The Philosophy of Thales of Miletus

Thales of Miletus is considered to be the western world’s very first philosopher. Indeed, so early was he in the field of philosophy that the name itself (which means ‘lover of wisdom’) had not yet been invented. Instead, he was known as one of the seven sophoi (a sophos is a sage or wise person).

The dates of the birth and death of Thales are not known but it is understood that they were in the second half of the C6th BCE since he is known correctly to have predicted an eclipse that occurred at the Greek colony seaport in Asia Minor Miletus in 584-5 BCE. He seems to have been, in addition to his intellectual adventures, a man of practical action as well and his achievements included both the re-engineering of the course of a river and the political settlement of federation for the cities of the Ionian Coast.

Little else about his life is known for certain but it is reasonable to assume that he had access to the learning of the Babylonians and also of Egypt. It is said that he was able to calculate the height of a pyramid and that he compiled a set of star charts to which sea borne travellers could refer. However, it is common to attribute great achievements to the major figures of the past even if they had nothing to do with them in reality.

Thales’ claim to be the first philosopher (a claim that he would not have ever considered himself) rests on the fact that he was the first person to provide an entirely mythology-free, rational explanation for the origin of the universe. These are admirable traits but that does not mean his explanation is very convincing today: he thought that all physical things had their origin in water (Aristotle had a similar conception) and that the earth was a great, flat stone that floated in an enormous ocean of water. He offered as scientific proof of this the presence of fossilized sea creatures far inland and away from any water source. It is interesting to note how long ago people were using fossils to try to understand the history of the world.

His opinion on the nature and role of the gods in the universe is not known but he does appear to have believed that all people and things were infused with spirit or some kind of soul. Ideas attributed to Thales were subsequently developed further by his student and disciple Anaximander, also of Miletus.