The Birth of Science in Ancient Greece (Essay Sample)

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Flame of Miletus: The Birth of Science in Ancient Greece
Introduction
The Birth of Science in Ancient Greece is a story of the beginning and developments of science in the Aegean coast, Athens and Alexandria, and eventually throughout the world. The chaos and disorder that existed in the world was brought to an end starting in the early first millennium BC. This happened in Miletus and other Greek Cities such as Athens and Alexandria, starting with the migration of the Hellenes to the coast of Asia Minor through Aegean. This new form of order was first established by three Hellenic tribes that took part in the exodus; Aeolians who settled on the northern part of Aegean on the shores of Asia Minor, the Ionians who settled on the southern parts of Aegean and the Dorians who settled further south towards the peninsulas of Anatolia. The Greek culture then grew from an ancient state where it was the cruel gods of the earth that called the shots, as described by Homer in the odessey and the Iliad. The developments that followed this series of migration and settlement on different parts of Aegean has been described by different historians and philosophers from Greece.
Thales, also known as the Father of Western Philosophy did not believe that the order and development of things in the world were as a result of the work of gods. He was well learned in science of the East and came up with some of the greatest scientific discoveries including the prediction of solar eclipses and measurement of shadows of objects to estimate distance and locations. Thales is also remembers for diverting a river to achieve a better position for the Milesian army against an enemy city. Thales also brought contributed to some of the order in the world today by discovering the process of rational enquiry also known as the essence of all matter. Through rational inquiry Thales managed to ask what modern science today considers to be the right questions in science. He believed that the world was a by-product of some material substance that was the base of all other substances. He believed that water was the single formative substance of the universe whose inner mechanics brought all other things into being, rather than the gods.
Parmenides is also another Milesian thinker that contributed towards the order and harmony in Greece and the rest of the world today. He argued that the world as it is, is just as reflection of a pure and holistic Reality. He went on to argue that this reality is always present and that the past is a mere present memory. He added that Reality always is and that the notion of determining some distant origin in life is an absurd idea. This is because the material objects that exist in life today must have come into being from somewhere.
Another great Milesian thinker that contributed to the current order and harmony in the world was Pythagoras, an astute mathematician who was a deep mystic especially in Orphic mysteries. The discerned geometric patterns. He believed that these patterns made up the world and also that they were religious formulas that opened up the deeper realities of the spirits that lay beyond the visible world.
Zeno is one of the Greek Stoics who believed that the world was under the rule of a divine plan and that whatever happens in the world happens for a reason. He believes that the ultimate virtue of nature was to live in accord with the divine plan and that human beings should learn to accept their fate with indifference. Zeno took a slightly different take from pother Greek philosophers and he sought to give humans a stable basis for inner peace and ethics given the chaotic face of the world and the hostile environment. Like other Stoics, Zeno strived to participate actively in the world affairs and fulfill his duty to the greater worldwide community. This is what led to the belief that the good of life as it is today includes justice, bravery, self-control and cultivating intelligence.
Another brilliant natural philosopher from Greece was Democritus who developed the Leucippus’ atomist theory of the cosmos. He argued that the world is so minute, unchanging, and solid, and made out of eternal or indivisible atomic particles that are suspended in an airy void. He believed that just two things truly exist in the universe; the void and the atoms in it. It was Democritus’ theory that led to the current modern scientific concept of atoms that are forever in existence, and do not change in form. He argued that life comes into existence as a result of what comes out of the atoms, wears down and dies eventually but that they all produce the vibrant qualities that form the nature of all living things as we know them. He also proposed the eternal principle of undergirding such arrangements or motion of the atoms, implying that the quality of motion is also eternal. His mechanistic theory is what formed the basis of modern science including his contributions in embryology, which involves the study of the behavior and growth of biological life. He also came up with the concept of evolution as he saw human life and form as a development that arose out of the ancient structure of mud and water, for example worms.
Anaximander is responsible for the order of things in the scientific world today as he continued with the intellectual tradition set forth by Thales. He is mostly known for publishing Concerning Nature, and also for the fact that he objected Thales’ theory that the universe was a by-product of just one substance; water. Instead, Anaximander believed that the universe was formed from some kind of formless and primal material that was found infinitely throughout all forms of creation. He also believed that the universe would eventually turn into the same form...