Abstract
The history of Western philosophy begins with Anaximander of Miletus (610–547 B.C.), in Asia Minor, now Turkey. This is how he is treated, for instance, by Karl Jaspers in the first volume of his Die grossen Philosophen. Anaximander was the first Greek who wrote a treatise in prose that is referred to in the tradition under the title On Nature. Anaximander seems to have reflected on the discovery of writing, or more precise on the letters of the alphabet. It is said that Anaximander maintained that the letters of the alphabet stem from the Phoenicians and were introduced in Greece by Danaüs and not by Cadmus (DK 12C). In this context, the word στοιχεῖα means “letters” and not “elements,” as Dumont translates (1988: 40 and note on 1194). Diels qualifies this text as “Zweifelhaftes” and thinks that here another Anaximander is meant, namely, Anaximander the Younger, who lived about 400 B.C. (note at DK 12C). There are, however, reasons to believe that this text refers to the great Anaximander, as Panchenko has argued (2000: 418–420. He refers to arguments of Heidel 1921: 257–260. See also Naddaf 2003: 46).
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Notes
- 1.
For a more extensive exposition of the etymology and meaning of (τò) ἅπειϱον, see Couprie (1989: 134–140).
- 2.
More on the history of this argument in Couprie (1999).
- 3.
About the text of the fragment Havelock says: “A more extended scrutiny of their vocabulary will enlarge doubt to cover the whole” (1983: 52). Already in a former publication Havelock concludes: “An image of the Milesian original, one suspects, has been compressed into the prose of an epitome, and in the process given abstract formulation” (1978: 65). In my dissertation, however, the conclusion is in favor of the authenticity of Anaximander’s fragment (Couprie 1989: 2–41).
- 4.
A collection of more than hundred different translations in Couprie (1989: 192–211).
- 5.
This interpretation was suggested in discussions with Radim Kočandrle. This does not imply, however, that I pretend to render his opinion here.
- 6.
Conche renders it freely as follows: “Tous les philosophes de la nature regarderaient l’infini comme l’attribut d’une substance différente de lui, et appartenant à la classe de ce qu’on appelle les στοιχεîα, les ‘éléments’” (1991: 91).
- 7.
For an extensive discussion on this statue, and especially on the question whether it is a representation of Anaximander (on which question the author’s answer is negative), see Darsow (1954: 101–117).
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Couprie, D.L. (2011). Anaximander: A Survey of His Ideas. In: Heaven and Earth in Ancient Greek Cosmology. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 374. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8116-5_7
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