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Work #1687

On Nature (fragments)

Anaximander of Miletus
c. 6th century BCE · Ancient Greek
Philosophical prose treatise (fragments) · Pre-Socratic natural philosophy / Milesian school

The apeiron as origin of all things — the first Greek prose treatise on nature, with its single surviving fragment on cosmic justice

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute On Nature (fragments)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality not engaged
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality not engaged
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Mediated
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Partial
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity not engaged

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

On Nature (fragments)

Eternal: the apeiron is "ageless"; worlds arise and dissolve over infinite time.

Space

On Nature (fragments)

Infinite: the apeiron extends without limit; the first scale model of the cosmos.

Matter

On Nature (fragments)

The apeiron is the inexhaustible material source; what emerges returns.

Observer

On Nature (fragments)

Rational inquirer using geometrical analogy and proto-scientific reasoning.

Energy

On Nature (fragments)

The separating-out of opposites from the apeiron implies energetic processes.

Information

On Nature (fragments)

Single surviving fragment; the rest is doxographic reconstruction.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

On Nature (fragments)

The nature of the apeiron (spatially infinite? qualitatively indefinite? both?) remains debated; the cosmic-justice fragment invites both physical and moral readings.