Thales the Greek Thinker
Scientist, Philosopher, Founder of Ionian Natural Philosophy School
Apr 25, 2009
Thales is regarded as the first Greek scientist and philosopher. Rather than the classical mythical god-filled knowledge of life and the universe, he proved existence of things from the standpoint of physical understanding.
Thales in a Nutshell
Thales (c.634-546) was born and lived in Miletus, a town on the Aegean coast in Asia Minor, now Turkey. Nothing much is known of his life except his significant achievements he gave humankind.
He made discoveries in geometry, and his theorem that the angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal. He founded the Ionian school of natural philosophy, which held that a single elementary matter, water, is the basis of all the transformation of nature.
The founding father of geometry, Thales was an acquaintance of Greek mathematician Pythagoras, famous for Pythagorean Theory.
Thales and the Power of Water
While observing the world around him, Thales was dissatisfied with the mythical explanations how they relate together. He rejected the widely held idea that the gods were part of everything. Instead, he searched for physical explanations.
He believed that there is a fundamental block from which everything was made and concluded that this was water, which after all is essential for life. Therefore, he thought that water could readily be made into anything - air, earth, and so forth.
Thales further claimed that not only everything was made of water, the elemental substance, but that all life is supported on it.
Firstly, Earth floated on water, and secondly, the effects of the Earth can be observed as it floated on water during an earthquake.
Thales, Father of Geometry: on Pyramids and Shadows
While Thales spent most of his life in Greece, reports had it that he traveled, wanting to extend his scholarship. In Egypt, he developed a system for measuring the height of the pyramids.
It occurred to Thales that at certain times of day his shadow was the same length as his height. He concluded that at the same moment, the height of the pyramid would also be the same as the length of its shadow.
His observation was both important and significant. He believed that his process worked when he showed that the ratio of the length of the shadow and the height of the object was the same for all objects when measured at the same time of day. For this, he became one of the founding fathers of geometry, even without indication that he followed any mathematical calculations.
Thales and the Stars
Thales was intrigued by the sky. Observing the stars, it dawned on him that the sun, moon, and stars moved with remarkable regularity. Today, he is attributed with being the first person to spot the grouping of stars, now known as Ursa Minor, or the Bear, mainly used in navigation.
He predicted the May 28, 585 CB eclipse of the Sun. This again gave weight to his theory that the universe was operated according to physical rules, rather than the whims of the mythical gods.
Legacy of Thales
Understandably, Thales' later works show error in concepts, but the basic principles that Thales laid form the foundation for philosophy and science.
He was a keen athlete and died of heat exhaustion while watching the 58th Olympiad. Nothing remains of his original work and knowledge of him is derived from later philosophers.
His name has been coined and easily identified, like Thales navigation, Thales telematics, Thales systems and Thales communications, among others.
Sources:
- Clark, John, Ed. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary. London: Chancellor Press, 1978.
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers/Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Moore, Pete. E=MC2: The Great Ideas that Shaped our World. London: Quintet Publishing, 2002.
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