Western philosophy has its roots in ancient Greece, where pre-Socratic thinkers (7th to 5th centuries BC) sought to rationally explain the nature of the world, moving away from mythological explanations. These philosophers laid the foundations for the subsequent development of philosophy and science.
The pre-Socratic period was marked by intense philosophical speculation, with over a hundred thinkers actively contributing. Notable figures such as Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Pythagoras stand out, having explored fundamental questions about the nature of the world, the origin of things, and the principles that govern reality.
The term "pre-Socratic" refers to a philosophy focused on the natural world, mathematics, and understanding the mechanisms of the universe. In contrast, the ideas of Socrates and Plato concentrated more on social, political, and moral questions. The scarcity of original pre-Socratic writings makes it difficult to directly analyze their ideas, with most of our knowledge derived from later works, primarily from Plato and Aristotle.
The pre-Socratics anticipated concepts later developed in Greek philosophy and laid the foundations for modern scientific inquiry. Their contributions, though sometimes disorganized, represent crucial leaps in human thought.
Fundamental questions addressed by the pre-Socratics include:
- The relationship between unity and multiplicity
- The origin of diversity from a basic substance
- The balance between change and constancy
- Relativism and the nature of fundamental principles
- The search for an underlying rational unity in reality
These pioneering philosophers sought to rationally explain the creation of the world, natural phenomena, and the origin of the cosmos, using mathematics, astronomy, and biology. Their efforts represent the beginnings of Western philosophy and science, establishing the foundations upon which later intellectual tradition was built.
1. The Ionian or Milesian School: The Search for the Single Principle
The Milesian School, founded in the city of Miletus on the coast of Asia Minor (present-day western Turkey), flourished between 590 and 530 BC. Influenced by knowledge from Babylon (primarily in mathematics and astronomy), Egypt, and the Orient, this school of thought marked a significant advance in the history of philosophy. The Milesian philosophers — Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes — deliberately rejected the prevailing religious view of the time, which attributed natural phenomena to the action of anthropomorphic gods and mythological explanations. Instead, they sought natural explanations, observing the world around them and developing hypotheses and general frameworks to understand the diversity of phenomena they encountered.
Although they moved away from mythical explanations, the Milesians were still influenced by ancient cosmogonies, which conceived the world as originating from an undifferentiated or amorphous unity — a recurring theme in Hebrew, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek texts. Miletus, an important port and commercial center between East and West, provided a conducive environment for the exchange of ideas. It is likely that the three main Milesian philosophers knew each other; it is believed that Anaximenes was, in some way, a disciple of Anaximander, although this is not certain.
The Milesian philosophers sought to identify the "arché," the fundamental principle that constitutes all things:
- Thales of Miletus proposed water as the primordial element, observing its importance for life and versatility. Known for predicting a solar eclipse in 585 BC, Thales was an engineer and royal advisor. His idea that everything derives from water represented a search for the fundamental unity of the universe.
- Anaximander introduced the concept of "apeiron" — the unlimited or indeterminate — as the basic principle of the universe. He believed that everything emerges from this infinite and eternal substance, with opposing forces creating a dynamic equilibrium that originates the visible world. Anaximander contributed significantly to Greek astronomy and cartography, creating the first world map and a celestial sphere with a cylindrical Earth at the center.
- Anaximenes suggested air as the fundamental element, capable of transforming into other substances through condensation and rarefaction. This theory explained natural diversity through gradual transformations of a single element. His philosophy revisited aspects of Thales' ideas, replacing water with air as the primordial substance.
The most important contribution of the Milesians was the idea of a single fundamental substance that originates the natural world through processes of differentiation. This advance marked a significant departure from previous religious and anthropomorphic cosmogonies, establishing a natural philosophy based on natural causes and regular mechanisms. Thus, they laid the foundations for a scientific understanding of the universe, proposing that the primordial cause and "substance" could be imperceptible and omnipresent. The Milesian School, therefore, inaugurated a rational and naturalistic approach to explaining the cosmos, breaking with mythological traditions and paving the way for the development of Western philosophy and science.
2. Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was one of the most influential philosophers and mathematicians of Antiquity, born around 570 BC on the island of Samos in Ionian Greece. After leaving his homeland, possibly due to the regime of the tyrant Polycrates, he traveled extensively before settling in Croton, in southern Italy. There, he founded a school that combined philosophy, mathematics, and mysticism, whose members became known as Pythagoreans.
Mathematics was central to Pythagoras's worldview, serving as an essential tool for understanding the structure and harmony of the universe. He considered numbers as divine entities and believed they revealed the underlying patterns of the cosmos. This perspective led to the discovery of important numerical and geometric properties, including the famous Pythagorean Theorem. Additionally, the relationship between mathematics and music resulted in the idea of the "music of the spheres," where planetary movements were associated with musical intervals, reflecting a universal mathematical order.
Pythagoras's influence was profound and lasting, especially on philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. His conception that the fundamental explanations of the universe reside in abstract forms, rather than just physical matter, represented a significant shift in philosophical thinking. This distinction between matter and form, along with the central role of mathematics in understanding reality, established essential foundations for the development of modern physics and philosophy.
3. Heraclitus of Ephesus: The Philosophy of Becoming
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 500-460 BC) is recognized for his profound reflection on the dynamic nature of the universe. Despite the scarcity of his original writings, his ideas significantly influenced later philosophers, such as Plato. Heraclitus observed that everything in the world is in constant change and considered this mutability as the fundamental essence of reality, not a mere illusion. For him, instability was inherent to the world, and understanding this dynamic was crucial to comprehending the nature of things.
At the core of his thought is the concept of Logos, interpreted as a set of principles, natural laws, or formulas that govern the cosmos. Heraclitus believed that the Logos manifested itself in the unity of opposites and the balanced tension between them. Examples include beginning and end, day and night, life and death, hot and cold. He argued that the continuous transformation between these opposites drives movement and change in the universe, maintaining a dynamic equilibrium. Heraclitus introduced the concept of fire as the primordial element, symbolizing continuous transformation. His famous statement that "no one steps in the same river twice" illustrates his view that everything is in constant flux; the river changes at every moment, as does the person who steps into it. This perspective raises questions about what, if anything, remains constant amid so much change.
The few remaining fragments of Heraclitus's work continue to inspire reflection and debate, revealing parallels with modern physics concepts about the dynamic and impermanent nature of reality.
4. Parmenides and the Eleatic School: The Immutable Reality
Parmenides of Elea (c. 515-445 BC) is one of the most influential pre-Socratic philosophers. Our knowledge of him comes mainly from discussions of his ideas in Plato's dialogues — "Parmenides," "Theaetetus," and "Sophist" — as well as fragments of his poem in verse, generally called "On Nature". Other pre-Socratics also frequently referenced his ideas. Plato describes a notable meeting between an elderly Parmenides (about 65 years old), Zeno of Elea (approximately 40 years old), and a young Socrates, which occurred around 450 BC.
In the poem, Parmenides narrates a metaphorical journey to the abode of a goddess, often interpreted as the Goddess of Justice. During this journey from darkness to light, escorted by the Daughters of the Sun, he is received by the goddess who reveals to him three paths to truth. She states that two of these paths are false: the first is the path of "non-being," impossible because it is inconceivable to know or speak about what does not exist. The second is the path of mortals, who confuse being and non-being, believing in the reality of change and multiplicity. The third path, considered the true one, maintains that "being is and cannot not be" — reality is unique, eternal, immutable, indivisible, and homogeneous. For Parmenides, there is no birth, destruction, movement, or change, as this would imply transitions between being and non-being, something logically untenable from his perspective.
The importance of Parmenides' arguments lies in his attempt to understand the nature of the universe through logical and metaphysical reasoning. He proposes that everything that can be thought exists and that it is absurd to suppose the existence of "nothingness." This conception leads to the conclusion that void does not exist, all space is filled with being, and change is an illusion of the senses. Although today we might question the validity of extrapolating language structure to make claims about the reality of the world, Parmenides' arguments continue to exert great influence in the field of metaphysics, especially in discussions about the ultimate nature of existence and reality.
In contrast to Heraclitus, Parmenides of Elea argued that true reality is immutable and eternal:
- He stated that being is one, indivisible and immutable, and that all perceived changes are illusory.
- He used logic and reason to argue that non-being (nothingness) cannot exist, therefore change is impossible.
- His rigorously rational approach profoundly influenced the development of Western philosophy.
5. Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea (c. 490 BC) was a pre-Socratic philosopher who sought to defend Parmenides' ideas and refute pluralism, using paradoxes to argue that reality is unique, indivisible, and immutable. He argued that if reality were divided into parts, these would be infinitely small (without extension) or infinitely large, both possibilities impossible, reinforcing his thesis of the unity of being.
His most famous paradoxes are about motion, such as the Race Course, where a runner never completes the race due to the infinite divisibility of the course, and Achilles and the Tortoise, which demonstrates that Achilles will never catch up to the tortoise due to the same principle. In the Arrow paradox, Zeno suggests that motion is an illusion, since at each instant, the arrow is fixed in a specific position.
Zeno's ideas challenged fundamental concepts of plurality and motion, generating debates that continue to influence philosophy and mathematics. His arguments highlighted the difficulties of dealing with infinity and the perception of reality, becoming a milestone in the history of Western thought.
6. The Pluralists: Empedocles and Anaxagoras
Empedocles (c. 490-430 BC) pioneered a theory based on multiple elements, introducing the four fundamental elements: fire, water, earth, and air. He considered them eternal and indestructible, generating all natural phenomena through mixtures and separations. Influenced by the Eleatic view that void was impossible, Empedocles argued that movement occurred through the interaction of elements. To explain these transformations, he proposed two universal principles: Love, which united the elements, and Strife, which separated them. In his works "On Nature" and "Purifications," Empedocles attributed a moral dimension to these principles, associating Love with good and Strife with evil, while also exploring reincarnation as a process of spiritual purification.
Anaxagoras (c. 500-428 BC) brought a distinct approach to pluralism by introducing the concept of "Mind" (Nous) as the primordial cause. He saw Mind as an immaterial entity, separate from the physical world, responsible for organizing matter and generating movement. Anaxagoras proposed that all objects contained elements of all other things, but in different proportions, thus explaining the diversity in nature. His theory was inspired by observations such as the transformation of food into living tissue, suggesting that each material contains traces of all others. This view, though unusual, represented a breakthrough in attributing to Mind the role of organizing principle.
Both philosophers had a lasting impact. Empedocles' theory of the four elements dominated Western science until the Renaissance, integrating ethical and spiritual principles into cosmology. Anaxagoras, in turn, pioneered the proposal of an immaterial and rational first mover, paving the way for later philosophical and religious concepts. Despite their innovative ideas, both faced resistance: Empedocles for his mystical vision and Anaxagoras for rejecting divine explanations for natural phenomena, which led to his exile from Athens. Their contributions, however, remain essential foundations for philosophy and science.
6. The Atomists: A Revolution in Philosophical Thought
The atomists Leucippus and Democritus proposed that everything in the universe is composed of indivisible and immutable atoms moving within a void. These atoms differed in size and shape, forming complex structures through collisions. Phenomena such as perception and thought were explained as mechanical processes, while properties such as color and heat depended on interaction with the senses.
The theory challenged teleological explanations and external forces, such as Love and Strife defended by Empedocles, proposing mechanical explanations for phenomena. Despite facing criticism for not addressing initial causes or a greater purpose, the atomists' approach prioritized testable and detailed hypotheses about the physical world.
Their influence was significant for modern science, introducing an investigation based on rational skepticism and the search for natural explanations, even while facing opposition from thinkers like Aristotle, who preferred teleological theories. The accuracy of their conclusions, even with limited tools, is a milestone in the history of philosophical and scientific thought.
Conclusion
The pre-Socratic philosophers were pioneers in the search for rational explanations about the nature of the universe, breaking away from mythical narratives and proposing fundamental natural principles. Their investigations into being, change, the essence of things, and the principles that govern reality laid the foundations for Western philosophy and science. Although the term "pre-Socratic" is imprecise and many of their original writings have been lost, their legacy is invaluable, having established the foundations for science and philosophy as we know them today.
The study of the pre-Socratics is fundamental to understanding the origins of rational and scientific thought. Their ideas anticipated many concepts that would be developed by Plato, Aristotle, and other great Greek thinkers, while also introducing essential methods for scientific investigation. Even with limitations and contradictions, their contributions represent the first steps toward a more systematic understanding of reality. Their reflections, though fragmented and challenging, continue to influence contemporary thought, teaching us about the importance of questioning and seeking well-founded explanations for the mysteries of existence.
References
- BARNES, Jonathan. Early Greek Philosophy. Penguin, 1987.
- BARNES, Jonathan. The Presocratic Philosophers. Routledge, 1982.
- MCKIRAHAN, Richard. Philosophy Before Socrates. Paulus Editora; 1st edition (November 1, 2013)
- REALE, Giovanni. History of Greek and Roman Philosophy (Vol. I): Pre-Socratics and Orphism. Edições Loyola, 2009.