Anaximander (Greek: Αναξίμανδρος)(c.610 BC–c. 546 BC), also known as Aniximander, was the second of the physical philosophers of Ionia, a citizen of Miletus, a companion or pupil of Thales, and teacher of Anaximenes of Miletus. Little is known of his life and work. Aelian makes him the leader of the Milesian colony to Amphipolis, and hence some have inferred that he was a prominent citizen. The computations of Apollodorus of Athens have fixed his birth in 611, and his death shortly after 547 B.C.

Ancient sources represent him as a successful student of astronomy and geography, and an early proponent of exact science. He has also been said to have introduced such astronomical instruments as the sundial and the gnomon to ancient GreeceDiogenes Laertius - Anaximander. Furthermore, he is credited with having created the first map of the world, which was circular in form and showed the known lands of the world grouped around the Aegean Sea at the center and all of this was surrounded by the ocean.

Cosmology and the apeiron

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Anaximander's reputation is due mainly to a cosmological work, little of which remains. Aristotle told us (Metaphysics, I III 3-4) that the Presocratics were searching for the "element" of which all things are made. This is the problem of origin, the "beginning", or the first principle (arche, a word first found in Anaximander's writings, and which he probably invented, but which is analogous to our "atom" or "quark"). While each Presocratic philosopher gave a different answer as to what this beginning was (water for Thales, air for Anaximenes, fire for Heraclitus), from the few extant fragments we learn that Anaximander took the beginning or first principle to be an endless, unlimited primordial mass (apeiron), subject to neither old age nor decay, which perpetually yields fresh materials from which everything we can perceive is derived.

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SideEffects: Frankreich will Google-Steuer: Weil auf dem Palm Springs International Film Festival... anaximander - 7. J http://url4.eu/14PTR
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agatax (Agata) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:34:07 -0000
Anaximander , ARCHE , philosophy ...
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justincouch (justin couch) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:35:52 -0000
@kissane Anaximander, right?
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@ohhhlala Has Mouse ever met big!Anaximander? Hmmmmmmm (happynewyear~)

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