--- date: '2023-09-09' description: presocratic philosophers including anaximander's aperion, parmenides on being, empedocles' elements, and democritus's atomism with primary and secondary qualities. id: Presocratics modified: 2026-06-05 15:08:42 GMT-04:00 tags: - philos1aa3 - philosophy title: Presocratics philosophers created: '2023-09-09' published: '2023-09-09' pageLayout: default slug: thoughts/university/twenty-three-twenty-four/philo-1aa3/Presocratics permalink: https://aarnphm.xyz/thoughts/university/twenty-three-twenty-four/philo-1aa3/Presocratics.md generator: quartz: v4.6.0 hostedProvider: Cloudflare baseUrl: aarnphm.xyz full: https://aarnphm.xyz/llms-full.txt --- ### Anaximander > material cause and first element of things was the unbounded _aperion_ - earth is cylindrical form, that its depth is as a third part of its breath - begetting hot and cold was separated off from the eternal at the origin of the world. The heavenly bodies are wheels of fire separated off from the fire which encircles the world, enclosed with air Living creatures arose from the moist element as it was evaporated by the sun. Man was like another animal, namely, a fish, in the beginning. often associated with _aperion_ and _infinite_ as the fundamental of the universe > Human arose from inside of the fish, and become capable of protecting themselves. ### Xenophanes 1. --- #### Parmenides > Archaic > The questions of the beginning ``` Originate from the gods? Natural occurrence of where things from ``` - Pythagoras - Scientific > Being is one entities > Not being is not known \| Change is not being → not green is Logic convince `changes is not real` Appearance of changes = dilusion > Truth is being → homogeneous changes Ultimate being is not one → ## Materialism atheist? ### Empedocles Perspective of nature - configuration of _materialism_ Elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water Elemental force: Love and Strifes real difference upon things manifestation of these real articles ### Democritus Atomism Atomic hypothesis → nature is Atoms and Void - Nature is body and void, nothing else, not purpose or design - Soul is the body System of the atom Atoms of different sizes and shape Coalesce and accumulate → soul > Soul is the matter of the finest, smallest, matter, coherently all part of the organism - Primary and secondary qualities - Primary: atoms are size, shape, and height - Secondary: molecular combinations include hot/cold, moist/dry > Sweet exists by convention, bitter by convention, colour by convention. Division comes to a stop when atom → Atom is the least divisible factor Absolute stopping point for destruction → rearrangement of these atoms are indispensable If there are gods → they have to have body → no atom is immortal → Gods are immortal. For Greek, Gods are human are indifferent.