ANAXIMENES OF MILETUS

Anaximenes of Miletus was a presocratic philosopher who continued the search for the archē initiated by Thales and Anaximander. Unlike Anaximander, whose principle was abstract and indefinite, Anaximenes proposed a concrete and observable substance: air. According to Anaximenes, air is the fundamental principle of all things because it is essential to life and capable of transformation. Through processes such as rarefaction and condensation, air changes into different forms of matter. When air becomes rarefied, it turns into fire; when it condenses, it becomes wind, clouds, water, earth, and eventually stone. His theory provided a natural and rational explanation of change, linking physical processes to the diversity of the natural world.

Reading – Anaximenes of Miletus

1️⃣ Multiple Choice

1. What did Anaximenes propose as the archē?

Water
Air
Fire
The apeiron

2. How did Anaximenes explain change in nature?

Through rarefaction and condensation
Through divine intervention
Through mythological stories
Through ethical reasoning

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2️⃣ True / False

3. Anaximenes believed that air could transform into other forms of matter.

True
False

4. His theory rejected natural explanations of change.

True
False

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3️⃣ Fill in the Gaps

5. Anaximenes explained reality through __________ processes.

natural
mythological
ethical

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