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Thales
Also known as: Thales of Miletus
Facts (14)
Sources
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu May 23, 2001 4 facts
claimThales is claimed to have endorsed a true panpsychism and pantheism, going beyond simple attributions of animation.
quoteAristotle claimed that “some say a soul is mingled in the whole universe—which is perhaps why Thales thought that everything is full of gods”.
claimThales, a presocratic philosopher of ancient Greece (c. 624-545 B.C.E.), used an analogical argument to attribute mind to objects, which aligns with panpsychist thought.
claimThales argued that enminded beings are self-movers, concluding that magnets and amber possess minds because they can move themselves under certain circumstances.
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2015 Edition) plato.stanford.edu May 23, 2001 3 facts
perspectiveBarnes (1982) disputes the pantheistic reading of Thales but acknowledges that Thales believed in the ubiquity of animation, which constitutes a form of panpsychism.
accountDiogenes claimed that Thales believed the universe is alive and full of spirits, a view reported by Barnes (1982, pp. 96-7) and derived from Aristotle's claim that Thales thought everything is full of gods.
claimEarly Greek thought contains clear indications of panpsychist doctrines, including the work of the Presocratic philosopher Thales.
Panpsychism - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 3 facts
claimThales believed that the behavior of magnets demonstrated his theory that everything is full of gods.
claimPanpsychism is one of the oldest philosophical theories and has been historically ascribed to philosophers including Thales, Plato, Spinoza, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, William James, Alfred North Whitehead, and Bertrand Russell.
accountThales, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher active circa 624–545 BCE, posited a theory that 'everything is full of gods,' which Aristotle recorded and which has been interpreted as a panpsychist doctrine.
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 18, 2017 3 facts
quoteAristotle claimed that Thales believed "everything is full of gods," which Diogenes later interpreted as the belief that "the universe is alive and full of spirits."
claimJonathan Barnes (1982) disputes the interpretation that Thales was a pantheist, but acknowledges that Thales believed in the "ubiquity of animation."
claimThales, a Presocratic philosopher of ancient Greece (c. 624–545 BCE), argued that magnets and amber possess minds because they are self-movers, which is an early indication of panpsychist doctrine.
Cybersecurity Trends and Predictions 2025 From Industry Insiders itprotoday.com 1 fact
measurementThe Thales 2024 Data Threat Report states that 41% of enterprises faced malware-related breaches in 2023.