Thales of

Miletus
Thales of Miletus
Thales of Miletus (620/625  – 548/545 BC) was
a Greek mathematician, astronomer and pre-Socratic
philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages
of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him as the first philosopher in
the Greek tradition, and he is otherwise historically recognized as the first individual
known to have entertained and engaged in scientific philosophy. He is often referred
to as the Father of Science. The philosopher Aristotle (l. 384-322 BCE) was the
first to call Thales the "First Philosopher" and his claim was accepted because all
of his pronouncements were regularly regarded as accurate. None of Thales' works
have survived - what is known of his philosophy comes from fragments of his
preserved in passages by later writers – but all are in agreement that he pioneered
the intellectual movement which later would become known as Greek philosophy.

In mathematics, Thales used geometry to calculate the heights of pyramids and the distance of ships
from the shore. He is the first known individual to use deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by
deriving four corollaries to Thales' theorem. He is the first known individual to whom a mathematical
discovery has been attributed.
 Life
The dates of Thales' life are not exactly known, but are roughly established by a few datable
events mentioned in the sources. Thales was probably born in the city of Miletus around the
mid-620s BC. The ancient writer Apollodorus of Athens writing during the 2nd century BC,
thought Thales was born about the year 625 BC.
According to Herodotus, Thales predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC. Diogenes
Laërtius said that Thales died at the age of 78 during the 58th Olympiad (548–545 BC) and
attributes his death to heat stroke while watching the games.
Thales (who died around 30 years before the time of Pythagoras and 300 years
before Euclid, Eudoxus of Cnidus, and Eudemus of Rhodes) is often hailed as "the first
Greek mathematician". While some historians, such as Colin R. Fletcher, point out that
there could have been a predecessor to Thales who would have been named in Eudemus' lost
book History of Geometry, it is admitted that without the work "the question becomes mere
speculation." Fletcher holds that as there is no viable predecessor to the title of first Greek
mathematician, the only question is whether Thales qualifies as a practitioner in that field; he
holds that "Thales had at his command the techniques of observation, experimentation,
superposition and deduction, he has proved himself mathematician."
 Achievements
•Astronomy: Thales is also believed to anticipated an eclipse of the sun – the one which occurred on 28th of
May 585 B.C, according to Herodotus. Eudemus also mentioned Thales as being the first to discover the
‘eclipse of the sun and that its period with respect to the solstices is not always constant’. Diogenes Laertius
mentioned that Thales ‘was the first to determine the sun’s course from solstice to solstice’. Diogenes Laertius
has written that ‘He (Thales) is said to have discovered the seasons of the year and divided it into 365 days’. 
•Theories: Thales aimed to explain natural phenomena via rational hypotheses that referenced natural
processes themselves. For example, rather than assuming that earthquakes were the result of supernatural
whims, Thales explained them by hypothesizing that the Earth floats on water and that earthquakes occur
when the Earth is rocked by waves. Thales was a hylozoist (one who thinks that matter is alive,  i.e. containing
soul. Aristotle wrote (De Anima 411 a7-8) of Thales: Thales thought all things are full of gods. Thales thought
on matter generally containing souls, to Thales thinking initially on the fact of, because magnets move iron,
the presence of movement of matter indicated this matter contained life.
•Geometry: Thales’ understanding was theoretical as well as practical. For example, he said: The greatest is
space, for it holds all things. Thales understood similar triangles and right triangles, and what is more, used
that knowledge in practical ways. The story is told in Diogenes Laërtius (loc. cit.) that he measured the height
of the pyramids by their shadows at the moment when his own shadow was equal to his height. A right triangle
with two equal legs is a 45-degree right triangle, all of which are similar. The length of the pyramid's shadow
measured from the center of the pyramid at that moment must have been equal to its height.
Thales is known for: 1. Thales’ Theorem
Five Euclidean theorems have been explicitly attributed to Thales, and the testimony is that
Thales successfully applied two theorems to the solution of practical problems. Thales did
not formulate proofs in the formal sense. What Thales did was to put forward certain
propositions which, it seems, he could have ‘proven’ by induction: he observed the similar
results of his calculations: he showed by repeated experiment that his propositions and theorems
were correct, and if none of his calculations resulted in contrary outcomes, he probably felt
justified in accepting his results as proof. Thales’ ‘proof’ was often really inductive
demonstration.

Definition: A diameter of the circle is a straight line drawn through the

centre and terminated in both directions by the circumference of the circle;
and such a straight line also bisects the circle 
Proposition : In isosceles triangles, the angles at the base are equal; and if the equal
straight lines are produced further, the angles under the base will be equal.
Proposition: ‘If two straight lines cut one another, they make the vertical angles equal to
one another’. This theorem is positively attributed to Thales.

Proposition: ‘If two triangles have the two angles equal to two angles respectively, and one
side equal to one side, namely, either the side adjoining the equal angles, or that subtending one
of the equal angles, they will also have the remaining sides equal to the remaining sides and
the remaining angle equal to the remaining angle’ 
Eudemus in his history of geometry attributes the theorem itself to Thales, saying that the method
by which he is reported to have determined the distance of ships at sea shows that he must have
used it’. Thales applied this theorem to determine the height of a pyramid. The great
pyramid was already over two thousand years old when Thales visited Gizeh, but its height
was not known. He introduced the concept of ratio, and recognized its application as a general
principle. Thales’s accomplishment of measuring the height of the pyramid is a beautiful piece of
mathematics. 

Proposition: ‘The angle in a semicircle is a right angle’. Diogenes Laertius recorded:

Pamphila states that, having learnt geometry from the Egyptians, [Thales] was the first to
inscribe a right-angled triangle in a circle. Thales’s unique ability was with the characteristics
of lines, angles and circles. He recognized, noticed and apprehended certain principles which he
probably ‘proved’ through repeated demonstration.
Thales is known for: 2. Theories about
Earth
Theory 1: Water as the primary principle
In De Caelo, Aristotle wrote: ‘This [opinion that the earth rests on
water] is the most ancient explanation which has come down to us,
and is attributed to Thales of Miletus. He explained his theory by
adding the analogy that the earth is at rest because it is of the
nature of wood and similar substances which have the capacity to
float on water.
Perhaps Thales anticipated problems with acceptance because he
explained that it floated because of a particular quality, a quality of
buoyancy similar to that of wood. At the busy city-port of Miletus,
Thales had unlimited opportunities to observe the arrival and
departure of ships with their heavier-than-water cargoes, and
recognized an analogy to floating logs. Thales may have envisaged
some quality, common to ships and earth, a quality of ‘floatiness’.
Thales may have reasoned that as a modification of water, earth
must be the lighter substance, and floating islands do exist. 
Theory 2 - Earth is spherical
It is believed that Thales was the first one to claim that Earth has a spherical form,
although there is no testimony to support this.
His prove for Earth being Spherical was that the fact that during a solar eclipse, the shadow
caused by the interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon is always convex;
therefore the earth must be spherical. In other words, if the earth were a flat disk, the
shadow cast during an eclipse would be elliptical. 
Theory 3 - Earthquake
Earth floats on water. This principle was applied to explain the nature of earthquakes, too.
On the occasions when the earth experiences an earthquake, it is actually fluctuating because
of the roughness of oceans.
Thales’s theory about the cause of earthquakes is consistent with his hypothesis that earth floats
upon water. Although the theory is wrong, Thales’s hypothesis is rational because it provides an
explanation which does not invoke hidden entities. 
Real-Time Applications
• Thales theorem is used in Tiles and Painting and many other things as such
require precision.
• All trigonometry is based on Thales theorem. So once you have trigonometry, you
have 3D graphics and videogames. Trigonometry is used extensively
in game development in order for the game to function. It is used in writing the
programs for games so that objects can move. 
• Thales theorem can be used to find the center of a circle - which is extremely
useful for engineering, architecture, and art.
• Thales theorem is used to find the distance of ships from the shore.
Conclusion
Thales is the first person about whom we know to propose explanations of natural phenomena
which were materialistic rather than mythological or theological. His theories were new,
bold, exciting, comprehensible, and possible of explanation. He did not speak in riddles as
did Heraclitus, and had no need to invent an undefined non-substance, as Anaximander did.
Because he gave no role to mythical beings, Thales’s theories could be refuted. Arguments could
be put forward in attempts to discredit them. Thales’s hypotheses were rational and scientific.
Aristotle acknowledged Thales as the first philosopher, and criticized his hypotheses in a
scientific manner.
The most outstanding aspects of Thales’s heritage are: The search for knowledge for its own
sake; the development of the scientific method; the adoption of practical methods and their
development into general principles; his curiosity and conjectural approach to the questions of
natural phenomena – In the sixth century B.C.E., Thales asked the question, ‘What is the basic
material of the cosmos?’ The answer is yet to be discovered.
Thank
you- Nishitha
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