Anaximander

Lore & Background

Anaximander, son of Praxiades, was born in the third year of the 42nd Olympiad (610 BC). According to Apollodorus of Athens, he was sixty-four years old during the second year of the 58th Olympiad (547–546 BC) and died shortly afterwards. Themistius, a 4th-century Byzantine rhetorician, mentions that he was the 'first of the known Greeks to publish a written document on nature.' His texts are among the earliest written in prose in the Western world. By the time of Plato, his philosophy was almost forgotten; Aristotle, Theophrastus, and a few doxographers provide the little information that remains. It is debatable whether Thales actually was his teacher, but Anaximander was influenced by Thales' theory that everything is derived from water. Aelian depicts Anaximander as leader of the Milesian colony to Apollonia on the Black Sea coast, suggesting he was a prominent citizen. He lived his final years as a subject of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.

Reader's Guide

Anaximander's significance lies in his rational approach to explaining the universe. He claimed that nature is ruled by laws, like human societies, and that anything disturbing the balance of nature does not last long. He introduced the abstract concept of the apeiron (infinite, boundless) as the origin of all things, a major step in Greek philosophical abstraction. In astronomy, he attempted to describe celestial mechanics; in physics, he postulated the apeiron as the source of all things. His knowledge of geometry allowed him to introduce the gnomon in Greece, and he created a map of the world that advanced geography. His theories were influenced by Greek mythical tradition, Thales, and observations from older Near Eastern civilizations, all developed rationally. He claimed the cosmic order is geometric, not monarchic, causing the Earth's equilibrium at the center of the universe. This reflected a new political order of isonomy (equal rights) in the city-state. His legacy endures as a foundational figure in early Greek science and philosophy, though only fragmentary testimonies survive.

Did You Know?

• Anaximander is the first philosopher known to have written down his studies, though only one fragment of his work remains.
• He introduced the gnomon to Greece.
• He created a map of the world that contributed greatly to the advancement of geography.
• He was sent as a leader to the Milesian colony of Apollonia on the Black Sea coast.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"All things must in equity again decline into that whence they have their origin for they must give satisfaction and atonement for injustice each in the order of time." — Anaximander "On Nature, as quoted by Friedrich Ueberweg, History of Philosophy, from Thales to the Present Time (1885) Vol. 1, p. 35." — Anaximander "Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy (1958) pp. 60-61." — Anaximander "Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy (1958) p. 61." — Anaximander