Anaximenes of Miletus

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Anaximenes of Miletus

Anaximenes (Greek: Άναξιμένης) of Miletus (c. 585 BC-c. 525 BC) was a Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher from the latter half of the 6th century, probably a younger contemporary of Anaximander, whose pupil or friend he is said to have been.[1]

His ideas[change | change source]

Anaximenes, like others in his school of thought, practised material monism, the idea that underlying reality is one single thing.[2][3]

For him, the primary substance was air.[3] it was an attempt to find a natural way to explain the world.

References[change | change source]

  1. McKirahan, Richard D. Jr. 1994. Philosophy before Socrates. Hackett, p48.
  2. Lindberg, David C. 2007. The Greeks and the Cosmos. In The beginnings of western science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p29.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Guthrie W.K.C. 1962. A history of Greek philosophy. Volume 1: The earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p115.