The PreSocratic Philosophers

In philosophy, the term "Pre-Socratic" means preceding or contemporaneous with the life of Socrates. There are two schools of Pre-Socratic philosophers. One is the monists, who believed that there was a single underlying element to existence. The other is the pluralists, who were a later group that believe that the fundamental elements were varied. While most of these philosophers produced written texts, they survive only as fragments. Many of their ideas come from the writings of their contemporaries or historians.

The Pre-Socratic philosophers rejected the ancient Greek belief system, turning away from polytheism and the ideas that been passed down for hundreds of years. They were interested in the nature of things - where do things come from? What are they created from? Can nature be described mathematically? While there were many Pre-Socratic schools of thought and individual philosophers, there are six individuals who contribute the most to this movement.

Thales (c. 624 - 546 BC)

Thales is often credited as being the father of philosophy. He believed that everything came from water, and that it was the source of life. The idea that there could be one "first principle" of life and being was a novel concept at the time, and created a great amount of philosophical debate.

Anaximander (c. 610 BC - c. 546 BC)

Anaximander was a contemporary of Thales. He discounted the idea of water as the first principle. He argued instead that there is only one substance from which things are made, and that we are unable to perceive it. When things die, they return to the element from which they are made. He called this element the apeiron.

Anaximenes (c. 585 BC - 525 BC)

Anaximenes was a Pre-Socratic who believed that air is the first principle and is therefore the source of creation. He based this upon his own scientific observations of the world around him, and the belief, which was common at the time, that the soul was housed within the body and is linked to the world through the breath.

Pythagoras (c. 580 BC - 490 BC)

Pythagoras is the most famous of the Pre-Socratic philosophers. He believed that life could be explained through mathematics and numbers. He and his students studied the rhythms and cycles that they found in nature. He is best known for the Pythagorean Theorem, which is still a basic of mathematics that is taught to all algebra students.

Heraclitus (c. 535 BC - c. 475 BC)

Heraclitus believed that change was a fundamental force in the universe. He is famous for his belief that you can never step into the same river twice, since the water that you first touched has already flowed on. He applied this theory to the human spirit as well as to nature, questioning if one is the same person they were in youth as they are in old age.

Parmenides (c. 510 BC - 440 BC)

Parmenides wrote his work in retaliation to Heraclitus. He believed that there is no flux, and that existence itself is stagnant. He believed that what we see changing around us is simply an illusion, and that things are always the same.

These six Pre-Socratics helped shape a new foundation in philosophy. Although their beliefs may seem simple today, they were actually a radical departure from the world view that existed before them. They shaped the future of Western philosophy.