PHILOS 25A Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Polymath, Rarefaction
Document Summary
Wanted to know the origin of the kosmos (not just the universe or physical world, but also the order of it) Material monism: idea that there is one material substance out of which the kosmos comes into existence and into which it perishes; a basic substance that persists through all change and transformation. No original writings survive: argued that the arkh was water. Aristotle treats thales as a philosopher by attributing to him the kind of reasoning that might have led him to his conclusion, even though aristotle had no access to thales" own rationale. Anaximander: only a few fragments of his writings exist, bold thinker, revolutionarily abstract, he believe the arkh is something called the apeiron, which means unlimited/without boundary (from a (without) + peras (boundary)) The apeiron includes everything in the kosmos but is not itself a part of the kosmos. Physics, 24. 13-21): anaximander uses the idea of punishment and retribution to explain the universe.
