Anaximenes
Miletus was a thriving city state, that once was the “glory of the Ionia”, according to Herodotus. Miletus had ports rich with trade, and access to knowledge from the great civilizations of Babylonia and Egypt. It was an ideal place to develop new ideas. Three Presocratic philosophers in particular, in 6th century Miletus, arguably introduced an early form of scientific speculation based on our human nagging question of Why? Thales believed that water’s liquid properties, and its ability to evaporate or freeze explains the changeability we see in the world. Anaximander on the other hand knew that labeling anything brings up the eternal question: what is the source of the source? He chose instead to focus on the movement rather than a substance that is known. The theory helped to avoid the infinite regress, but at the same time his theory lost some of its value by being so indeterminate. The infinite regress in science, in contrast, was more useful than expected. In fact the search for origins led to new knowledge, and still does. At this early stage of philosophy Anaximenes was able to bring that sense of definiteness back.
Like the other Presocratic philosophers, there is little we know about the life of Anaximenes. Diogenes Laertius says that he “was a student of Anaximander…He used plain and unadorned Ionic diction.” We end up knowing more about historical characters by their deeds and influences referenced by later commentators such as Diogenes above, Simplicius, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, and Aëtius.
Air
The most famous association with Anaximenes is his choice of Air as the origin of the universe. “Anaximenes…who says like [Anaximander], that the underlying nature is single and boundless, but not indeterminate as he says, but determinate, calling it air. It differs in essences in accordance with its rarity or density. When it is thinned it becomes fire, while when it is condensed it becomes wind, the cloud, when still more condensed, water, then earth, then stones.” The common analogy used in descriptions of Anaximenes’ density theory is felting, where wool is compressed to make felt. Not to leave Anaximander’s cold, hot, wet, and dry theories behind, to explain the variety we see in the world, Anaximenes continues with his theory of rarity and density.
“…Breath is cooled when it is compressed and condensed by the lips, but when the mouth is relaxed it becomes hot as it leaves the mouth because of being rarefied.” To continue with the style of his predecessors, Anaximenes tries to explain life with his theoretical source, air. “Anaximenes…declared air to be the source of beings. For from them this do all things arise and back into it do all things dissolve. As our soul, he says, which is air, controls us, so do breath and air encompass the whole world-order.”
By making air the source of everything and boundless, like Anaximander’s indeterminate source, Anaximenes is able to create a source that is determinant, and with the mechanism of condensation, he can explain how one thing can change into anything else we see.
Astronomy
The Milesian view of astronomy starting with Thales held the view that eclipses happened when the moon moves in front of the sun. Thales description of stars was that they were “earthy but they have fire in them.” Anaximander explained eclipses happening “when the mouth of the fire hole is closed off.” How the sun appeared to Anaximander was of a “circle twenty-eight times the size of the earth, similar to a wagon wheel, having its rim hollow, full of fire, in one part emitting its fire through an opening as through a jet of fire…The moon is a circle nineteen times the size of the earth, like a wagon-wheel having a hollow rim full of fire, like that of the sun, having a single vent like a jet of fire…Eclipses occur when the opening of the wheel is blocked.”
The problem of earth and its position is explained by Anaximander that it “stays in place by uniformity…For it is not more fitting for what occupies the middle and is equally situated in relation to the extremes to travel up than down or to the side; and it is impossible for it to make a move in contrary directions at the same time, so it stays in place by necessity.” Stars are treated the same but are closer than the sun. “The sun is the highest body, and the lowest are the circles of the fixed stars.”
With Anaximenes the astronomy makes some distinctive changes. “…Flatness is the cause of [the earth’s] staying in place…The earth is table shaped…It floats on air…It…covers the air below like a lid, as we observe those bodies do which have a flat shape; for these are difficult to move especially against the wind because of their resistance. Thus they say the earth owing to its flatness acts the same way in relation to the underlying air, which because it does not have any place to move, being contained by what is under it like water in a water clock, stays still.”
From the earth Anaximenes creates the source of our stars. “The heavenly bodies came to be from earth because of the moisture arising from it, which being thinned came to be fire, and from fire floating aloft the stars were composed…Stars are fixed like nails to an ice-like surface so as to form [constellations]…The nature of stars is fiery, and they include certain invisible earthly bodies that are carried around with them…The stars revolve not under but around the earth…the sun does not travel under the earth, but rather around the earth and, and it disappears and causes night because the earth is high toward the north.” Instead of being closer to us than the sun, as with Anaximander, “the stars do not heat us because of their great distance…The heavenly bodies make their turnings because they are deflected by the contrary pressure of condensed air.”
Theology
Similar to Thales’ quote that “all things are full of Gods”, Anaximenes “[says] air [is God].” Again this is different from the typical theology of the time. “…Anaximenes…ascribed the cause of all things to boundless air, nor did he deny the existence of gods or pass them over in silence. He did not, however, believe air was created by them, but that they were formed out of air.” Richard McKirahan highlights how divinity is seen by Anaximenes. “Here the key attribute of air is its unceasing motion, which is an indication of its divinity. This need mean only that as a whole or in general air is characterized by motion, not that every bit of air is always in motion. When air moves enough to be noticed, it is a breeze, which is already a condensed form of air. Thus, it seems that air by its own mobile nature is condensed in some places and rarefied in others, and so other substances come into being.”
A good example of the philosophical move away from myths is when looking at a rainbow. Instead of a rainbow being the Greek goddess Iris, “a rainbow is formed by the illumination of the sun falling on a dense, thick, dark cloud, when the rays, which are not able to penetrate to the other side, are gathered together on it.”
The Milesian School
As Greek theories in philosophy expanded to theories of truth with the Eleatics, and Pluralists, philosophy moved closer to our modern understanding of it, which is examining a good and meaningful life. The Presocratics from Miletus were later grouped as the Milesian School that focused more on the origins of the world, and challenging mythical explanations. The value of this early school is that if myths can be wrong about the origin of the world, what else are they wrong about? It opens the door to challenging cultural norms and creating new ways for societies to be organized.
The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists by Robin Waterfield: Kindle: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780199539093/
Presocratics: Natural Philosophers before Socrates by James Warren: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780520253698/
The Texts of Early Greek Philosophy: The Complete Fragments and Selected Testimonies of the Major Presocratics by Daniel W. Graham: Paperback: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780521608428/
Explaining the Cosmos: The Ionian Tradition of Scientific Philosophy by Daniel W. Graham: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780691125404/
Philosophy Before Socrates – McKirahan, Richard D.: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9781603841825/
Greek City-States by Kathleen Freeman: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780393001938/
Histories – Herodotus: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780143107545/
Philosophy: https://psychreviews.org/category/philosophy03/