Thales of Miletus (Father of Western Philosophy)

Thales Of Miletus is regarded as father of Western Philosophy or the first Philosopher by many philosophers. The exact date of his birth is unknown. Probably, he must have existed in the early part of the 6th century BCE. He is said to have predicted the eclipse of the sun mentioned by Herodotus. Since, that eclipse occurred on May 28th, 585BCE, it is one of the reasons to believe that he must have begun his philosophical career in the early part of 6th Century BCE. He was a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and one of the Seven Sages of  Greece. The aphorism "Know thyself" has been attributed to Thales (as well as to at least six other ancient Greek sages). He is also credited with the construction of an almanac and the introduction of the Phoenician practice of steering a ship’s course by the Little Bear. In mathematics, Thales used geometry to calculate the heights of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. He is the first known individual to use deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four corollaries to Thales theorem. He is the first known individual to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed. 

Thales is believed to have founded the Milesian/Ionian School of Philosophy. The Ionians (Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander and Heraclitus) are famous not for what they achieved, but what they attempted. They were the first to explain phenomenon of the world and universe by natural causes and sense experience, independent of mythology. The fundamental question raised by all of them was with regard to the idea of essence. They enquired what the basal substance was and tried to answer in terms of evidence gathered from sense perception. Ionian school is termed as 'sensualist' because in its attempt to answer the being versus becoming question as well as in its effort to discover the primary substance of the universe, they relied on the sense knowledge and sense observation rather than reason. Generally speaking, the Ionians tend to hold that becoming alone is real and that being is an illusion.

Philosophical works:

 There is little information about Thales' philosophical doctrine since he did not commit his thoughts to writing. Some sources say that he left no writings; others that he wrote at least two works, "On the Solstice" and "On the Equinox" (neither of which have survived). Thanks to Aristotle, whatever little we know comes mainly from him. 

 According to Aristotle, Thales taught two fundamental philosophical ideas. They are:

1) the water is the first absolute principle or primordial substance or arche i.e. "Everything is made up of water." 

2) The soul is the principal motor. 

 How did Thales arrive at the conclusion that the water is first absolute principle? Besides the mere fact that he lived in a place virtually surrounded by water, Aristotle supplies the following reason: Thales needed to establish a first principle from which to work, so he posed the question, “What is the basic material of the cosmos?”

 The idea that everything in the universe can be ultimately reduced to a single substance is the theory of monism, and Thales and his followers were the first to propose it within Western philosophy. "The fundamental material of the universe had to be something out of which everything else could be formed, as well as being essential to life, and capable of motion and therefore of change." 

Thales observed that water is essential for sustenance of all living beings and that it moves and changes, assuming different forms – from liquid to solid ice and vaporous mist. So, he concludes that all matter regardless of its apparent properties, must be water in some stage of its transformation.

Though the explanation might look simple to our intellectual minds, his attempt was to give a rational account of the principle of things. Thus, he broke away from myths and poet-theologians. 

The second philosophical idea of Thales according to Aristotle is the soul as the principle of movement. Thales seems to have held the soul to be a motive force, since he said that the magnet has a soul in it because it moves the iron. From his observation of magnetism and electricity, he concluded that "the power to move other things without the mover itself changing was a characteristic of "life", so that a magnet and amber must therefore be alive in some way (in that they have animation or the power to act). " Certain thinkers said that the soul is intermingled in the whole universe, and it is perhaps for this reason that Thales came to the opinion that all things are full of gods. The best way to understand “all things are full of gods” is to say that everything is fundamentally alive. Not only magnetic stones are endowed with souls but everything else, the whole universe is impregnated with life. If so, he argued, there is no difference between the living and the dead. If all things were alive, they must also have souls or divinities (a natural belief of his time), and the end result of this argument was an almost total removal of mind from substance, opening the door to an innovative non-divine principle of action.

 Thales recognised a single transcendental God (Monism), who has neither beginning nor end, but who expresses himself through other gods (Polytheism). His idea of justice included both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law (e.g. adultery and perjury about it in court are equally bad).

 His political views were generally in favor of a benign tyranny, rather than democracy (which most thinkers of his time distrusted as an inefficient and unreliable system). 

 How does Thales earn his place as the first Greek philosopher? It is from the fact that he conceives the notion of unity in difference. While holding firm the idea of unity, he philosophically accounted for diversity.

His famous quotes and moral advice: 

"We should expect the same support from our children that we give to our parents"; 

"We should not let talk influence us against those we have come to trust."

"We should not do ourselves that for which we blame others." 

"A happy man is one who is "healthy in body, resourceful in soul and of a readily teachable nature".