Thales

Notes, Reading, Etc. : 

Notes, Reading, Etc. 1. Reading for Monday: The Milesians, 8-12. 2. Exam on logic and argument: Monday. 3. You can retake the exam as many times as you like until the first paper assignment is posted.

Notes, Lectures, Papers, and My Teaching Ethos. : 

Notes, Lectures, Papers, and My Teaching Ethos. Slides will be posted on the class webpage (for now) and in the reading list section.

Notes, Lectures, Papers, and My Teaching Ethos. : 

Notes, Lectures, Papers, and My Teaching Ethos. Slides will be posted on the class webpage (for now) and in the reading list section. My primary aims impart some culturally, historically significant knowledge about Greek philosophy and science.

Notes, Lectures, Papers, and My Teaching Ethos. : 

Notes, Lectures, Papers, and My Teaching Ethos. Slides will be posted on the class webpage (for now) and in the reading list section. My primary aims impart some culturally, historically significant knowledge about Greek philosophy and science. develop cognitive skills: textual interpretation & the accurate identification of and evaluation of deductive reasoning.

Section I: 

Section I The "Pre-Socratic" Philosophers (640 BC - 430 BC) 2-3 weeks The Milesians: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes Heraclitus Parmenides Zeno The Atomists: Leucippus & Democritus Empedocles *sources: "fragments" & "testimonia"

Slide7: 

The Milesians (c. 624-c.500 BC) Thales Anaximander Anaximenes

Ancient Greece: The Golden Age: 

Ancient Greece: The Golden Age Miletus

Ancient Greece: The Golden Age: 

Ancient Greece: The Golden Age Miletus Ionia

Slide10: 

I. Thales: Brief Biography

Thales: Biography: 

Thales: Biography c. 624-- c. 545 B.C. One of the "Seven Sages" of ancient Greece Reported to have -traveled to Egypt and Babylonia -been an engineer -introduced geometry into Greece -been a statesman in Ionia -predicted an eclipse. Historically regarded as the first scientist.

Geometry: 

Geometry An Egyptian use of geometry. Every year the Nile river rose and flooded the farming land. After the river receded, farming plots had to be resurveyed. To plot out a perpendicular boundry line from a given line, the Pythagorean theorem was used. geometry tr-->  (geometria) = land measurement 3 5 4

Slide13: 

II. Three key ideas of Thales A. Everything is water. B. The magnet has soul. C. The earth rests on water.

Slide14: 

A. Everything is water. Fragment #1

philosophy: 

philosophy today: "love of wisdom" (not so good) sophos: often, clever So, love of cleverness!

philosophy: 

philosophy today: "love of wisdom" (not so good) sophos: often, clever So, love of cleverness! latter, as in Plato and Aristotle: knowledge of the way things really are -- "PhD" = doctor of philosophy -- science = natural philosophy

principle: 

principle principle tr-->  (archē): archeology

principle: 

principle principle tr-->  (archē): archeology for now . . . 1. The principle of a thing is its fundamental nature, or reality.

principle: 

principle principle tr-->  (archē): archeology for now . . . 1. The principle of a thing is its fundamental nature, or reality. 2. The principle of a thing explains why the thing does what it does, or has the properties it does.

Slide20: 

matter  lump statue of clay pieces of ol' Rex. clay Matter of statue of ol' Rex: clay.

Slide21: 

(Greek) materialism The principle of all things is matter. back to #1

Slide22: 

Thales' Materialism 1. The principle of all things is matter. 2. Water is the only matter. -------- 3. Water is the principle of all things. Water!?

Slide23: 

Thales' Materialism 1. The principle of all things is matter. 2. Water is the only matter. -------- 3. Water is the principle of all things. Water!? Material Monism = materialism + only one kind of matter

Appearance vs. Reality: 

Appearance vs. Reality phenomena tr--> phainomena (things that appear) a crude instance of the distinction . . . Thing that appears: bent swizzle stick Way the swizzle stick really is.

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations: 

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations: 

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations supernatural explanations Appeal to supernatural entities to explain natural objects and events. Hesiod, Theogony (p. 2)

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations: 

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations supernatural explanations Appeal to supernatural entities to explain natural objects and events. Hesiod, Theogony (p. 2). naturalistic explanations Appeal to natural entities to explain natural objects and events. Thales: the principle of all things is water.

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations: 

Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations supernatural explanations Appeal to supernatural entities to explain natural objects and events. Hesiod, Theogony (p. 2). naturalistic explanations Appeal to natural entities to explain natural objects and events. Thales: the principle of all things is water. Questions?

Slide29: 

B. "The magnet has soul." Fragment #5

"soul" : 

"soul" soul tr-->  (psuchē): psychology, psyche, etc. originally: psuchē = breath later: psuchē = that which is responsible for life, that which animates matter.

Slide31: 

Argument Reconstruction . . .

Slide32: 

Argument Reconstruction . . . The magnet moves iron. ------------- The magnet has soul.

Slide33: 

Argument Reconstruction . . . The magnet moves iron. ------------- The magnet has soul. What propositions would we have to add to this argument in order to make it valid?

Slide34: 

Argument Reconstruction . . . <--- Whatever produces motion has soul. The magnet moves iron. ------------- The magnet has soul. What propositions would we have to add to this argument in order to make it valid?

Slide35: 

Argument Reconstruction . . . (1) Whatever produces motion has soul. (2) The magnet moves iron. ------------- (3) The magnet has soul.

Slide36: 

Argument Reconstruction . . . (1) Whatever produces motion has soul. (2) The magnet moves iron. ------------- (3) The magnet has soul. rudimentary psychological theory: what gives the soul its ability to perform life functions is the fact that it can initiate motion.

Slide37: 

Argument Reconstruction . . . (1) Whatever produces motion has soul. (2) The magnet moves iron. ------------- (3) The magnet has soul. Evaluation . . .

Slide38: 

C. The earth rests on water. Fragment #3

The Mid-Air (Space) Problem: 

The Mid-Air (Space) Problem There are many different ways in which the movement or rest of the earth has been conceived. The difficulty must have occurred to everyone. It would indeed be a complacent mind that felt no surprise that, while a little bit of earth, let loose in mid-air, moves and will not stay still, and the more there is of it the faster it moves, the whole Earth, free in mid-air, should show no sign of movement at all. Yet there is this great weight of earth, and it is at rest. . . . The difficulty, then, has naturally passed into a commonplace of philosophy. Aristotle, De Caelo, 294a10-21

The Mid-Air Problem: 

The Mid-Air Problem the phenomena 1. Small piece of earth falls in mid-air. 2. Great big piece of earth, the Earth, remains at rest in mid-air.

The Mid-Air Problem: 

The Mid-Air Problem the phenomena 1. Small piece of earth falls in mid-air. 2. Great big piece of earth, the Earth, remains at rest in mid-air. Thales' explanation: Small piece: not supported by anything in mid-air. Big piece: supported in mid air--by water. (completely naturalistic explanation)

Slide42: 

III. Thales' Claim to be the First Scientist

Slide43: 

Thales' claim to be the first scientist. 1. Naturalistic explanations. 2. Reduction of the plurality of things that appear to a more basic nature: water. 3. Use of argument/evidence as a basis for belief. 4. Employs the appearance vs. reality distinction.

Review: 

Review

Review: 

Review 1. Thales is a materialist. What is materialism?

Review: 

Review 1. Thales is a materialist. What is materialism? 2. Thales is a material monist. What is a material monist?

Review: 

Review 1. Thales is a materialist. What is materialism? 2. Thales is a material monist. What is a material monist? 3. What is Thales' rudimentary psychological theory?

Review: 

Review 1. Thales is a materialist. What is materialism? 2. Thales is a material monist. What is a material monist? 3. What is Thales' rudimentary psychological theory? 4. What is the mid-air problem?

Review: 

Review 2. Thales is a material monist. What is a material monist? 3. What is Thales' rudimentary psychological theory? 4. What is the mid-air problem? 5. What is Thales' solution to it?

Review: 

Review 3. What is Thales' rudimentary psychological theory? 4. What is the mid-air problem? 5. What is Thales' solution to it? 6. Why might one think Thales is the first scientist?