For thousands of years, perhaps since the very first human walked on the planet, we have questioned the nature of the world around us. Where did it all come from? What – or who – made it all? Why did it all come into existence? These questions are still asked today, and while modern science has answered some of them, we still don’t have all the answers. Thales of Miletus (ca. 625-546), often referred to as the father of science and the scientific method, postulated several essential concepts of the world that are now not only scientific fact, but foundational concepts in science. With simple, elegant words and ideas, Thales postulated the existence of atoms, the abundance of hydrogen, and the most essential force in the universe: electromagnetic force.
All that we know of Thales today comes down through the ages second-hand, resulting in significant interpretation problems. There are no known direct writings by Thales – his sayings and thoughts are reported to us by others, especially Aristotle. Second-hand information, especially before modern-day concepts such as unbiased journalistic reporting and historical accuracy, creates problems for interpretation that are difficult to overcome. There is simply no way to know just how much his words have been slanted or reworded by those “reporting.” It is difficult even today to avoid slant in the most unbiased report, 2600 years ago the idea of unbiased reporting was essentially nonexistent. Yet at the same time, it is also strongly likely that Aristotle and others actually did report accurately. Concepts such as honesty and honor existed; it is just as possible as not that their honor would only allow them to “report” on Thales and others as accurately as possible, too. Just because all the information we have on Thales is second-hand does not necessarily mean it is completely unreliable.
Another difficulty with interpreting Thales’ is the very simplicity of his words: their elegance and brevity makes it too easy to take what he reportedly said at “face value.” Simple words such as “water” and “soul” have strong immediate primary meanings for the majority of readers; it is too easy for the non-critical reader, much less the critical reader, to take these straightforward words at face value and never consider these same words used by Thales have secondary definitions.
Two of the most compelling of the few fragments surviving that reference Thales deal with the most essential component of life: the soul. Thales postulated that everything in the universe contained a “soul,” and that this “soul” produces motion. In the first fragment, from Aristotle, Thales unites the concepts of “soul” and “gods” in a way that that not only predates common Christian thought, but also in a way that from a scientific point of view is incredibly close to the truth:
“Some declare that it [the soul] is mixed in the whole [universe], and perhaps this is why Thales thought all things are full of gods. (Aristotle, On the Soul 1.4 411a7-8 = 11A22)” (Cohen 8)
In a second complementary fragment, Aristotle reports that Thales believed that there is something within that produces motion, and using magnets as an example, that this something is a “soul:”
“From what has been related about him, it seems that Thales, too, supposed that the soul was something that produces motion, if indeed he said that the magnet has soul, because it moves iron. (Aristotle, On the Soul 405a19-21=11A22; tr. Curd)” (Cohen 9)
Upon first reading each of these fragments, it is too easy to get “stuck” on the word soul and interpret these fragments simply from a religious (especially Western, Judeo-Christian) viewpoint. Considering the strong natural science orientation of virtually all of Thales’ fragments and his emphasis on natural (vs. supernatural) understanding of the world around him, it is actually highly doubtful that Thales used the word “soul” in the most common immaterial sense (Wikipedia.org). The meaning of soul does not only mean as defined by Judeo-Christian and other religious standards: it also means the heart, the center, the substance of an object, “the central or integral part; the vital core” (dictionary.com). The meaning of soul is not nor should it be restricted to the immaterial. There is something else that exists everywhere and is mixed in the whole universe: atoms. Atoms are the “vital core” of all matter in the universe, everything. Considering that all matter is made of atoms, and that all atoms are in constant motion – and that atoms themselves consist of neutrons, electrons, and protons[1], also all in constant motion –what Thales referred to as “soul” could actually be what we refer to as “atoms.” Magnets consist of atoms electrically charged in such a way that they “attract” their brethren atoms in iron and cause movement. In substance and essence, magnets DO have a soul: they have atoms and these atoms cause movement, When Thales states that “all things are full of gods,” he is metaphorically correct in that all things are full of atoms (Cohen 9).
To suggest that soul is simply another word for atoms is, of course, too simplistic. The most common understanding of the word and concept of “soul” is that of some sort of energy, a divine spark, the life force. This interpretation of soul is so common throughout the world and history that perhaps soul really is a form of energy: what we now know as electromagnetism. Electromagnetism, on of the four fundamental forces, exists and affects everything in the universe. It is essential to the operation of the universe, from the smallest of atoms to the largest of suns. Without electromagnetic energy, the universe would simply cease to exist as we know it. Ancient Greeks reported on phenomena now known to be of electromagnetic causation, but it wasn’t until the late 1800s and early 1900s that science began to fully understand and define the concept. Just as Thales was metaphorically correct when he said that “all things are full of gods” (atoms), he is also metaphorically scientifically correct from the standpoint of electromagnetic energy: all things are full of electromagnetic energy.
Thales’ simple words and concepts are metaphorically scientifically correct regarding another essential component of the universe: hydrogen. In many other fragments, Thales proposes that the origin of the world is water and that the Earth rests on water (Cohen 8-10). The idea that the world rests on water has been found laughable by many readers and interpretations ever since, yet there is nothing laughable about this concept: it is, in fact, remarkably accurate. The most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen. When Thales proposes that Earth “rests” on “water,” which is 75% hydrogen, he is remarkably scientifically accurate, as the earth does indeed exist in a “sea” that is 98% hydrogen (Wikipedia.org). While the Earth is in constant motion due to gravitation force, it moves within a “sea” that is 98% hydrogen – it figuratively “rests” on “water”. Hydrogen is so prevalent throughout the universe that one could also say that all things are full of hydrogen.
Why should we care? Because despite our current strong religious connotations on words such as “soul,” when one remembers Thales’ strong natural science orientation, one realizes just how close Thales was to the truth about the nature of our physical world as proved by science well over two thousand years after his time! If Thales is this close to the scientific truth on such fundamental scientific understandings as atoms, electromagnetic energy, and hydrogen, what else is he that close to? Are other concepts of Thales, reached through simple observation, logic, and rationality, also close to what science has since proven? The words of Thales and other ancient philosophers cannot be limited to face-value interpretations, nor should they be limited to religious and/or metaphysical interpretations. To do so not only demeans the strong natural philosophical approaches to questions about the nature of the world Thales and others asked, it denies modern-day man ancient insight that may lead us to answer questions about the universe that science has yet to answer. It is essential for the modern reader to consider reinterpreting the words of Thales and others from a natural science viewpoint, albeit a metaphorical approach.
Thales simply lacked the proper vocabulary. His ideas are solid metaphors for foundational scientific concepts and facts. With elegant simplicity, Thales expresses a modern-day understanding of the nature of the universe that defies simple explanation. When Thales stated, “all things are full of Gods,” he hit on three essential scientific facts: all things are full of atoms, all things are full of electromagnetic energy, and all things are full of hydrogen. Another verse attributed to Thales brings us to the most stunning of all facts: “time is the wisest because it discovers everything” (Wikipedia.org).
Works Cited
Cohen, S. Marc, Patricia Curd, C.D.C. Reeve. Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy. Hacket Publishing Co, Inc., Indianapolis: 1995. First Edition.
Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Dictionary.com. 2006. http://www.dictionary.com
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Thales. Wikipedia.org. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thales
[1] Protons are aptly named. The origin of the word proton comes from the Greek word prÅton, which means “first.” Dictionary.com.
Written for Professor Tanner's Ancient Philosophy class at University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, 13th February 2006.
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