Biography of the 6th century Greek philosopher Thales
ThalesGreece is considered as one of the main centers of science in the world and has delivered many scientists to society, one of the famous Greek philosophers is Thales or Thales who lived in the first half of the sixth century BC.
A summary of the biography of Thales:
Full name: Thales miltusi
Date of birth: 623 to 626 BC
Place of birth: Miletus (Malta), modern day Türkiye
Field of activity: Western philosophy
School: National school. Ionian school Metaphysical naturalism
Disciples: Anaximander
Died: 545-548 BC in Miletus (Malta), modern day Türkiye
Biography of ThalesBiography of Thales:
Thales of Miletus was born around 623 to 626 BC in the city of Miletus in Ionia, which is today's Turkey. As is clear; Thales is one of the most famous scientists in the world, and after several centuries, his theories are still used in mathematics and geometry.
At that time, Miletus was considered the largest city in Greece. Thales is the son of Axamis, whose mother's name was Cleoboline. Miletus' mother was very interested in her son getting married, but Thales always refused and was not interested in this work, and this issue always caused disagreements between his family.
When Thales got older, his mother asked him to get married again, this time Thales said that it was too late for marriage. Some of Thales' relatives asked him why he didn't have children, and he answered: Because I love children!
Thales the Greek philosopher:
Thales believed that all natural elements were made of one basic element, and Thales believed that this basic element was water. Aristotle stated that everything that Thales observed was wet, and this is what caused the hypothesis of water to be imprinted in Thales's mind. Another reason for this opinion was the observation of water in three states, liquid, solid and gas by Thales, as a result of which he stated that all substances are made of water anyway. Of course, it should be noted that this issue of classification was not known at the time of Thales.
Thales lived in a coastal city where water had a lot of value, meaning and existence. When Thales lived in Egypt, he saw the flooding of the Nile River, the product of the surrounding agricultural land, and how living things increased.
Some say that the malleability of water was one of the main reasons for Thales to express his theory. Thales believed strongly in the soul and stated that there is a soul in the magnet that causes the iron to move. In some books, there is an amazing statement from Thales that says he believes in several gods. He has stated in some circles that “everything is full of gods”.
About the life of the Greek philosopher ThalesThe position and importance of the philosophical ideas of Thales:
In fact, Thales is considered one of the first philosophers of the world and the first philosopher of Miletus. Thales's theory that everything originates from water cannot be more than speculation. Neither Thales nor many people who came after this scientist had a way to test their theories. Despite this incident, he was the first person who tried to describe the world in a rational way instead of mythological interpretation, also this philosopher was the first person who understood the concept of unity in difference.
This philosopher's attempt to understand the world through observation, thinking and realism, away from making religious legends and mythological interpretations, trying to understand the world without resorting to gods and legends and their unlimited forces, etc. are the things that distinguish Thales from Philosophical opinion is distinguished in the history of thought.
The role of Thales in mathematics and astronomy:
Thales studied astronomy in Babylon and then returned to the city of Miletus. It is mentioned in the history books that this scientist was able to predict a solar eclipse in 585 BC. Some also believe that Thales created an astronomical calendar that was very important in his time. Among the other astronomical activities of this scientist, we can mention the invention of a simple method for navigation using the Dipper.
In the science of mathematics, the same scientist is considered to be the discoverer of Thales' theorem, and a historian named Proclus says that Thales used this theorem to determine the distance between ships and the shore. Diogenes Laertius says in his book; This scientist has been able to express the height of the three pyramids using their shadow. According to what has been mentioned, Thales did this when the shadow of each person was equal to his height.
The role of Thales in mathematics and astronomyThales theorems:
Some say that after Thales traveled to Egypt, he introduced the Greeks to the concept of geometry. The theorems attributed to Thales are mentioned below:
– The base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal to each other.
– Drawing the diameter of the circle makes it halve.
– If two straight lines intersect, the opposite angles are equal.
– If we have the base and its angles, we can draw the triangle.
– The angle enclosed by a semicircle is right.
– Eudemus believed that the third theorem was discovered by Thales, but Euclid proved it.
The main theorem of Thales:
The main theorem of Thales states that when several parallel lines are cut using two lines, the angles and line segments formed will be equal to each other. Before Thales, the Egyptians and Babylonians knew about this matter, but they did not have a method to prove it, and since this theorem was proved for the first time by Thales, it became famous with the name of this scientist.
According to the definition of an isosceles triangle and knowing the sum of the angles inside the triangle, this scientist was able to prove this theorem.
In geometry, the theorem of Thales is expressed as follows: if abc are the specified points on the circle and ac is the diameter of the circle, the angle abc will be right.
Politics and Thales:
The political life of this scientist goes back to the conflict between the Ionians in defense of Anatolia against the growing power of the Iranians at that time. At that time, Iranians had just entered the region. In this way, the king of Medes and Cyrus were considered contemporaries of Thales in Iran.
Mathematical theorems of ThalesDeath of Thales:
The historian who wrote a biography of Thales is Diogenes Laertius, he believed that this scientist divided the year into 365 days, and it is also mentioned in his books that Thales died while watching a sports match. When the spectators were leaving the stadium in that match, they noticed that he was asleep and with some precision they realized that Thales was dead.
Thales died in the 58th Olympic Games. At that time, Thales was 78 years old and no notes about this character were left, even among the words of his contemporaries, there is no mention of Thales.
Today, Thales is considered as one of the seven great men of ancient Greece. Based on the writing that came from Diogenes, it can be concluded that Thales was known as a sage at the time of the legislation of Damasus and many speeches were attributed to him. Two famous sayings attributed to Thales include; “There is nothing in extremes” and “Know thyself”.
compilation: Cover biographical section
