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Echoes of Reason

Charting the dawn of Western thought through the foundational inquiries into the cosmos, ethics, and knowledge that preceded Socrates.

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Defining the Era

Terminology & Scope

The term "Pre-Socratic philosophy" emerged in the 19th century, notably by J.A. Eberhard, to categorize ancient Greek philosophy predating or contemporary with Socrates. These thinkers were primarily concerned with cosmology—the origin and fundamental substance of the universe—but their inquiries also extended to the natural world, human society, ethics, and religion. They sought explanations rooted in natural law, moving away from divine intervention as the sole cause of phenomena. Earlier, Aristotle referred to them as physikoi (physicists) or physiologoi (natural philosophers), distinguishing them from theologoi (theologians) and mythologoi (storytellers who attributed events to gods).

Nuances of the Designation

While "Pre-Socratic" highlights a shift in philosophical focus from nature to ethics and politics (Socrates' primary interest), the term carries certain drawbacks. It can imply a lesser significance or a mere preparatory stage to classical philosophy, a teleological view that may not accurately reflect their independent contributions. Furthermore, some "Pre-Socratics" were contemporaries of Socrates, making the chronological distinction imprecise. Scholars like James Warren suggest the demarcation is more about geography (dispersed thinkers vs. Athenian concentration) and the survival of complete texts from the classical era onwards, contrasting with the fragments available from the earlier period.

"Early Greek Philosophy"

Recognizing these limitations, "early Greek philosophy" is increasingly favored, particularly popularized by André Laks and Glenn W. Most in their comprehensive Loeb editions. This alternative term acknowledges that some traditionally "Pre-Socratic" philosophers, such as the Atomists, were active concurrently with or even before Socrates. The Socratic-Ciceronian tradition distinguishes based on content (nature vs. human affairs), while the Platonic-Aristotelian tradition emphasizes method (epistemological approach). The shift to "early Greek philosophy" offers a more systematic and less teleological understanding of this foundational period.

Reconstructing Thought

The Fragmentary Record

Our understanding of Pre-Socratic philosophy is largely derived from a limited collection of surviving fragments. The original works, often titled Peri Physeos ("On Nature"), are almost entirely lost. Knowledge of their views comes primarily from testimonia—discussions and interpretations by later authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Diogenes Laërtius, Stobaeus, Simplicius, and early Christian theologians like Clement of Alexandria and Hippolytus of Rome.

Interpreting Ancient Voices

The reliance on testimonia presents significant challenges. These later accounts are often biased, reflecting the philosophical perspectives of their authors. Plato, for instance, paraphrased the Pre-Socratics without strict adherence to their original views, while Aristotle, though more accurate, interpreted them through the lens of his own philosophical system. Theophrastus's encyclopedic work, Opinion of the Physicists, though now lost, was a crucial ancient source, heavily utilized by Simplicius in his surviving accounts. The obscure language used by the Pre-Socratics themselves further complicates interpretation.

Diels-Kranz & Modern Scholarship

Modern scholarship relies on the comprehensive collection Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (The Fragments of the Pre-Socratics), published by H. Diels and W. Kranz in 1903. This work introduced the "Diels-Kranz numbering" (DK) system, a standardized coding scheme for referencing fragments. For example, "DK59B12.3" refers to line 3 of Anaxagoras' fragment 12, with 'A' denoting testimonia and 'B' direct quotes. A similar system, prefixed "LM," was developed by André Laks and Glenn W. Most for their Early Greek Philosophy. Collectively, these fragments are known as doxography, derived from the Greek word doxa ("opinion").

Historical Context

The Dawn in Ionia

Philosophy in ancient Greece emerged in the 6th century BC, a period of significant geopolitical and cultural shifts. The Pre-Socratic era, spanning approximately two centuries, saw the expansion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire westward, while Greek city-states (poleis) advanced in trade and maritime routes, reaching as far as Cyprus and Syria. The earliest Pre-Socratics originated in Ionia, on the western coast of Anatolia, a region that fell under Persian rule around 540 BC, leading to revolts and eventual defeat. By the mid-5th century, Athens gradually became the philosophical epicenter, setting the stage for Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, yet the influence of the Pre-Socratics endured.

Cross-Cultural Exchange

Several factors fostered the birth of Pre-Socratic philosophy. Ionian towns, particularly Miletus, maintained robust trade relations with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. These civilizations possessed distinct observations of the natural world, which, alongside technical skills and cultural influences, contributed to Greek intellectual development. A pivotal acquisition was the alphabet around 800 BC, facilitating the recording and dissemination of complex ideas. The ease of intra-Greek travel also promoted the blending and comparison of ideas, with philosophers moving freely across the Greek peninsula, the Aegean islands, and Magna Graecia (Southern Italy).

Political & Mythological Foundations

The democratic political systems of independent poleis played a crucial role, allowing citizens the freedom to question a wide array of issues without autocratic or priestly censorship. Flourishing and wealthy cities like Miletus, centers of trade and production, were embedded in a dynamic web of economic exchange, fostering intellectual curiosity. Greek mythology, particularly the works of Homer and Hesiod, also subtly influenced the philosophical inquiries. These epic poets, by attempting to systematically organize traditional folklore and legends, provided a framework of questions about the world's origin and nature that the Pre-Socratics would later address with rational explanations, moving beyond purely mythical narratives.

Defining Characteristics

Reason Over Myth

The most salient feature of Pre-Socratic philosophy was its pioneering use of reason to explain the universe. These philosophers shared an intuitive belief in a singular, underlying explanation for the world's plurality and unity, an explanation that explicitly excluded the direct actions of gods. They systematically rejected traditional mythological accounts of natural phenomena, initiating a profound shift towards analytic and critical thought. Their primary objective was to investigate the ultimate basis and essential nature of the external world, often seeking the material principle (arche) of things and the mechanisms of their genesis and dissolution.

The Ordered Cosmos

The Pre-Socratics emphasized the rational unity of existence, rejecting supernatural explanations in favor of natural principles governing both the physical world and human society. They conceived of the world as a cosmos—an ordered, harmonious arrangement comprehensible through rational inquiry. In their pursuit of cosmic understanding, they introduced novel terms and concepts such as rhythm, symmetry, analogy, deductionism, reductionism, and the mathematization of nature. The term arche, central to many Pre-Socratic thinkers, could signify the origin, fundamental substance, or governing principle of the universe, carrying the implication of an enduring influence on subsequent phenomena.

Methodological Limitations & Strengths

A common characteristic of Pre-Socratic thought was the absence of systematic empiricism and experimental validation for their theories. This might be attributed to a lack of sophisticated instruments or a holistic worldview that considered nature an indivisible unity, rendering experimental isolation impractical. Despite this, according to Jonathan Barnes, their philosophy was internal (explaining the world with immanent characteristics), systematic (universalizing findings), and economical (invoking few new terms). These features enabled their most significant achievement: redirecting human thought from myth to philosophy and nascent science.

Phases of Early Thought

Pre-Socratic philosophy itself unfolded in distinct phases. The initial phase, exemplified by the Milesians, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus, involved rejecting traditional cosmogony and seeking naturalistic explanations based on empirical observations and interpretations. The second phase, dominated by the Eleatics, challenged the very possibility of change or motion, advocating a radical monism where only one unchanging substance constitutes the cosmos. Finally, the third phase, featuring post-Eleatics like Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Democritus, largely opposed Eleatic doctrines and returned to the naturalism of the Milesians, albeit with greater refinement and complexity.

The Early Thinkers

The Milesians

The Milesian school, based in Miletus, Ionia, in the 6th century BC, comprised Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, likely in a teacher-pupil lineage. They initiated the tradition of naturalistic monism, each positing a single arche for the world's origin and substance.

  • Thales (c. 624–546 BC): Often hailed as the "father of philosophy," Thales was the first Western philosopher to employ reason, proof, and generalization. He coined "cosmos" and proposed water as the fundamental arche, a naturalistic explanation for the world's origin. He also contributed to geometry and speculated on hylozoism, the idea that the universe is divine and alive.
  • Anaximander (610–546 BC): A statesman and polymath, Anaximander introduced the apeiron (the unlimited or indefinite) as the first principle, an undefined substance from which all primary opposites differentiate. He is credited with the first world map, the concept of a spherical Earth, and rudimentary evolutionary ideas, envisioning a universe governed by inherent laws.
  • Anaximenes (585–525 BC): A contemporary and collaborator of Anaximander, Anaximenes proposed aēr (air) as the primary principle. He theorized that air, through processes of thickening and thinning, transforms into other classical elements like fire, wind, clouds, water, and earth. His work advanced naturalistic explanations by detailing sophisticated mechanisms of elemental transformation based on density changes.

Early Ionians & Pythagoreans

From Ionia and nearby regions, other influential figures emerged, expanding the philosophical discourse.

  • Xenophanes (c. 570–478 BC): A poet from Colophon, Xenophanes focused on theology and epistemology. He famously critiqued the anthropomorphic depiction of gods in Greek mythology, arguing that gods must be morally superior and that different cultures project their own likeness onto deities. He also offered naturalistic explanations for phenomena like rainbows and St. Elmo's fire, demonstrating an early form of empiricism and reductionism. Epistemologically, he questioned the certainty of human knowledge while advocating for gradual progress through critical thinking.
  • Heraclitus (c. 535–475 BC): Known for his doctrine of perpetual flux, Heraclitus posited fire as the arche of the world, an ever-living, ever-changing element from which all things originate and return. His famous maxim, ta panta rhei ("everything flows"), encapsulated the idea that nothing remains static, as illustrated by the "river fragments." He also introduced the concept of the "unity of opposites," where tension between opposing forces maintains cosmic stability, and the enigmatic notion of logos as a universal, unifying law.
  • Pythagoras (582–496 BC): Born on Samos, Pythagoras established a school in Croton, emphasizing numbers and their geometrical relations as the fundamental components of the universe. Pythagoreanism advocated for a harmonious life, ascetic practices, vegetarianism, and the study of mathematics and music to purify the soul. They believed in the transmigration of souls and influenced later thinkers like Plato, particularly in the mathematization of nature and the concept of soul immortality.

The Eleatics

Named after Elea in Southern Italy, this school, founded by Parmenides, challenged the notion of change and plurality.

  • Parmenides (c. 515 BC): A pivotal figure in Western metaphysics, Parmenides' poem On Nature argued that "What-is" (Being) is singular, unborn, unchanging, and infinite, akin to a perfect sphere. He contended that change and non-existence are illusions perceived by the senses, advocating for reason as the sole path to truth. His doctrine that "nothing comes from nothing" and the unity of being and thinking ("to think and to be is one and the same") profoundly influenced subsequent philosophy.
  • Zeno of Elea (c. 490–430 BC): A student of Parmenides, Zeno is renowned for his paradoxes, such as the Achilles paradox, which aimed to logically demonstrate the impossibility of motion and plurality, thereby defending Parmenides' monism. His arguments forced a rigorous examination of concepts like infinity and continuity.
  • Melissus of Samos (fl. 440 BC): Melissus further defended and elaborated Parmenides' theory in prose, without recourse to divine or mythical figures. He sought to explain why humans perceive the existence of non-existent objects, reinforcing the Eleatic stance on the singular, unchanging nature of reality.

Pluralists & Atomists

The Pluralists

The Pluralist school represented a sophisticated return to Milesian natural philosophy, refined by Eleatic critiques, proposing multiple fundamental elements rather than a single arche.

  • Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BC): The first major philosopher to settle in Athens, Anaxagoras proposed a "theory of everything" where "in everything there is a share of everything." He accepted Parmenides' idea of eternal existence but introduced panspermia (seeds of all things) and nous (mind or cosmic intelligence). Nous, a distinct element present in living things, was the orchestrating force that initiated motion and ordered the universe, though Anaxagoras did not attribute divine characteristics to it. His thought significantly influenced Socrates.
  • Empedocles (c. 494–434 BC): From Akragas, Empedocles wrote philosophical poems. He adopted the Eleatic concept of an unborn, everlasting universe and expanded Anaxagoras's idea of multiple elements, positing four "roots": fire, air, earth, and water. Crucially, he introduced two immaterial forces, Love and Strife, which alternately unite and separate these roots, creating the diversity of the world through a continuous cycle. Like Pythagoras, Empedocles believed in the transmigration of souls and was a vegetarian.

The Atomists

Leucippus and Democritus developed a revolutionary atomic cosmology, directly addressing the Eleatic challenge to motion and existence.

  • Leucippus (fl. 5th century BC) & Democritus (c. 460–370 BC): Both from Abdera, these philosophers are celebrated for their atomic theory. In response to the Eleatic claim that motion is impossible because everything is "What-is," they asserted that since motion demonstrably exists, "What-is-not" (void) must also exist. Atoms, according to them, possessed the Eleatic characteristics of being homogeneous and indivisible, thus resolving Zeno's paradoxes. These atoms move within the void, interacting mechanically to form the diverse world we perceive.
  • Determinism & Perception: A key conclusion of Atomism was determinism, encapsulated by Leucippus's statement: "Nothing comes to be random but everything is by reason and out of necessity." Democritus further argued that many of our senses are conventional rather than inherent properties of atoms. For instance, color, sweetness, or bitterness are not intrinsic to atoms but are perceptions arising from sensory interaction, leading to an "eliminativist" or "relativist" interpretation of sensory qualities.

The Sophists

Rhetoric & Education

The Sophists constituted a significant philosophical and educational movement in ancient Greece, preceding Socrates. They challenged traditional modes of thought, from divine authority to moral precepts, thereby laying groundwork for advancements in philosophy, drama, social sciences, mathematics, and history. While Plato later disparaged them, viewing philosophy as an elite pursuit, the Sophists offered instruction in rhetoric and the art of arguing from multiple perspectives to anyone who could pay, making them influential public speakers and legal advocates.

Relativism & Skepticism

The Sophists were often accused of moral and epistemological relativism, a stance some indeed appeared to champion. Their emphasis on persuasion and the subjective nature of truth led to debates about the foundations of knowledge and ethics.

  • Protagoras (c. 490–420 BC): Famous for his dictum, "Man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, of things that are not that they are not." This is often interpreted as philosophical relativism, suggesting that knowledge is relative to human perception and understanding. He also expressed agnosticism regarding the gods, citing the obscurity of the question and the brevity of human life as obstacles to certainty.
  • Gorgias (c. 483–375 BC): In his work On Nature, Gorgias critically engaged with Eleatic concepts, arguing that nonexistence cannot exist and that "What-is" is impossible. Modern scholars debate whether he was a serious skeptic or merely a rhetorical showman.
  • Antiphon (c. 480–411 BC): Antiphon contrasted natural law with the laws of the city, suggesting that one need only obey city laws if there is a risk of being caught. This perspective hints at a form of careful hedonism, prioritizing personal pleasure and avoidance of pain within practical constraints.

Later Pre-Socratics

Philolaus of Croton

Philolaus (c. 470–380 BC), a Pythagorean, was influenced by Anaxagoras and Empedocles. He sought to explain both the unity and diversity of the cosmos. He introduced the concept of Harmonia as a binding force that allows masses to take shape and interact. His cosmological model posited a structure composed of apeira (unlimiteds) and perainonta (limiters), attempting to reconcile the various elements and forces at play in the universe. Philolaus is also noted for his advancement of heliocentrism, suggesting that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the planetary orbits.

Diogenes of Apollonia

Diogenes of Apollonia (born c. 460 BC), from Thrace, marked a return to Milesian monism, but with a more refined and elegant approach. He asserted that "all things are alterations of the same things and are the same thing," explaining that despite changes in form, objects retain their ontological identity. He emphasized the importance of aēr (air) as the fundamental substance, believing it to be intelligent and the source of all life and order in the cosmos. Diogenes also formulated what might be considered one of the earliest teleological arguments, suggesting that the optimal arrangement of natural phenomena implies an underlying intelligence.

Key Philosophical Topics

Epistemology: The Nature of Knowledge

Centuries before the Pre-Socratics, poets like Homer and Hesiod attributed true knowledge exclusively to the divine. However, with Xenophanes, a shift occurred towards a more naturalistic approach to knowledge. The Pre-Socratics sought a method to comprehend the cosmos, acknowledging the inherent limits of human understanding. While Pythagoras and Empedocles linked their wisdom to divine inspiration, they encouraged mortals to seek truth about the natural world—Pythagoras through mathematics and geometry, Empedocles through sensory experience. Xenophanes, a pessimist about human certainty, nonetheless believed in gradual progress via critical thinking. Heraclitus and Parmenides, in contrast, emphasized humanity's capacity to grasp nature through direct observation, rigorous inquiry, and profound reflection.

Theology: Reimagining the Divine

Pre-Socratic thought significantly contributed to the demythologization of Greek popular religion, shifting the discourse away from divine intervention and paving the way for teleological explanations. They critically examined the anthropomorphic representations of gods established by Homer and Hesiod, initiating a schism between natural philosophy and traditional theology. While not atheists (a dangerous stance at the time), they minimized or eliminated the gods' involvement in natural phenomena. Anaximander's apeiron, for instance, possessed attributes typically ascribed to Zeus. Xenophanes' critique of anthropomorphism set three preconditions for God: all-good, immortal, and non-human in appearance, profoundly impacting Western religious thought. Later, Anaxagoras's nous and Diogenes of Apollonia's teleological arguments further explored the concept of an intelligent, ordering force in the universe.

Medicine: From Gods to Nature

Before the Pre-Socratics, health and illness were largely attributed to divine governance. Pre-Socratic philosophy and medicine evolved in parallel, with medicine often considered an integral part of philosophical inquiry. Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of medicine, later initiated a separation—though not a complete divorce—between the two domains. Physicians incorporated Pre-Socratic philosophical ideas about the natural world into their theoretical frameworks. For example, epilepsy, once seen as divine intervention, was reinterpreted by Hippocrates' school as a natural phenomenon, mirroring Milesian rationalism's demythologization of other natural events like earthquakes. This systematic study of anatomy, physiology, and disease, driven by a search for cause-effect relationships, laid the groundwork for rational science in medicine.

Cosmology: Unveiling Cosmic Matter

The Pre-Socratics were pioneers in offering reductive explanations for a vast array of natural phenomena, primarily focusing on the fundamental cosmic matter. They grappled with the mystery of the universe's basic substance:

  • Anaximander: Proposed apeiron (the limitless), suggesting an eternal, boundless origin.
  • Anaximenes: Identified aēr (air) as the primary principle, recognizing its vital role and transformative capacity.
  • Heraclitus: Posited fire as the ever-transforming primary principle, embodying his doctrine of perpetual flux (panta rhei).
  • Parmenides: Suggested two everlasting building blocks, night and day, forming the universe.
  • Empedocles: Introduced four "roots" (fire, air, earth, water) and two driving forces, Love and Strife, for their mixture.
  • Anaxagoras: Proposed "myriads" of substances, with Nous (mind) orchestrating their mixtures without divine attributes.
  • Leucippus & Democritus: Asserted the universe consists of atoms and void, with atomic motion accounting for all observed changes.

Rationalism & Scientific Thought

The Pre-Socratic intellectual revolution is widely considered the initial step in liberating the human mind from mythical narratives, initiating a trajectory towards reason and scientific thought that profoundly shaped modern Western philosophy and science. They sought to understand nature through rationalism, observation, and explanations that could be deemed scientific, thereby giving birth to Western rationalism. Thales' quest for a unitary arche, based on reason rather than divinity, marked a significant milestone in scientific thinking through reduction and generalization. Anaximander's principle of sufficient reason and the concept that "nothing comes from nothing" were revolutionary. Most Pre-Socratics, especially the Atomists, were indifferent or actively rejected teleology, explaining phenomena as purposeless consequences of atomic motion. Karl Popper famously traced the roots of modern science to these early Greek philosophers, emphasizing the continuity of their critical, rational attitude. While some scholars, like F. M. Cornford, viewed the Ionians as dogmatic speculators due to their lack of empiricism, their foundational contributions to rational inquiry remain undeniable.

Enduring Legacy

Influence in Antiquity

The Pre-Socratics exerted a direct and profound influence on classical antiquity, shaping the philosophical thought of later figures, historians, and playwrights. Their legacy branched into two main traditions: the Socrato-Ciceronian and the Platonic-Aristotelian.

  • Socrates & Cicero: Young Socrates was initially drawn to the physiologoi's quest for cosmic substance but later shifted his focus to epistemology, virtue, and ethics, believing humans incapable of fully comprehending the cosmos. Cicero, in his Tusculanae Disputationes, distinguished the theoretical nature of Pre-Socratic thought from earlier "sages" who pursued more practical concerns, echoing Xenophon's observation of Socrates' interest in human affairs (ta anthropina).
  • Plato & Aristotle: Both Plato and Aristotle were deeply influenced. Aristotle discussed the Pre-Socratics in his Metaphysics as an introduction to his own philosophy, crediting Thales as the first philosopher, though his interpretations were often retrospective and framed by his own teleological views. Plato, while attacking Pre-Socratic materialism, also engaged with their ideas.
  • Hellenistic Era: Later Hellenistic schools further developed Pre-Socratic concepts. The Stoics integrated elements from Anaxagoras (nous) and Heraclitus (fire), while the Epicureans saw Democritus's atomism as a precursor to their own doctrines. The Sceptics found connections with Xenophanes' epistemological doubts.

Modern Reinterpretations

The Pre-Socratics, as originators of core Western concepts like freedom, democracy, individual autonomy, and rationalism, continued to resonate through the modern era.

  • Francis Bacon (16th Century): A key figure in advancing the scientific method, Bacon extensively utilized Pre-Socratic axioms. He criticized their deductive reasoning, particularly Xenophanes' theory of knowledge, arguing it couldn't yield meaningful results—a view largely rejected by contemporary philosophy of science. Bacon's affinity for Pre-Socratics, especially Democritus's atomism, likely stemmed from his anti-Aristotelian stance.
  • Friedrich Nietzsche (19th Century): Nietzsche profoundly admired the Pre-Socratics, labeling them "tyrants of the spirit" and contrasting them favorably with Socrates and his successors. He weaponized their antiteleology and materialism (e.g., Democritus) in his critique of Christianity and its morals. Nietzsche viewed them as the earliest ancestors of modern science, linking Empedocles to Darwinism and Heraclitus to physicists like Helmholtz. In his Apollonian and Dionysian dialectics, the Pre-Socratics embodied the creative, Dionysian aspect, representing a glorious era of Greek thought before what he perceived as a subsequent decay.
  • Martin Heidegger (20th Century): Heidegger found the foundational roots of his phenomenology and later concepts of "Things" and the "Fourfold" in the Pre-Socratics. He regarded Anaximander, Parmenides, and Heraclitus as original thinkers on Being, identifying it in their work as physis (emergence, contrasted with concealment) or aletheia (truth as unconcealment), underscoring their profound ontological insights.

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References

References

  1.  Barnes 1987, p. 10; Warren 2014, pp. 1–2.
  2.  Laks & Most 2018, pp. 29–31; Runia 2008, p. 28.
  3.  Early Greek Philosophy, Volume 1: Introductory and Reference Material, Edited and Translated by André Laks and Glenn W. Most, Loeb Classical Library 524 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016) 6–8.
  4.  Irwin 1999, p. 6; Barnes 1987, pp. 24–35; Warren 2014, pp. 7–9.
  5.  Warren 2014, p. 3; Curd 2020, Introduction.
  6.  Curd 2008, p. 3; Burkert 2008, pp. 55–56.
  7.  Evans 2019, pp. 12–14; Barnes 1987, p. 14; Laks & Most 2018, p. 53.
  8.  Barnes 1987, p. 14; Laks & Most 2018, p. 53.
  9.  Kirk & Raven 1977, pp. 8–9, 71–72; Barnes 1987, pp. 55–59; Waterfield 2000, pp. xx–xxiv.
  10.  Kirk & Raven 1977, pp. 10, 19; Barnes 1987, p. 55.
  11.  Waterfield 2000, p. xxii; Barnes 1987, pp. 56–67.
  12.  Barnes 1987, pp. 16–24; Vamvacas 2009, p. 27.
  13.  Warren 2014, p. 25; Sandywell 1996, p. 38.
  14.  Barnes 1987, pp. 39–42; Warren 2014, p. 3.
  15.  Sandywell 1996, pp. 75–78; Kirk & Raven 1977, p. 73.
  16.  Barnes 1987, p. 36; Warren 2014, p. 23.
  17.  Sandywell 1996, p. 89; Kirk & Raven 1977, pp. 74–75.
  18.  Sandywell 1996, pp. 97–98; Warren 2014, p. 27.
  19.  Barnes 1987, pp. 36–37; Warren 2014, pp. 28–33.
  20.  Warren 2014, pp. 33–37; Sandywell 1996, pp. 172–173.
  21.  Mourelatos 2008; Curd 2020, Xenophanes of Colophon and Heraclitus of Ephesus.
  22.  Sandywell 1996, pp. 263–265; Graham 2008, pp. 175–177.
  23.  Sandywell 1996, pp. 263–265; Curd 2020, Xenophanes of Colophon and Heraclitus of Ephesus.
  24.  Warren 2014, p. 63; Sandywell 1996, p. 237.
  25.  Barnes 1987, p. 81; Sandywell 1996, p. 189.
  26.  Warren 2014, p. 39; Sandywell 1996, p. 197.
  27.  Curd 2020, The Pythagorean Tradition; Sandywell 1996, pp. 192–194.
  28.  Curd 2020, The Pythagorean Tradition; Sandywell 1996, p. 195.
  29.  Barnes 1987, p. 129; Sandywell 1996, p. 295.
  30.  Warren 2014, p. 77; Barnes 1987, pp. 40–41.
  31.  Warren 2014, pp. 77–80; Sandywell 1996, p. 300.
  32.  Barnes 1987, pp. 148–149; Warren 2014, pp. 103–104.
  33.  Primavesi 2008, pp. 250; Warren 2014, pp. 135–137.
  34.  Warren 2014, pp. 137–141; Vamvacas 2009, pp. 169–172.
  35.  Van der Eijk 2008, p. 387; Longrigg 2013, pp. 1–2.
  36.  Van der Eijk 2008, pp. 387, 395–399; Longrigg 2013, pp. 1–2.
  37.  Barnes 1987, p. 17; Hankinson 2008, pp. 453–455.
  38.  Barnes 1987, p. 16; Laks & Most 2018, p. 36.
  39.  Laks & Most 2018, pp. 1–8; Palmer 2008, pp. 534–554.
  40.  Frede 2008, p. 503; Palmer 2008, p. 536.
  41.  Sandywell 1996, p. 7; Laks & Most 2018, pp. 21–22.
  42.  Sandywell 1996, pp. 69–71; Laks & Most 2018, p. 73.
A full list of references for this article are available at the Pre-Socratic philosophy Wikipedia page

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