10. Thales, Anaximander, and the Search for First Principles

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Nature of Reasonable Guessing #

• Philosophy begins with “reasonable guesses” before knowledge
• Heraclitus: “Let us not guess at random about the greatest things”
• A reasonable guess operates in two ways: (1) there is a good reason for it, and (2) reason is naturally inclined toward it
• The goal is to advance toward truth through educated guessing

The Rationality of Seeking One Beginning #

• It is reasonable to look for the beginning of things: understanding origins provides understanding of wholes (biography, history, justice disputes)
• It is reasonable to look for one beginning rather than many, because:
  • Reason naturally seeks order
  • Order is based upon something one (governmental order, chronological order)
  • All events are ordered around a single reference point (birth of Christ, flight of Mohammed)
  • Modern scientists (Einstein, Planck, Heisenberg) seek unity in physical laws
• Therefore, reason naturally inclines toward seeking one, simple beginning

Thales and Water as First Principle #

• The Guess: “Water is the beginning of all things”
• Reasoning for water:
  • Water appears formless, colorless, tasteless—capable of taking on all qualities
  • If the first matter had definite qualities (red, sweet), it would exclude contrary qualities from the universe
  • Water is the only substance in ordinary experience that exists as solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam)
  • Seeds germinate only with water; life depends on water
• Scientific corroboration: Modern science shows water is H₂O; hydrogen is the most fundamental element among atoms
• Theological connection: God is metaphorically called water in Scripture (Psalms) to signify life and as the fountain of life; water is the matter of the sacrament of baptism, symbolizing both cleansing and the beginning of grace

Anaximander’s Development: The Unlimited (Apeiron) #

• Problem with water: If everything is made from water (which is wet and cool), how do hot and dry things exist?
• Solution: The beginning must be the “unlimited” (apeiron)—not limited to any quality
• Two senses of unlimited:
  • Not limited in quality (no definite qualities that would exclude contraries)
  • Not limited in quantity (infinite supply; things spring up forever)
• Why describe it negatively: Positive description would necessarily give it a definite quality, thus excluding contrary qualities
• Corollary principle: What is the beginning of all things is also their end (things return to their source when broken down; what begins with matter ends with matter)
• Theological anticipation: Four of five attributes of God are anticipated—one, simple, unlimited, unchanging, and eternal. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Contra Gentiles I.43) recognizes this, noting that the Greeks’ minds were “coerced by the truth” in thinking of the beginning as unlimited

Characteristics of the First Principle #

• Must be simple, not composed (what is composed requires something before it as its beginning)
• Must be formless or qualitatively unlimited (to avoid excluding contrary qualities)
• Must be quantitatively unlimited (things keep coming to be forever)
• Conservation laws in modern physics reflect this principle

Key Arguments #

Why Look for One Simple Beginning? #

Argument from Order

• Reason naturally seeks order
• Order is based upon something one
• Chronological ordering requires one reference point
• Governmental order requires one supreme authority

Argument from Composition

• Whatever is composed has something prior to it
• Therefore, seek something simple (uncompounded)
• Example: “cat” is composed of letters C, A, T; the letters themselves must exist first

Argument from Experience

• All events are naturally ordered around a single reference point
• Failure to do so creates confusion (e.g., different calendar systems require translation)

Why Water is a Reasonable Guess #

Argument from Formlessness

• Water appears shapeless, colorless, tasteless
• It can take on all qualities without being limited to any

Argument from Exclusion

• If first matter had definite qualities (e.g., red, sweet, wet, cool), contrary qualities would be excluded
• This contradicts experience (we have both hot and cold, wet and dry, etc.)

Argument from States of Matter

• Water uniquely exists as solid, liquid, and gas in ordinary experience
• Whatever is the beginning must be capable of these transformations

Argument from Life

• Seeds germinate only with water
• Grass and living things require water
• Water is seen as source of life

Why the Unlimited Improves Upon Water #

• Water still possesses definite qualities (wet, cool)
• If everything is made from water, hot and dry things cannot exist
• The unlimited removes all definite qualities, avoiding this problem
• It better explains the contraries observed in nature

Important Definitions #

arche (ἀρχή)

• The first principle, beginning, or source from which all things come to be
• That into which all things are also resolved

apeiron (ἄπειρον)

• The unlimited or boundless
• Described negatively because positive description would necessarily exclude contrary qualities
• Not limited in quality or in quantity

physis (φύσις)

• Originally meaning birth or growth; what comes from within
• The source of motion and rest within a thing
• Nature; the essence of what a thing is

Examples & Illustrations #

The Word “Cat” #

• Composed of letters C, A, T
• Demonstrates that what is composed requires something prior (the letters)
• If red wine were the first principle, everything would be red (excluding other colors)
• If sugar were the first principle, everything would be sweet (excluding bitter, sour)

Water’s States of Matter #

• Ice (solid), water (liquid), steam (gas)
• The only substance in ordinary experience capable of all three states
• Shows water’s versatility as a potential first principle

The Frog (Anaximander’s Example) #

• Begins life as fish-like creature (tadpole) in water
• Becomes semi-land animal
• Confirms that life begins in water before appearing on land
• Anticipates modern evolutionary biology

Biographical and Historical Understanding #

• Understanding Winston Churchill requires knowledge of his origins and family
• Understanding Shakespeare requires knowledge of Stratford-on-Avon and his family
• Understanding the origin of countries (Quebec vs. New England; Palestinian-Israeli conflict) requires going back to their origins

The Blocks Analogy #

• If you build towers and ships from wooden blocks, knocking them down returns you to wooden blocks
• If you use Lego pieces, knocking them down returns you to Lego pieces
• If you knocked down a Lego structure and got wooden blocks, something has become nothing and something has come from nothing—impossible
• Therefore, what is the beginning is also what things return to when broken down

Modern Physics and Conservation Laws #

• Conservation laws reflect the principle that what begins all things is also their end
• The same thing remains; it is conserved through transformations
• Simple equations (F = MA) from which infinite consequences can be deduced reflect infinity in the first principle

Psalm of Thirst #

• Augustine and Thomas Aquinas divide the 150 Psalms into three groups of 50
• Each group contains a psalm of thirst (e.g., Psalm 40-41)
• God is metaphorically called water: “Oh God, you are my God, and I seek for you; my flesh longs for you, my soul thirsts. Like the earth, parched and lifeless without water”
• The soul’s thirsting for God is like the thirsty hind thirsting for water
• God as fountain of life corresponds to water as source of life

Questions Addressed #

Q: Is it reasonable to look for the beginning of all things? A: Yes. Reason naturally seeks to understand things through their origins. Understanding origins provides understanding of wholes. All disciplines (biography, history, justice) rely on tracing back to origins.

Q: Is it reasonable to look for one beginning rather than many? A: Yes. Reason naturally seeks order, and order requires something one as its basis. All events must be ordered around a single reference point.

Q: Why is water a reasonable guess for the first principle? A: Water appears formless, colorless, and tasteless—capable of taking on all qualities without being limited to any. It exists as solid, liquid, and gas in ordinary experience. If the first principle had definite qualities, contrary qualities would be excluded from the universe, contradicting experience.

Q: How does Anaximander improve upon Thales? A: Water still has definite qualities (wet, cool). If everything is made from water, how do hot and dry things exist? Anaximander proposes the unlimited—qualitatively unlimited (no definite qualities) and quantitatively unlimited (infinite supply)—which better explains the contraries observed in nature.

Q: Does the Greek philosophical quest for the first principle contradict theology? A: Not necessarily. The Bible begins with God as maker, while philosophy begins with matter (the more known to us). The Greeks’ minds were naturally inclined toward discovering attributes of God (one, simple, unlimited, unchanging, eternal) even without revelation. Philosophy starts from sensible experience; theology speaks as God’s word and can reveal what lies beyond reason’s reach.

Theological Connections #

• Contrast with Scripture: The Bible begins with God as maker (personal cause); Greek philosophy begins with matter (material cause). Both are reasonable starting points given their different sources of knowledge.
• Attributes of God anticipated: Four of five divine attributes are anticipated by the pre-Socratics: one, simple, unlimited, unchanging, eternal (the fifth being perfection/goodness)
• Water as metaphor: God is called water in Psalms to signify life and the soul’s dependence on God
• Baptism: Water is the matter of baptism, not only because it cleanses sin but because it signifies the beginning of a new life of grace
• Beginning and End: God is both beginning (maker) and end (purpose), distinct from matter which is both beginning and end only in the sense of composition and decomposition