What did Anaximander mean by apeiron?

According to Aristotle and Theophrastus, the first Greek philosophers were looking for the “origin” or “principle” (the Greek word “archê” has both meanings) of all things. Anaximander is said to have identified it with “the Boundless” or “the Unlimited” (Greek: “apeiron,” that is, “that which has no boundaries”).

What is the arche for Anaximander?

Anaximander was the first philosopher that used arche for that which writers from Aristotle onwards called “the substratum” (Simplicius Phys. 150, 22). The Greek philosophers ascribed to arche divine attributes. It is the divine horizon of substance that encompasses and values all things.

Why is the notion of apeiron significant?

Apeiron generated the opposites (hot–cold, wet–dry, etc.) which acted on the creation of the world (cf. He believed that infinite worlds are generated from apeiron and then they are destroyed there again. His ideas were influenced by the Greek mythical tradition and by his teacher Thales (7th to 6th century BC).

What is anaximenes arche?

Anaximenes’ Theory of Air As mentioned, Anaximenes believed air was the arche, meaning that air is an eternal, original substance from which the physical universe was formed. We may ask, ‘But why air?’ Well, Anaximenes used scientific reasoning to observe that living things needed to breathe air in order to survive.

What is meant by apeiron?

: the unlimited, indeterminate, and indefinite ground, origin, or primal principle of all matter postulated especially by Anaximander.

Did anaximenes study matter?

Anaximenes’ general theory of how the materials of the world arise is adopted by Anaxagoras(DK59B16), even though the latter has a very different theory of matter. Both Melissus (DK30B8. 3) and Plato (Timaeus 49b-c) see Anaximenes’ theory as providing a common-sense explanation of change.

What is the concept of Arche?

(Entry 1 of 2) : something that was in the beginning : a first principle: a in early Greek philosophy : a substance or primal element. b in Aristotle : an actuating principle (as a cause)

Which Presocratic philosopher claimed that the Arche is number?

According to tradition, famed mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras (c. 570–c. 497 BCE) held that numbers and mathematical relations underlie reality.

What does apeiron produce?

In Western philosophy: Monistic cosmologies. …it developed out of the apeiron (“unlimited”), something both infinite and indefinite (without distinguishable qualities). Within this apeiron something arose to produce the opposites of hot and cold. These at once began to struggle with each other and produced the cosmos.

Who is the philosopher that claims about the existence of Apeiron?

Anaximander postulated eternal motion, along with the apeiron, as the originating cause of the world. This (probably rotary) motion caused opposites, such as hot and cold, to be separated from one another as the world came into being.

What does Arche mean in Greek?

beginning
Noun. Greek archē, literally, beginning.

Why did Anaximenes choose air as his arche?

Instead of speculating on a theoretical element like Anaximander’s apeiron, Anaximenes, like Thales, chose a known element to be his archê. It was air that Anaximenes proposed as the archê, a strange choice, perhaps, if one does not know the reasoning behind it.

How is the apeiron related to cosmology in Anaximander?

The cosmological aspect in Anaximander’s theory is beautiful; innumerable worlds are born from the apeiron and absorbed by it, once they are destroyed. Thus, the apeiron is related to the eternal, throughout time, cosmological procedure.

What did Anaximander mean by the idea of the infinite?

The notion of the infinite, with the modern meaning of the term, was first introduced by the Greek philosopher Anaximander (6th Century BC). Anaximander introduced the apeiron (the boundless) as the beginning of everything (the first principle). According to his theory, the apeiron is undefined and ever moving.

What did Anaximander say about rarefaction and condensation?

For Anaximenes, the answer is straightforward: rarefaction and condensation simply means that in any region, air is present, though its density is either less or more. Another aspect which Anaximenes disagreed with Anaximander is the structure of the cosmos. Like his teacher, Anaximander agreed that the world is flat.