What is the ‘apeiron’ ?
Ep. 102
Welcome! In today’s episode we dive into the mind of Anaximander, one of the earliest Greek thinkers and a key figure of the Milesian school. Living around 610–546 BC, Anaximander went beyond his teacher Thales’ idea that water is the fundamental substance and introduced the concept of the ‘apeiron’—an indefinite, boundless source from which all things emerge and return. He imagined the world as a dynamic balance of opposites—hot and cold, wet and dry—originating from this limitless principle. Anaximander also pioneered early scientific thought, proposing the first known map of the known world, suggesting that Earth floats unsupported in space, and hinting at natural explanations for phenomena like earthquakes and the origin of life. Join us as we explore how his bold, abstract vision laid groundwork for later philosophers and the very notion of a universe governed by natural laws.
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