Anaximenes of MiletusThe dates of the last philosopher of the Milesian school, Anaximenes are very uncertain. Of his life nothing is known. He was certainly subsequent to Anaximander, and he could not flourish after 494 B.C., since in that year Persians destroyed Miletus. But according to Apollodorus, quoted by Diogenes, Anaximenes flourished from about 585 to 524 B.C. According to Anaximenes, the air is the primal substance from which all other substances such as fire, water, earth etc., are derived. For him, states of substance (solid, liquid, gas) are merely the product of rarefaction and condensation process. The soul is air, fire is rarefied air; when condensed, and air becomes water, if further condensed water becomes earth and finally becomes stone. Anazimenes says that air is the first principle of all things, and that it is infinite in quantity but is defined by its qualities; and all things are gererated by a certain condesation or rarefaction of air. He thought that by the compression of the air the earth was formed and the shape of the earth is like a round table, and that air covers everything. He maintained that earth rests on air; and the sun and the moon and the rest of the starts were formed from earth. He said that the sun is earth beacause of its motion, and it has the proper amount of heat. Although he was not quite so interesting as compared to Anaximander, it is important to note he had an important influence on Pythagoras. Briefly, Anaximenes adopted a version of Thales hypothesis, but he changed the original principle from water to air. the free encyclopedia Anaximenes of Miletus Anaximenes of Miletus Born c. .[1][2] One of the three Milesian philosophers. like others in his school of thought. 528 BC Era Pre-Socratic philosophy Region Western Philosophy Ionian / Milesian School Naturalism Main interests Metaphysics Notable ideas Air is the arche Influences[show] Anaximenes of Miletus (/ˌænækˈsɪməˌniːz/.[3][4] Anaximenes.[5][4] This tendency to identify one specific underlying reality made up of a material thing is what Anaximenes is principally known for today. practiced material monism. 585 BC Died c. 585 – c. Anaximenes of Miletus From Wikipedia. Greek: Ἀναξιμένης ὁ Μιλήσιος. c. 528 BCE) was an Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher active in the latter half of the 6th century BC. he is identified as a younger friend or student of Anaximander. [9] Similarly. fire-like flash. when the sun sets it does not pass under the earth. respectively. looked for the broader picture in nature. as mist and then rain and other forms of precipitation.[6] When air condenses it becomes visible. Lightning is similarly caused by the violent separation of clouds by the wind. it is not composed of rarefied air like the stars. are formed when densely compressed air is touched by the rays of the sun. or attributing them to gods or to a personified nature. Anaximenes likens the motion of the sun and the other celestial bodies around the earth to the way that a cap may be turned around the head. In either case the earth becomes weakened by its cracks. Anaximenes proposed that the earth let out an exhalation of air that rarefied. While the sun is similarly described as being aflame. which he said was table-like and behaved like a leaf floating on air. or of superabundance of water.[2][10] Other phenomena[edit] Anaximenes used his observations and reasoning to provide causes for other natural phenomena on the earth as well. As the condensed air cools Anaximenes supposed that it went on to form earth and ultimately stones. Contents [hide] 1Anaximenes and the Arche 2The origin of the Cosmos 3Other phenomena 4Legacy 5References 6Further reading 7External links Anaximenes and the Arche[edit] While his predecessors Thales and Anaximander proposed that the archai(singular: arche.[7] While other philosophers also recognized such transitions in states of matter. The choice of air may seem arbitrary. creating a bright. Anaximenes was the first to associate the quality pairs hot/dry and cold/wet with the density of a single material and add a quantitative dimension to the Milesian monistic system. which also causes cracks in the earth. which causes the earth to break apart because of how parched it is. but Anaximenes based his conclusion on naturally observable phenomena in the processes of rarefaction and condensation. were the result either of lack of moisture. Earthquakes. which ignites and produces flame when further rarefied. In his theory. its burning comes not from its composition but rather from its rapid motion. Rainbows. meaning the underlying material of the world) were water and the ambiguous substance apeiron. Anaximenes used his theory to devise a scheme that explains the origins and nature of the earth and the surrounding celestial bodies. They sought unifying causes for diversely occurring events. rather than treating each one on a case-by-case basis. like the other Milesian philosophers. water evaporates into air. he asserted.[7][8] The origin of the Cosmos[edit] Having concluded that everything in the world is composed of air. so that hills collapse and cause earthquakes. but rather of earth like the moon. ignited and became the stars. In keeping with the prevailing view of celestial bodies as balls of fire in the sky. he considered the moon and sun to be flat and floating on streams of air. Anaximenes asserted that air was this primary substance of which all other things are made.[11] These examples show how Anaximenes. on the other hand.[5] . but is merely obscured by higher parts of the earth as it circles around and becomes more distant. Air felted to create the flat disk of the earth. In contrast. so named because like Thales and Anaximander. When it is thinned it becomes fire.C. Anaximenes suggested an interesting qualitative account of natural change: [Air] differs in essence in accordance with its rarity or density. Table of Contents 1.E. while when it is condensed it becomes wind. 528 B. which came together to form the organized world. Air can be thought of as a kind of neutral stuff that is found everywhere. He is the third philosopher of the Milesian School of philosophy. who thought that all things came from an unspecified boundless stuff. then earth. Doctrine of Air Anaximenes seems to have held that at one time everything was air. (DK13A5) . Anaximenes flourished in the mid 6th century B. References and Further Reading 1. Anaximenes was an inhabitant of Miletus.E. of Anaximander's. Everything else comes from these. as the soul controls the body (DK13B2 in the Diels-Kranz collection of Presocratic sources). in Ionia (ancient Greece). when still more condensed it becomes water. and possibly a student. In this way. Doctrine of Air 2. Doctrine of Change Given his doctrine that all things are composed of air. Natural forces constantly act on the air and transform it into other materials. and Anaximander. Influence on Later Philosophy 5. Origin of the Cosmos 4. Accordingly. air is associated with the soul (the breath of life) and Anaximenes may have thought of air as capable of directing its own development. who held that water is the source of all things. he differed with his predecessors like Thales. Doctrine of Change 3. Anaximenes (d. Anaximenes is best known for his doctrine that air is the source of all things. and is available to participate in physical processes.C. and died about 528. then stones. 2. Theophrastus notes that Anaximenes was an associate. then cloud. he ascribed to air divine attributes.) According to the surviving sources on his life. In early Greek literature. etc. The stars may be fixed to this surface like nails. It began as a flat disk. In another account. On one account. understand Anaximenes’ theory of change as presupposing material monism. Anaximenes uses his principles to account for various natural phenomena. and is hidden by the higher parts of the earth at night. there is only one substance. (in this case air) from which all existing things are composed. The earth floats on a cushion of air. By contrast. This industrial process provides a model of how one stuff can take on new properties when it is compacted. rainbows are the result of the rays of the sun falling on clouds. The sun does not travel under the earth but circles around it. Fire turns to air. the air is hot. air to wind. like Anaximander. following Aristotle. According to this theory. He also seems to have referred to the process of felting. (as in the denser stuffs). Hence. and density with coldness. Matter can travel this path by being condensed. by which wool is compressed to make felt. The heavenly bodies. the heavens are like a felt cap that turns around the head. or the reverse path from stones to fire by being successively more rarefied. According to Anaximenes. Like Anaximander.Using two contrary processes of rarefaction and condensation. The several stuffs: wind. Anaximenes provides a crude kind of empirical support by appealing to a simple experiment: if one blows on one's hand with the mouth relaxed. Most commentators. earth was formed from air by a felting process. 3. Anaximander had described a sequence of changes that a portion of the boundless underwent to form the different stuffs of the world. cloud. Anaximenes uses a process familiar from everyday experience to account for material change. water to earth and earth to stone. wind to cloud. fiery bodies arose which came to be the heavenly bodies. or at least the sun and the moon. gives an account of how our world came to be out of previously existing matter. Anaximenes explains how air is part of a series of changes. if one blows with pursed lips. but he gave no scientific reason for changes. cloud to water. He gives an essentially correct account of hail as frozen rainwater. are only .. Lightning and thunder result from wind breaking out of clouds. Origin of the Cosmos Anaximenes. the stars are like fiery leaves floating on air (DK13A14). water. Anaximenes was the first recorded thinker who provided a theory of change and supported it with observation. according to Anaximenes we see that rarity is correlated with heat (as in fire). the air is cold (DK13B1). nor did he describe any mechanism by which they might come about. seem also to be flat bodies that float on streams of air. earthquakes are caused by the cracking of the earth when it dries out after being moistened by rains. From evaporations from the earth. Classen. A good introduction to Anaximenes' thought. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge U. . Ch. G. This article provides a good assessment of one of Anaximenes' major contributions. "Anaximenes' Astronomy.23-24. The Presocratic Philosophers. K. and criticized by Parmenides(DK28B8. 5. Raven and M. 115-40. Joachim. Vol. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. An interesting reconstruction of the conflicting reports on Anaximenes' astronomy. A careful analysis of the texts of Anaximenes. scientific theories capable of testing. though I think particular criticisms it makes of that view are wrong. It is developed by Heraclitus (DK22B31). There is no independent evidence to support this interpretation. S. J. E. By providing cosmological accounts with a theory of change. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul (1 vol. Georg. Articles on him are sometimes rather specialized in nature. Both Melissus (DK30B8. 1983. References and Further Reading There are no monographs on Anaximenes in English. 1982. modifications of the real substance that is always and everywhere present. Anaximenes’ general theory of how the materials of the world arise is adopted by Anaxagoras(DK59B16). 2nd edn..." Acta Classica 12: 53-85. substratum and accident that are too advanced for this period. A History of Greek Philosophy. Anaximenes separated them from the realm of mere speculation and made them. Diogenes of Apollonia makes air the basis of his explicitly monistic theory. 4. 4. Jonathan. W. 47- 48). This brief edition adds four new testimonies to the evidence about Anaximenes and challenges the standard interpretation.3) and Plato (Timaeus 49b-c) see Anaximenes’ theory as providing a common-sense explanation of change. Anaximenes aus Milet. The Presocratic Philosophers. Ch. edn. at least in conception. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. Guthrie. 1962. which seems to require Aristotle’s metaphysical concepts of form and matter. 1.). Influence on Later Philosophy Anaximenes’ theory of successive change of matter by rarefaction and condensation was influential in later theories. Schofield. C. 1993. Anaximenes may have supposed that the ‘stuffs’ simply change into one another in order. Wöhrle. "Anaximander and Anaximenes: The Earliest Greek Theories of Change?" Phronesis 22: 89-102. Barnes. J. Bicknell. P. It is useful as a counterbalance to the received view. Pr. A number of chapters in books on the Presocratics are helpful. Gives a philosophically rich defense of the standard interpretation of Anaximenes. C. even though the latter has a very different theory of matter. The Hippocratic treatise On Breaths uses air as the central concept in a theory of diseases. Kirk. The importance of this is that Anaximenes was the first to suggest that reality could be measured. he wrote a book with only a sentence or two surviving. like his teacher. In its thinnest state it comes to be. then stones. then water. He did not. He was a student of Anaximander and. who had been an associate of Anaximander. physical objects differ only in how condensed the air is in a given space: stuff is airy when less compressed and solid when more compressed. holds us together. which stresses the central role of air in conception of reality: “Just as our soul. then cloud. This provides a more scientific account of reality. It differs in different substances in virtue of its rarefaction and condensation. that the underlying substance was one and infinite.” We find a more complete account of his view of air in the following summary from an early philosopher: Anaximenes of Miletus. 585-525 BCE). for he said it was Air. however.Anaximenes: Air The third of the founding philosophers from Miletus was Anaximenes (c. When air begins to be compressed. [DK] On Anaximenes view. but determinate. We could at least in theory say that a certain amount of pressure exerted on an area of air will result in it attaining a specific level of solidity. said. it condenses into wind. being air. like Anaximander. and everything else that we see comes from these. then earth. . and when still further condensed it becomes water. so do breath and air surround the whole world. say it was indeterminate. then earth. and the rest of things comes to be out of these. particularly in comparison to Anaximandar’s theory which removed ultimate reality from the realm of what we can perceive. then stones. then cloud. Being condensed it becomes wind. like him. then. who held that condensed and expanded air is the source of everything. The most notable fragment is this.