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Comparing Greek Philosophies, Anaximander And Whales

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From the beginning of early civilizations, humans have been trying to discover many things. Discover which animals can be preyed upon, which plants can be eaten without deadly consequence. As time went on, these discoveries became a little more advanced. Humans would discover new ways to build architecture that was both aesthetically and structurally sound. They would discover new technologies that would allow communication across different continents. In this essay I will be comparing what two greek philosophers, Anaximander and Thales, believed the arkhe to be and who had the superior argument. In the late seventh century B.C., two philosophers, known as the Milesians which referred to three philosophers in the Greek town of Miletus, were trying to discover what the arkhe could be. The arkhe refers to a Greek word that can be translated into “origin”, “first principle”, and “beginnings”. To discover the arkhe would be to discover the beginning of everything. Despite their teach-pupil relationship, with Thales being the teacher, Anaximander and Thales had vastly differing ideas of what the arkhe was. …show more content…

He believed this because water is everywhere. It is the center of life. Without water, life would not exist as we currently know it to be. It was believed during this time that the land rested upon a great body of water that filled the entire planet. Thales’ viewpoint makes sense when considering how important water is to life. At one point during his argument, Thales explains that “the seeds of all things have a moist nature”. I will explain this quote by quoting another well-known philosopher, Jeremy Carey, “reproduction is moist”. Seeing that the existence of life could not exist without water,

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