Thales of Miletus, the “first philosopher”

“Philosophy”, declared Bertrand Russell, “begins with Thales” (1961: 25). Many ancient writers would have agreed, and it is presumably their decision to start the history of Greek philosophy with Thales that is reflected in Russell's judgement. This honour was also awarded to Thales by none other than Aristotle who, in turn, is responsible for a great deal of our picture of the interests and theories of the very earliest Greek philosophers. For his part, Diogenes Laërtius also accepts that Anaximander, Thales' pupil, founded the “Ionian” tradition of philosophy, which takes in Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato and the Academy, but adds Pythagoras as another source for the “Italian” tradition of Parmenides, Democritus and on to Epicurus (Diog. Laert. 1.13–15).

We shall come to consider Aristotle's treatment of Thales very shortly. Before we do so, it is important to pause and note how difficult it is to draw a strict and satisfying distinction between Thales and what we know of even earlier Greek thought. This difficulty is not only due to the usual problem of a lack of sources; it is also based in the thought that Thales may count as the first Greek philosopher only on the basis of a conception of the history of Greek philosophy we have inherited from writers such as Aristotle who were themselves keen to carve both an ancestry and clear area of thought and authority for their own discipline.