THALES FROM MILETUS

Thales was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and pre-Socratic philosopher, form Miletus of Asia Minor.  He was one of the seven sages of Greece.  Aristotle regarded him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition and he is historically recognised as the first individual in western civilisation who had dealt with scientific philosophy.  Thales is known for abandoning the use of mythology in order to explain to the world natural objects and phenomena, like eclipses and earthquakes through theories, as a precursor to modern science.  Almost all the other pre-Socratic philosophers followed him in explaining nature as originating from a conjunction of everything based on the existence of a single ultimate substance, instead of using mythological explanations.


Aristotle regarded him as the founder of the Ionian School and reported Thales' conviction that the most important element of nature is a single material, water.


In mathematics, Thales used geometry to calculate the height of the pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. He is the first known individual to use deductive reasoning applied to geometry.   He is also the first person to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed, like his theorems.


The dates of Thales' life are not exactly known but are roughly estimated by several events mentioned in the sources, like the Olympic games etc.  According to Herodotus, Thales predicted the eclipse of May 28th, 585 BC and Diogenes Laertius quotes the chronicle of Apollodorus of Athens saying that Thales died 78-years-old, during the 58th Olympiad (548-545 BC) and attributes his death to heat stroke while watching the games.


Thales was probably born in the city of Miletus around the mid 620s BC.  The writer, Apollodorus of Athens, writing during the 2nd century BC, thought Thales was born about the year 625 BC, while Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, describes Thales as a "Phoenician by remote descent".


The Cambridge classics professor, Timothy Whitmarsh noted that "Thales regarded water as a prised matter and because that is the Phoenician word for moisture, his name may have been derived, for this reason".  According to "Lives of Philosophers" by Diogenes Laertius, Herodotus, Democritus and others agree that he was the son of  Examyos and was a Phoenician.  Diogenes states that Thales was a native of Miletus and of a distinguished family and his supposed Mother was also his companion.


It is assumed that he visited Egypt where he learned more about geometry from an  Egyptian priest. Thales came from a wealthy family, in a class that provided higher education for their children.  Moreover, the ordinary citizen, unless he was a sailor or a merchant, could not afford the grand tour of Egypt and could not be friendly with noble lawmakers such as Solon, which Thales certainly did.


He is famous for being a mathematical genius, for his innovative use of geometry, his theorems, his engineering abilities and his wisdom, in general. He was also widely reputed as being the first of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece.

For Thales from Miletus