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Work #1686

Fragments and Testimonia

Thales of Miletus
c. 6th century BCE (original); testimonia preserved in sources from the 4th c. BCE onward · Ancient Greek
Doxographic fragments and reports · Pre-Socratic natural philosophy / Milesian school

The earliest surviving reports of Western philosophy: water as arche, the earth on water, and "all things are full of gods"

Attribute Fingerprint

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

Attribute Fragments and Testimonia
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 not engaged
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

Fragments and Testimonia

Eternal natural order implied by water-as-arche.

Space

Fragments and Testimonia

The earth rests on water; the cosmos is spatially extended.

Matter

Fragments and Testimonia

Water as the single material substratum of all things.

Observer

Fragments and Testimonia

The rational inquirer who predicts eclipses and proves geometric theorems.

Energy

Fragments and Testimonia

Transformations of water imply energetic processes; hylozoism suggests intrinsic activity.

Information

Fragments and Testimonia

No explicit information-theoretic doctrine; doxographic tradition preserves only fragments.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Fragments and Testimonia

The hylozoist fragment sits uneasily with straightforward materialism; Thales's thought is accessible only through later, often interpretive, sources.