So Thales is to have bring along geometrical talents for example from one of its journeys from Egypt to Greece. The following reported of it in connection with mathematical theorems or realizations(It is however again pointed out that it is not by any means safe whether these excessive quantities are correct or not!):

• The legend is famous, as it is to have measured the height of the pyramids in Egypt: It took a staff of well-known length and comparedthis with the length of that thrown shade. With same position of the sun now, so the alleged consideration of the Thales, the length of the shade of the pyramid, which it could check, must for the height of the pyramid in the same relationship as staff tooStaff shade stands. If Thales - if history should apply - the instant selected, since staff and Schattenlänge agreed, then it would have had a simple calculation. If he did not do that, then he would have had to know proportions.
• Something similar is itDistances of ships on lake computed. For this however none is delivered according to more exact instruction as with the levelling the pyramid.
• He is to have known that a circle is divided by each diameter into two equal parts.
• It was allegedit admits that an equal-leg triangle (thus a triangle with two equal long sides) at the third side, which basis so mentioned, possesses two equivalent angles.
• If two straight lines cut themselves, then are each other facing angles equivalent in pairs - alsothat is to have known Thales.
• , Then he is to have recognized a triangle already, is completely certain by the fact that the basis and the two angles at their ends are given.
• Admits is above all the set of the Thales designated after it, thus that into a semi-circle of written angles is right always.
• It is to have recognized that the rules found by the Egyptians had a generally accepted basis for the measurement of their fields (empirically). If this is correct, then it putthus the foundation-stone for pure geometry as science.
• Completely in this sense busy itself Thales of the excessive quantity after contrary to the Egyptians probably less with surfaces and volumes, but rather with lines and curves. Thereby reached it logical-provesa higher degree of abstraction.

It did not know a deductive proof however at that time yet.

the philosophical theory of the Thales

1. The philosophy of Thales is based on the one hand on the statement that everything developed from water. With its considerationsThales probably proceeded from the question about the Urgrund all Seins and all happening. Since it believed to recognize a cycle of becoming, the looked for element had to be a not only generally common material more transformationable at the same time, but also.The water fulfilled the requirement to be the basis and any shape to accept be able everything, apparent perfectly: Water needs each organism for the existence and water arises in different forms of the Seins, approximately as steam or as ice or evenly liquid.

This Hypothesis was also at the beginning 20. Century it likes when one assumed that everything developed from hydrogen. It the utterance “the water is attributed the best ” (Greek “air clay/tone men hydor”).

2. Second, it assigned sentence reads:“In everything are the Gods!” With the fact Thales states that it depends not on the visible of the world, but on what lives inside the things thus in the reason on the invisible, which makes however the visible only,which it is actually.

These two philosophical ideas stand obviously in the contradiction to each other, since Thales assumes on the one hand that the Urgrund represents all Seins something material, i.e. the water, on the other hand however stated the reality, thus all material one, inReason göttlich, thus not material is. William Weischedel marks the philosophical Hintertreppe” in his well-known book “in addition:“Still in the present it concerns in the philosophical discussions decided whether the world from a purely material principle tooit understands is or whether we are to assume, the things are visible indications of a deeper one, the world are expression one in their rolling göttlichen principle, perhaps the creature of a creative God. “(S. 15)
Further Weischedel Aristoteles quotes, accepted, Thales has with the “water” the Okeanos meant, that Urstrom thus, how he according to the Greek mythology the earth dome flow around, which rose for its part only from the same. “Water” has the meaning of a metaphysical according to Aristoteles with Thales thus ratherUrsubstanz, like it for instance with Aristoteles themselves (“form” and.“Material”, gr. “eidos” and. “hyle”) and late Spinoza (“God “) or Leibniz (“Monade “) a similar role plays. (S. 17)

This consideration Weischedels considering becomes clear, whycalculated Thales a fame as a father of philosophy to acquire could: It is considered to the legend after as that, which was first the crucial questions to place trusted, and it allegedly first, which gave two conceivable answers, - unfortunatelyor also fortunately - in apparent incompatible conflict stand too each other, so that however the two Urerklärungsmodelle of the presence imply any Seins.

literature

• Moritz CAN gate: Lectures on history of mathematics, volume 1, publishing house Teubner, Leipzig 1908.
• Bertrand Russell: Philosophy of the evening country Europe publishing house Hamburg/Vienna 1950.
• Bertrand Russell: Philosopher of the evening country Belser publishing house Stuttgart 1962 or dtv Munich 1991.
• J. Burnet: The beginnings of Greek philosophy publishing house Teubner, Leipzig and Berlin. 1913
• William Weischedel: Thosephilosophical Hintertreppe. 34 large philosophers in everyday life and thinking, dtv, 21. Edition, Munich 1995, S. 11 - 18.
• Hans Joachim Störig: Small world history of philosophy extended New edition, Frankfurt A. M. 1996.
• Hans Joachim Störig: World history of the science,Augsburg 1992, 1. Volume, S. 81 f.
• Dieter Göbel, gloss lights of philosophy. Large philosophers from Aristoteles to Popper, Augsburg 1998, S. 13 - 21.
• Röd, Wolfgang: The philosophy of the antique ones 1. From Thales to Demokrit. Munich 1988

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• Thales of Milet life and thought
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