Thales, Anaximander, and the Shape of the Earth
Most people consider the flat earth society a group of nincompoops who have no respect for facts, science, and scientific inquiry. Their logic is flawed and superficial, and they are involved in spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories. Yet, the ideas presented by these “flat-earthers” are not as absurd to contemporary individuals as the propositions of early philosophers such as Thales of Miletus and Anaximander. The beliefs of these ancient scholars are genuinely intriguing.
Many books start their analysis of western philosophy from the ideas of Socrates, but the Milesians, especially Thales and Anaximander, are equally important. Thales was a philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of geometry. Thales observed that triangles sitting along a circle’s diameter, with the third side also a point on the circle, are always a right angle triangle. But, this is not as interesting as Thales’ theory of the earth. Thales believed that earth floated on water, and “water is the first principle to everything”. These claims are absurd to the modern thinker but are extremely meaningful to philosophical thinking. The Milesians encouraged future generations of philosophers to inquire about scientific topics and ideas by theorising about such issues. So, unlike “flat-earthers”, Milesians played an essential role in history and shaped the ideas of many later thinkers.
Anaximander was a pupil of Thales, and he believed in a completely different interpretation. Unlike Thales, who believed that the world rested on water, Anaximander thought the earth to be cylindrical, and people inhabited the top, circular part of the cylinder. Furthermore, Anaximander believed that this cylinder did not rest on top of anything and remained afloat because it was in the centre of everything else. Anaximander concluded that the Sun and the Moon were hollow rings around the earth, and the holes in the rings led the light to pass through.
The reason why Thales and Anaximander are important in history is because of their contribution to philosophical thinking. In addition to their contribution to mathematics, these philosophers encouraged the human race to think beyond their surroundings. They urged later thinkers to contemplate the universe’s existence, of the sun, moons and the stars. So, contemporary scholars must consider the works of these ancient minds with as much esteem as they consider Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
