And Yet She Moves!---The Earth Rests on Water: Thales on the Role of Water in Earth's Mobility and in Nature's Transformations (2014)
Heyd, Thomas (Author)
Apeiron: Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science
Volume: 47, no. 4
Issue: 4
Pages: 485-512
hales often is regarded as the first philosopher and as one of the first empirical scientists of the Western tradition. In classical times Thales was also famed for astronomical observations, the prediction of an eclipse, as well as for political acumen, the application of geometrical techniques to practical problems and an astute investment in an agricultural process (olive presses). It is argued here that better sense can be made of two key extant claims attributed to him if they are less considered as grand metaphysical theses or as systematic scientific conclusions than as speculative hypotheses aimed at re-solving particular puzzles raised by everyday experience. In this sense, the analysis presented here argues that the claims concerning water attributed to Thales ought to be seen as pronouncements reflecting a kind of speculative engineering, grounded in the observational givens of his time, common sense and practical concerns.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Sherry, David;
(1999)
Thales's sure path
(/isis/citation/CBB000111304/)
Article
Acerbi, F.;
(2000)
Plato: Parmenides 149a7-c3. A proof by complete induction?
(/isis/citation/CBB000111292/)
Article
Couprie, Dirk L.;
(2004)
How Thales Was Able to “Predict” a Solar Eclipse without the Help of Alleged Mesopotamian Wisdom
(/isis/citation/CBB000502111/)
Article
David Blair Pass;
(2016)
Platonism and Planetary Motion: Reason, Balance and Order in Proclus’ Commentary on Republic 617a4–b4
(/isis/citation/CBB912199255/)
Article
Arsenijević, Miloš;
Šćepanović, Sandra;
Massey, Gerald J.;
(2008)
A New Reconstruction of Zeno's Flying Arrow
(/isis/citation/CBB001021129/)
Chapter
Jaulin, Annick;
(2011)
Straton et la question du temps comme nombre du mouvement
(/isis/citation/CBB001210240/)
Article
Katayama, Errol G.;
(2011)
Soul and Elemental Motion in Aristotle's Physics VIII 4
(/isis/citation/CBB001250006/)
Article
Larson, Thomas R.;
(2003)
Aristotle's Understanding of Place
(/isis/citation/CBB000641076/)
Article
Ruth Glasner;
(2020)
An early stage in the evolution of Aristotle's physics
(/isis/citation/CBB835571117/)
Article
Schiefsky, Mark;
(2009)
Structures of Argument and Concepts of Force in the Aristotelian Mechanical Problems
(/isis/citation/CBB000932571/)
Essay Review
Schiano, Claudio;
(2013)
[Essay review]
(/isis/citation/CBB001566542/)
Thesis
Sentesy, Mark;
(2012)
Aristotle: Movement and the Structure of Being
(/isis/citation/CBB001567379/)
Article
Gregory, Andrew;
(2001)
Aristotle, Dynamics and Proportionality
(/isis/citation/CBB000773916/)
Article
Bowin, John;
(2010)
Aristotle on the Unity of Change: Five Reductio Arguments in Physics viii 8
(/isis/citation/CBB001211462/)
Book
Cilicia, Simplicius of;
(2000)
On Aristotle's Physics 8.6-10
(/isis/citation/CBB000101625/)
Chapter
Giannakis, Elias;
(2008)
Anaxagoras in the Baghdad Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB001022533/)
Book
O'Grady, Patricia F.;
(2002)
Thales of Miletus: The Beginnings of Western Science and Philosophy
(/isis/citation/CBB000302156/)
Book
Ricardo Salles;
(2021)
Cosmology and Biology in Ancient Philosophy: From Thales to Avicenna
(/isis/citation/CBB363183497/)
Article
Paczkowski, Przemsław;
(2003)
Ancient Tradition Concerning the Pre-Socratic Philosophy
(/isis/citation/CBB000670904/)
Article
Zaborowski, R.;
(2007)
Feelings as Considered by Preplatonic and Contemporary Philosophers---Coincidence or Influence?
(/isis/citation/CBB000931654/)
Apeiron: Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review
Organon: International Review
Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki
Be the first to comment!