Thales of Miletus · Philosophy

The Birth of Science

From Thales’ question grew the Milesian school - Anaximander, Anaximenes - and from it the whole tradition of theoretical inquiry: cosmology, geometry as proof, and the conviction that the world is a law-governed order the mind can understand. We trace the founding lineage of science.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Thales founded the Milesian school (Anaximander, Anaximenes) and began geometry’s passage from practical recipe to demonstrated theorem - together launching theoretical science as a method of seeking general, provable principles. Explain why this lineage, not any single discovery, is Thales’ greatest…

Leads to Pythagoras.

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