Anaximenes of Miletus, who lived around 586 to 526 BC, was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Anatolia and the last of the three philosophers of the Milesian School, after Thales and Anaximander, regarded by historians as the first philosophers of the Western world. He is known for his belief that air is the arche, the basic element of the universe from which all things are created, holding that air could change into other forms through rarefaction or condensation: condensation would make air denser, turning it into wind, clouds, water, earth and finally stone, while rarefaction would make it less dense until it became fire. Anaximenes also developed a model of the Earth as a flat disc floating atop the air, with the Sun and stars also flat and floating alongside it, revolving around the Earth. He influenced many of the pre-Socratic philosophers who succeeded him, including Heraclitus, Anaxagoras and Xenophanes, and provided early examples of natural science and scientific writing.
Facts
Birth YearSourced to the subject's own accountCirca; Wikipedia lead gives a range of 586/585 BC. Defining MomentSourced to the subject's own accountHeld that air is the arche, the single foundational substance of the universe, changing into other forms through rarefaction and condensation 1 Death YearSourced to the subject's own accountCirca; Wikipedia lead gives a range of 526/525 BC. BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountMiletus in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) 1 TraditionSourced to the subject's own accountMilesian School of Ionian natural philosophy; last of the three Milesian philosophers after Thales and Anaximander 1 Classification
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Source Anaximenes of Miletus (Wikipedia)
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Source Anaximenes of Miletus (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1tier 3Quote, Lead sentence 1
Anaximenes of Miletus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀναξιμένης ὁ Μιλήσιος, romanized: Anaximenēs ho Milēsios; c. 586/585 – c. 526/525 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).
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1. Anaximenes of Miletus (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)Lead section, first sentence (death date)
Anaximenes of Miletus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀναξιμένης ὁ Μιλήσιος, romanized: Anaximenēs ho Milēsios; c. 586/585, c. 526/525 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).
Lead section, first sentence (origin)
was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).
Lead section, second sentence
He was the last of the three philosophers of the Milesian School, after Thales and Anaximander. These three are regarded by historians as the first philosophers of the Western world.
Body, third paragraph
Anaximenes held that air could change into other forms through either rarefaction or condensation. Condensation would make the air denser, turning it into wind, clouds, water, earth, and finally stone. Rarefaction would make the air less dense as it eventually becomes fire.
Lead section, first sentence (birth date)
Anaximenes of Miletus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀναξιμένης ὁ Μιλήσιος, romanized: Anaximenēs ho Milēsios; c. 586/585, c. 526/525 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).
Influenced By: Anaximander, Lead section, second paragraph
It is generally accepted that Anaximenes was instructed by Anaximander, and many of their philosophical ideas are similar.
In Branch: Metaphysics, Infobox: main_interests
Metaphysics Natural philosophy
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