"Thales" redirects here. For the company, see Thales Group. For other uses, see Thales (disambiguation).
Thales of Miletus
Posthumous portrait of Thales by Wilhelm Meyer, based on a bust from the 4th century
Born
c. 626/623 BC
Miletus, Ionian League (modern-day Balat, Didim, Aydın, Turkey)
Died
c. 548/545 BC (aged c. 78)
Era
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Region
Western philosophy
School
Ionian / Milesian
Main interests
metaphysics
mathematics
astronomy
Notable ideas
Philosophical inquiry
Water is the arche
Thales's theorem
Intercept theorem
Know thyself
Static electricity
Thales of Miletus (/ˈθeɪliːz/THAY-leez; Greek: Θαλῆς; c. 626/623 – c. 548/545 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages, founding figures of Ancient Greece.
Many regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition, breaking from the prior use of mythology to explain the world and instead using natural philosophy. He is thus otherwise referred to as the first to have engaged in mathematics, science, and deductive reasoning.[1]
The first philosophers followed him in explaining all of nature as based on the existence of a single ultimate substance. Thales theorized that this single substance was water. Thales thought the Earth floated on water.
In mathematics, Thales is the namesake of Thales's theorem, and the intercept theorem can also be known as Thales's theorem. Thales was said to have calculated the heights of the pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. In science, Thales was an astronomer who reportedly predicted the weather and a solar eclipse. The discovery of the position of the constellation Ursa Major is also attributed to Thales, as well as the timings of the solstices and equinoxes. He was also an engineer, known for having diverted the Halys River.[1]
^ abRussell, Bertrand (1945). A History of Western Philosophy. Simon & Schuster.
ThalesofMiletus (/ˈθeɪliːz/ THAY-leez; Greek: Θαλῆς; c. 626/623 – c. 548/545 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia...
eclipse ofThales was a solar eclipse that was, according to ancient Greek historian Herodotus, accurately predicted by the Greek philosopher Thalesof Miletus...
(Book I Section 1259a), ThalesofMiletus once cornered the market in olive-oil presses: Thales, so the story goes, because of his poverty was taunted...
ofMiletus (/ˌænækˈsɪməˌniːz/; Greek: Ἀναξιμένης ὁ Μιλήσιος; c. 586/585 – c. 526/525 BC) was an Ancient Greek, Pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in...
law-givers of the 7–6th century BCE who were renowned for their wisdom. The list of the seven sages given in Plato's Protagoras includes: ThalesofMiletus (c...
"convention". The early Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, which was founded by ThalesofMiletus and later continued by his successors Anaximander...
loss of daylight had been predicted by ThalesofMiletus. He does not, however, mention the location of the battle. Afterwards, on the refusal of Alyattes...
magnetic properties was made by 6th century BC Greek philosopher ThalesofMiletus, whom the ancient Greeks credited with discovering lodestone's attraction...
objects, such as rods of amber, could be rubbed with cat's fur to attract light objects like feathers. ThalesofMiletus made a series of observations on static...
on a Greek anecdote concerning the pre-Socratic philosopher ThalesofMiletus. It was one of several ancient jokes that were absorbed into Aesop's Fables...
is attributed to the 6th century BC Greek pre-Socratic philosopher ThalesofMiletus: Later usages John Locke (1632–1704) uses the phrase in his book Some...
was named for the Greek philosopher ThalesofMiletus, often credited as the father of Greek Philosophy. Thales Academy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit school...
the same goal of explaining the world without dependence on the supernatural. ThalesofMiletus (7th to 6th century BC), the father of philosophy, claimed...
earthquakes were usually attributed to "air (vapors) in the cavities of the Earth." ThalesofMiletus (625–547 BCE) was the only documented person who believed that...
his book On Isis and Osiris. Thus, ThalesofMiletus, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Solon, Pythagoras, (some say Lycurgus of Sparta also) and Plato, traveled into...
list of ancient Greek philosophers contains philosophers who studied in ancient Greece or spoke Greek. Ancient Greek philosophy began in Miletus with...
Croesus of Lydia and Cyrus the Great. Cyrus besieges and captures Sardis. Anaximander (some sources also give 545 BC or 546 BC) ThalesofMiletus Croesus...
insofar as they rejected mythological explanations in favor of reasoned discourse. ThalesofMiletus, regarded by Aristotle as the first philosopher, held that...