Anaxagoras, an Ionian philosopher born around 500 B.C., holds a significant place in the history of Greek thought primarily for two reasons: he was the first to introduce philosophy to Athens, and he was the first to propose Mind (Nous) as the primary cause of physical changes. While perhaps not as renowned as Pythagoras, Heraclitus, or Parmenides, his contributions were crucial in shaping the intellectual landscape of Athens and influencing later giants like Socrates and Plato. He carried forward the scientific and rationalist tradition of Ionia, a stark contrast to the more mystical tendencies prevalent elsewhere.
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Anaxagoras spent approximately thirty years in Athens (c. 462-432 B.C.), likely invited by Pericles, who sought to elevate the cultural level of his city. His presence marked the beginning of philosophical discourse in Athens, a city that would soon become the intellectual heart of the Hellenic world. However, his advanced scientific views, such as his assertion that the sun was a red-hot stone and the moon was earth, clashed with traditional religious beliefs. This led to his prosecution under a law against those who did not practice religion and taught theories about “the things on high.” Though he had to leave Athens, likely with Pericles’s help to escape prison, his ideas had already taken root.
🧠 What Was Anaxagoras’s Revolutionary Idea of Mind (Nous)?
Anaxagoras’s most distinctive doctrine was the introduction of Nous as a substance that enters into the composition of living things, distinguishing them from inanimate matter. For him, Nous was infinite, self-ruled, and unmixed with anything else, possessing power over all things that have life. It was the source of all motion, initiating a cosmic rotation that brought order out of primordial confusion. While he believed everything was infinitely divisible and contained portions of all elements (e.g., snow is partly black), he differed from his predecessors by positing Nous as an intelligent, ordering principle, rather than relying solely on necessity or chance.
🔬 How Did His Scientific Insights Challenge Tradition?
Despite introducing a non-material principle, Anaxagoras was a keen scientific observer. He rejected the void, demonstrating the presence of air in seemingly empty spaces (like a clepsydra). He correctly explained that the moon shines by reflected light and provided the accurate theory of eclipses, knowing that the moon is below the sun. He also asserted that the sun and stars were fiery stones, though too distant for their heat to be felt on Earth. His claim that the moon had mountains and inhabitants further showcased his imaginative yet empirically grounded approach. Both Aristotle and the Platonic Socrates, while acknowledging his introduction of Nous, criticized him for not fully utilizing it in his explanations, often resorting to mechanical causes when possible. This highlights his commitment to a rational, scientific understanding of the world, free from the ethical and religious preoccupations that would later influence Socrates and Plato, and which he viewed as potentially leading to an obscurantist bias in philosophy.
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Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. Simon and Schuster, 1945.
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