10/22 Presocratics Introduction 1-7; Thales 8-9

Themes: Material monism, change

1. How do the stories about Thales reflect both positive and negative images of philosophers?

2. Thales may be the earliest thinker we are aware of who attempts to explain the origin of the world and the changes it goes through in a naturalistic manner, rather than in a religious or mythological way. What are the similarities and differences between his attempt and that found within contemporary science?

3. In our reading, ‘arche’ is translated as ‘principle’; it can also be translated as ‘origin’ or ‘cause’. What are different senses in which Thales speaks of water as an ‘arche’, and how do these correspond to the various translations of the word?