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The Founders of Western Thought – The Presocratics

A diachronic parallelism between Presocratic Thought and Philosophy and the Natural Sciences

  • Book
  • © 2009

Overview

Authors:
  1. Constantine J. Vamvacas

    1. 154 52 Athens, Greece

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  • The Presocratics were the first to interpret the universe critically, through a unique combination of rational thought, intuition and observation, excluding any intervention of divine or supernatural powers
  • They appealed to man’s conscience, elevating man to a free and responsible position
  • They posed the fundamental questions about ‘truth’, ‘being’, ‘becoming’
  • They laid the foundations for critical investigation, without which science would not exist

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (BSPS, volume 257)

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XVI
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  2. Introduction

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 1-2

  3. The Juncture

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 3-18

  4. Introduction to the Presocratics

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 19-27

  5. Thales of Miletus (ca. 625–546 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 29-33

  6. Anaximander of Miletus (ca. 610–546 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 35-43

  7. Anaximenes of Miletus (ca. 585–525 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 45-51

  8. Pythagoras of Samos (ca. 570–496 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 53-84

  9. Xenophanes of Colophon (ca. 570–470, B.C.

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 85-99

  10. Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca. 540–480 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 101-134

  11. Parmenides of Elea (ca. 515–450 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 135-165

  12. Empedocles of Acragas (ca. 494–434 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 167-196

  13. Anaxagoras of Clazomenae (ca. 500–428 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 197-208

  14. Democritus of Abdera (ca. 460–360 B.C.)

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 209-248

  15. Epilogue

    • Constantine J. Vamvacas
    Pages 249-254

  16. Back Matter

    Pages 255-289
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Keywords

About this book

There can be little doubt that the Greek tradition of philosophical criticism had its main source in Ionia. . . It thus leads the tradition which created the rational or scienti?c attitude, and with it our Western civilization, the only civilization, which is based upon science (though, of course, not upon science alone). Karl Popper, Back to the Presocratics Harvard University physicist and historian of Science, Gerald Holton, coined the term “Ionian Enchantment”, an expression that links the idea back in the 6th c- tury B. C. to the ancient Ionians along the eastern Aegean coast, while capturing its fascination. Approximately within a seventy- ve year period (600–525 B. C. ) -a split second in the history of humanity- the three Milesian thinkers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, without plain evidence, but with an unequalled power of critical abstraction and intuition, had achieved a true intellectual re- lution; they founded and bequeathed to future generations a new, unprecedented way of theorizing the world; it could be summarized in four statements: beneath the apparent disorder and multiplicity of the cosmos, there exists order, unity and stability; unity derives from the fundamental primary substratum from which the cosmos originated; this, and, consequently, the cosmic reality, is one, and is based not on supernatural, but on physical causes; they are such that man can - vestigate them rationally. These four statements are neither self-evident nor se- explanatory.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“Vamvacas provides a very neat survey of presocratic philosophers in chronological order detailing their contributions to modern science. … provide a fairly lucid introduction to presocratic thought. The book was originally written in Greek in 2001 and has been translated in a manner that is easily accessible to non-historians, including Vamvacas’ desired scientific readership.” (Luciano Boschiero, Metascience, Vol. 19 (3), November, 2010)

Authors and Affiliations

  • 154 52 Athens, Greece

    Constantine J. Vamvacas

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