Excluding the divine from the explanations of cosmogony An analysis of the contribution of The Milesians

Abstract

Human’s earliest period in history had been awestruck by natural phenomena and the working of the universe. Greece was considered the cradle of Western civilization. They had sought peace and come to a compromise through beliefs connected to religion. As thoughts advanced, they became dissatisfied by this. The result was that men who began to think rationally started to find answers to the questions they faced excluding the involvement of the divine. The foremost person to present his ideas was Miletus. He was Thales. The second and the third to express themselves in the same context were Anaximander and Anaximenes, who was also from Miletus. The objective of this study is to trace if there is a connection between their ideas. Were they to be studied as separate philosophers or were they a part of a single process? Individual theories are examined with reference to the comments of the authors who later had examined them pitting them against the original fragments which are limited since they have not survived the test of time. Careful analysis show that the thoughts had emerged as a denial of the supernatural forces in solving the problem of becoming. Yet when the other two philosophers explored the alternative resolutions, they had gradually provided new suggestions of new possibilities. This is what is intended to explore in this study. The thoughts which started by rejecting religion seems to explore an affinity of the most important part in himself – the soul, and the primordial substance of the world process. The sense of justice , injustice and compensation and time limit. The question that arises is – are we to expect more in consequent thoughts that are to be explored later.