ANAXIMANDER OF MILETUS

BORN: 610 BC
DIED: 546 BC
ERA: Pre-Socratic Philosophy
REGION: Western Philosophy
SCHOOL: Ionian /Milesian
MAIN INTEREST: Metaphysics, Astronomy, Geography,
Cosmology
 He is known as one of succeeded student of Thales. Later, he become the teacher of
Anaximenes and Pythagoras.
 He was the first philosopher who written down his studies on text, although only one fragment
of his work remains.
 Anaximander is sometimes called the "Father of Cosmology" and the founder of astronomy for
his bold use of non-mythological explanations of physical processes.

ANAXIMANDER’S NOTABLE CONTRIBUTIONS AND IDEAS

1. THE APEIRON – (the “infinite,” “unlimited,” or “indefinite”)

Anaximander postulated that everything originated from the apeiron. He
hypothesized that the apeiron was a creative force, continually bringing matter together,
creating new forms, destroying them, and then reforming them again. the world is not
eternal and will be destroyed back into the apeiron, from which new worlds will be born.

2. THE DISTANCES OF CELESTIAL BODIES IN THE UNIVERSE

Anaximander was the first to conceive a mechanical model of the world. His model
showed that the Earth floats very still in the center of the infinite, not falling even though
it is not being supported by anything. This model opened the way to Greek astronomy
with the concept that celestial bodies could pass under the earth.
 3. THE FIRST MAP OF THE WORLD
Anaximander the Milesian was said to be the first one that dared to draw the inhabited world
on a tablet, although this map has been lost, Anaximander’s map must have been circular, like
the top of his drum-shaped earth.

4. ORIGIN OF HUMANKIND AND ITS EVOLUTION

In his proto-theory of evolution in biology of life; Life originated from the moisture that covered
the earth before it was dried up by the sun. He says, further, that in the beginning man was born
from creatures of a different kind.

REFERENCES:

Evans, J. (September 2020.) Anaximander Great Philosopher. Britannica. Retrieved from:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anaximander

The Basic of Philosophy. (n. d.) Anaximander. Retrieved from:

https://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_anaximander.html

Couprie, D. (n.d.). Anaximander. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from:

https://iep.utm.edu/anaximan/

Mark, J. J. (2021, March 25). Anaximander. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:

https://www.ancient.eu/Anaximander/