Have you ever wondered what is the world made of and how did the world originate? Maybe some of you would probably say yes, no or even maybe. This time, I want to introduce you a philosopher named Anaximenes, his philosophy and how is it related to the questions I’ve asked earlier.
Anaximenes was a Pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher, who ranked among the pioneers of the Milesian School. He was born in 585 BC to Eurystratos in Greek city of Miletus, located in Ionia. Anaximenes was a pupil and companion of Anaximander, however, some say that he was also a pupil of Parmenides of Elea.
Anaximenes attempted to show how "air," the universal substance, becomes transformed through a process of what he called rarefaction and condensation. By rarefaction, Anaximenes meant that air would become thinner; the most rarefied alteration of air would be fire. By condensation, Anaximenes meant that air would become more concentrated, becoming water and then eventually solid materials like stone. He believes motion is eternal and that change comes about through motion.
Anaximenes’ ultimate principle believes that air is the existence of everything. It simply means that water, fire and Earth are made from air and he proved his theory by using the process of condensation and rarefaction. We can relate some processes that Anaximenes used especially when doing Science experiments and of course in our daily activities. It’s clever that he said something about how air is usually invisible, but that we have indications of it by cold, hot, damp, and its moving other things. His philosophy did not rely on any unobservable because it was entirely experiential as he sought to explain his side. The way he thinks of different processes air went through, he could explain all forms of matter.
Throughout the ages, the method used by Anaximenes provided a foundation from which all educated thinkers could grow philosophical thought. Anaximenes was not only an innovator of original thought, but he also introduced another way of showing how philosophy materialized through the use of real life examples. That’s all! Thank you.
