Maria Antonia Rancadore (Author)
Physis: Rivista Internazionale di Storia della Scienza
Volume: 53
Pages: 355-364
The concept of “infinity” lies at the basis of the “physiology,” i.e. the investigation of the Physis-Nature, developed by the pre-Socratics starting from the School of Miletus up to the School of Abdera. Indeed, both the earliest thinkers and Anaximander in Ionia and the atomists led by Democritus, contributed to developing the very first form of “philosophy of nature” focused on the keywords “infinite” and “finite.” According to these concepts, the philosophy of the Hellenic and Hellenistic-Roman periods should be revisited in order to return to the roots of the “science of nature” in its dual physical and mathematical connotation. Furthermore, the infinite-finite duality can be compared with other dualities: firstly with the “empty-full” duality and, secondly, with the “discrete-continuous” one. One should therefore retrace the salient stages of the study of nature as developed by the pre-Socratics, a study that in the modern age was to become the “philosophy of nature,” until it acquired its current, definitive status of “science of nature,” based on the principles of observation and experiment. The article highlights in particular the leading role played by Anaximander, who developed the keyword “infinite,” which has been interpreted in many different ways over the centuries.
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