Pre-Socratic Philosophy

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Pre-socratic philosophy refers to the Greek thinkers from about 600-400 BC who attempted to find universal principles which would explain the whole of nature, from the origin and ultimate constituents of the universe to the place of man within it.

• deals with natural philosophy and cosmogony, or the beginning of the universe and related questions
• started to question the belief in mythology and religion
• contrasted to Socrates who thought looking to the past/beginning was futile and instead focused on the “end” and the “good life” as a more functional outlook
• was first to set out that the world’s apparent chaos concealed a permanent and intelligible order that could be accounted for
  • things had physical causes

The Milesian School

• were citizens of Miletus
• influenced by
  • myths and religions of Eastern neighbors
  • Egyptian and Babylonian knowledge
    • astronomical, mathematical, technological knowledge
• consciously rejected the mythical and religion
  • particularly agency of anthropomorphic “gods”
• aim was practical, thus knowledge was limited