STS Prelim ILP

2nd Trimester

SY 2019-2020

Name: JONMAR Y. RIVAS

Section: ERCA

Instructor: Jasmin Bulanhagui

Thales of Miletus (c. 620 B.C.E.—c. 546 B.C.E.)

Greek mathematician

Description

Thales of Miletus was a Greek-speaking

mathematician, astronomer and pre-

Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia,

Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages

of Greece.

Born: 624 BC, Miletus, Turkey

Died: 546 BC, Miletus, Turkey

Full name: Thales

Nationality: Greek

Notable ideas: Water is the arche; Thales' theorem; Intercept theorem

The ancient Greek philosopher Thales was born in Miletus in Greek Ionia.

Aristotle, the major source for Thales's philosophy and science, identified

Thales as question the first person to investigate the basic principles, the

of the originating substances of matter and, therefore, as the founder of

the school of natural philosophy. Thales was interested in almost

everything, investigating almost all areas of knowledge, philosophy,

history, science, mathematics, engineering, geography, and politics. He

proposed theories to explain many of the events of nature, the primary

substance, the support of the earth, and the cause of change. Thales was
much involved in the problems of astronomy and provided a number of

explanations of cosmological events which traditionally involved

supernatural entities. His questioning approach to the understanding of

heavenly phenomena was the beginning of Greek astronomy. Thales'

hypotheses were new and bold, and in freeing phenomena from godly

intervention, he paved the way towards scientific endeavor. He founded

the Milesian school of natural philosophy, developed the scientific method,

and initiated the first western enlightenment. A number of anecdotes is

closely connected to Thales' investigations of the cosmos. When

considered in association with his hypotheses they take on added

meaning and are most enlightening. Thales was highly esteemed in

ancient times, and a letter cited by Diogenes Laertius, and purporting to

be from Anaximenes to Pythagoras, advised that all our discourse should

begin with a reference to Thales (D.L. II.4).

Anaximander (c. 611 - c. 547 B.C.)

In his Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes

Laertes says Anaximander of Miletus was the

son of Praxiadas, lived to about the age of 64

and was a contemporary of the tyrant Polycrates

of Samos. Anaximander thought the principle of

all things was infinity. He also said the moon

borrowed its light from the sun, which was made

up of fire. He made a globe and, according to Diogenes Laertes was the

first to draw a map of the inhabited world. Anaximander is credited with

inventing the gnomon (pointer) on the sundial.

Anaximander of Miletus may have been a pupil of Thales and teacher of

Anaximenes. Together they formed what we call the Milesian School of

Pre-Socratic philosophy.

Pythagoras of Crotona (532-500 BC)

Pythagoras of Crotona (some historians give this

birth/death dates as c.532-500 BC, others as c.560-

480 B.C) was an Ionian who established of

religious school in southern Italy that taught about

the transmigration of souls from one body to another. Later, his school,

which lasted for over 200 years, divided into two school, one of religious,

the other of science, where mathematics, astronomy, biology, and

anatomy were studied. He is famous for work in geometry, in particular,

his Pythagorean theorem for right triangle, which partially worked out by

Thales, and which well known to students of plane geometry. The theory

state that the square of the hypotenuse of a right angle is equal to the sum

the square of the other two sides Pythagoras, divided the universe into

components; (a) Uranus, or the earth as a sphere;(b) cosmos which the

heaven surrounded by the flexed star. Also in sphere or hell; (c) Olympus,

which was the home of the gods. Another of the misconception was the

everything is perfect sphere or arranged in concentric sphere, and that all

motion of the heavenly bodies must be uniform circle. This proved vexing
when, many year later, it was determined that the planes, including the

earth, do not move in perfect circles but rather in ellipse.

Democritus (460-370 BC)

Democritus (/dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs/; Greek:

Δημόκριτος,Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of

the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient

Greek pre-Socratic philosopher primarily

remembered today for his formulation of an

atomic theory of the universe.

Democritus was born in Abdera, Thrace, around 460 BC, although there

are disagreements about the exact year. His exact contributions are

difficult to disentangle from those of his mentor Leucippus, as they are

often mentioned together in texts. Their speculation on atoms, taken from

Leucippus, bears a passing and partial resemblance to the 19th-century

understanding of atomic structure that has led some to regard Democritus

as more of a scientist than other Greek philosophers; however, their ideas

rested on very different bases. Largely ignored in ancient Athens,

Democritus is said to have been disliked so much by Plato that the latter

wished all of his books burned. He was nevertheless well known to his

fellow northern-born philosopher Aristotle. Many consider Democritus to

be the "father of modern science". None of his writings have survived; only

fragments are known from his vast body of work. Democritus was said to

be born in the city of Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian colony of Teos, although

some called him a Milesian. He was born in the 80th Olympiad (460–

457 BC) according to Apollodorus of Athens,] and although Thrasyllus

placed his birth in 470 BC, the later date is probably more likely. John

Burnet has argued that the date of 460 is "too early" since, according to

Diogenes Laërtius ix.41, Democritus said that he was a "young man

(neos)" during Anaxagoras's old age (c.440–428). It was said that

Democritus's father was from a noble family and so wealthy that he

received Xerxes on his march through Abdera. Democritus spent the

inheritance which his father left him on travels into distant countries, to

satisfy his thirst for knowledge. He traveled to Asia, and was even said to

have reached India and Ethiopia.

It is known that he wrote on Babylon and Meroe; he visited Egypt, and

Diodorus Siculus states that he lived there for five years. He himself

declared that among his contemporaries none had made greater journeys,

seen more countries, and met more scholars than himself. He particularly

mentions the Egyptian mathematicians, whose knowledge he praises.

Theophrastus, too, spoke of him as a man who had seen many countries.

During his travels, according to Diogenes Laërtius, he became acquainted

with the Chaldean magi. "Ostanes", one of the magi accompanying

Xerxes, was also said to have taught him.

After returning to his native land he occupied himself with natural

philosophy. He traveled throughout Greece to acquire a better knowledge

of its cultures. He mentions many Greek philosophers in his writings, and

his wealth enabled him to purchase their writings. Leucippus, the founder

of atomism, was the greatest influence upon him. He also praises

Anaxagoras. Diogenes Laertius says that he was friends with Hippocrates,

and he quotes Demetrius saying: "It would seem that he also went to

Athens and was not anxious to be recognized, because he despised fame,

and that while he knew of Socrates, he was not known to Socrates, his

words being, `I came to Athens and no one knew me. Aristotle placed him

among the pre-Socratic natural philosophers,

The many anecdotes about Democritus, especially in Diogenes Laërtius,

attest to his disinterest, modesty, and simplicity, and show that he lived

exclusively for his studies. One story has him deliberately blinding himself

in order to be less disturbed in his pursuits; it may well be true that he lost

his sight in old age. He was cheerful, and was always ready to see the

comical side of life, which later writers took to mean that he always laughed

at the foolishness of people.

He was highly esteemed by his fellow citizens, because as Diogenes

Laërtius says, "he had foretold them some things which events proved to

be true," which may refer to his knowledge of natural phenomena.

According to Diodorus Siculus, Democritus died at the age of 90, which

would put his death around 370 BC, but other writers have him living to

104,or even 109.

Popularly known as the Laughing Philosopher (for laughing at human

follies), the terms Abderitan laughter, which means scoffing, incessant

laughter, and Abderite, which means a scoffer, are derived from

Democritus. To his fellow citizens he was also known as "The Mocker".

Hippocrates of Kos (c. 460 – c. 370 BC),

Hippocrates of Kos (/hɪˈpɒkrətiːz/; Greek:

Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, translit. Hippokrátēs

ho Kṓos; c. 460 – c. 370 BC), also known as

Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the

Age of Pericles (Classical Greece), who is

considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine.

He is often referred to as the "Father of Medicine" in recognition of his

lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School

of Medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient

Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields with which

it had traditionally been associated (theurgy and philosophy), thus

establishing medicine as a profession.

However, the achievements of the writers of the Corpus, the practitioners

of Hippocratic medicine and the actions of Hippocrates himself were often

conflated; thus very little is known about what Hippocrates actually

thought, wrote, and did. Hippocrates is commonly portrayed as the

paragon of the ancient physician, and credited with coining the Hippocratic

Oath, which is still relevant and in use today. He is also credited with

greatly advancing the systematic study of clinical medicine, summing up

the medical knowledge of previous schools, and prescribing practices for

physicians through the Hippocratic Corpus and other works. Historians

agree that Hippocrates was born around the year 460 BC on the Greek

island of Kos; other biographical information, however, is likely to be

untrue.

Soranus of Ephesus, a 2nd-century Greek physician,[7] was Hippocrates'

first biographer and is the source of most personal information about him.

Later biographies are in the Suda of the 10th century AD, and in the works

of John Tzetzes, Aristotle's "Politics", which date from the 4th century BC.

Soranus wrote that Hippocrates' father was Heraclides, a physician, and

his mother was Praxitela, daughter of Tizane. The two sons of

Hippocrates, Thessalus and Draco, and his son-in-law, Polybus, were his

students. According to Galen, a later physician, Polybus was Hippocrates'

true successor, while Thessalus and Draco each had a son named

Hippocrates (Hippocrates III and IV).

Soranus said that Hippocrates learned medicine from his father and

grandfather (Hippocrates I), and studied other subjects with Democritus

and Gorgias. Hippocrates was probably trained at the asklepieion of Kos,

and took lessons from the Thracian physician Herodicus of Selymbria.

Plato mentions Hippocrates in two of his dialogues: in Protagoras, Plato

describes Hippocrates as "Hippocrates of Kos, the Asclepiad";while in

Phaedrus, Plato suggests that "Hippocrates the Asclepiad" thought that a

complete knowledge of the nature of the body was necessary for medicine.

Hippocrates taught and practiced medicine throughout his life, traveling at

least as far as Thessaly, Thrace, and the Sea of Marmara. Several

different accounts of his death exist. He died, probably in Larissa, at the

age of 83, 85 or 90, though some say he lived to be well over 100.

Euclid (c.330-275 BCE, fl. c.300 BCE)

The Greek mathematician Euclid lived and

flourished in Alexandria in Egypt around 300 BCE,

during the reign of Ptolemy I. Almost nothing is

known of his life, and no likeness or first-hand

description of his physical appearance has

survived antiquity, and so depictions of him (with a long flowing beard and

cloth cap) in works of art are necessarily the products of the artist's

imagination.

He probably studied for a time at Plato's Academy in Athens but, by

Euclid's time, Alexandria, under the patronage of the Ptolemies and with

its prestigious and comprehensive Library, had already become a worthy

rival to the great Academy.

Euclid is often referred to as the “Father of Geometry”, and he wrote

perhaps the most important and successful mathematical textbook of all

time, the “Stoicheion” or “Elements”, which represents the culmination of

the mathematical revolution which had taken place in Greece up to that

time. He also wrote works on the division of geometrical figures into into

parts in given ratios, on catoptrics (the mathematical theory of mirrors and

reflection), and on spherical astronomy (the determination of the location

of objects on the "celestial sphere"), as well as important texts on optics

and music. The "Elements” was a lucid and comprehensive compilation

and explanation of all the known mathematics of his time, including the

work of Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Theudius, Theaetetus and Eudoxus. In

all, it contains 465 theorems and proofs, described in a clear, logical and

elegant style, and using only a compass and a straight edge. Euclid

reworked the mathematical concepts of his predecessors into a consistent

whole, later to become known as Euclidean geometry, which is still as valid

today as it was 2,300 years ago, even in higher mathematics dealing with

higher dimensional spaces. It was only with the work of Bolyai,

Lobachevski and Riemann in the first half of the 19th Century that any kind

of non-Euclidean geometry was even considered.