ANAXIMANDER OF MILETUS

Anaximander of Miletus was a presocratic philosopher and a disciple of Thales. While he agreed that reality must originate from a fundamental principle, he rejected the idea that this principle could be a familiar physical substance such as water. Instead, he introduced the concept of the apeiron, meaning the indefinite or boundless.

According to Anaximander, the apeiron is eternal, infinite, and capable of generating all things. From it, the elements emerge and eventually return in a process governed by necessity and balance. His theory represents an important step toward abstract thinking, as it moved philosophy beyond observable matter and introduced a more conceptual explanation of the cosmos.

Reading – Anaximander of Miletus

Multiple Choice

1. What was Anaximander’s main philosophical contribution?

The theory of atoms
The concept of the apeiron
The four elements
Ethical philosophy

2. Why did Anaximander reject water as the archē?

It was too specific and limited
It was mythological
It was invisible
It was immaterial

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True / False

3. The apeiron is finite and limited.

True
False

4. Anaximander introduced a more abstract explanation of reality.

True
False

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Fill in the Gaps

5. Anaximander proposed the __________ as the origin of all things.

apeiron
water
fire

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