A presentation of the pre-socratic philosophers:
Thales of Miletus: Considered the first philosopher in the Greek tradition, Thales proposed that water was the origin of all matter.
Anaximander: A contemporary of Thales, he developed the concept of the apeiron, or the “unlimited,” as the fundamental substance of the universe.
Anaximenes: Also from Miletus, he suggested that air was the primary substance that could be transformed into other elements.
Pythagoras: Known for his contributions to mathematics and his belief in the transmigration of souls, Pythagoras founded a school that influenced many later philosophers.
Xenophanes: Criticized the anthropomorphic views of the gods and proposed that there is only one god, who is the mind of all things.
Heraclitus: Famous for his doctrine of change, expressed in the maxim “You cannot step into the same river twice”.
Parmenides: Argued that reality is unchanging and that change is an illusion, influencing later philosophers like Plato.
Empedocles: Proposed the theory of the four classical elements (earth, water, air, and fire) and the forces of love and strife.
Democritus: Known for his atomic theory, which posited that the universe is made up of indivisible particles called atoms.
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