Chapter 2: The Presocratic Sophos
sophos - answerSage or wise man; term applied to the first philosophers; from the
Greek word for "wise"
monism - answerThe general name for the belief that everything consists of only one,
ultimate, unique substance such as matter or spirit.
rational discourse - answerThe interplay of carefully argued ideas; the use of reason to
order, clarify, and identify reality and truth according to agreed-upon standards of
verification.
principle of sufficient reason - answerThe principle that nothing happens without a
reason; consequently, no adequate theory or explanation can contain any brute, crude,
unexplained facts. First specifically encountered in the work of the medieval philosopher
Peter Abelard (1079-1142), it is usually associated with the rationalist philosopher
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), who used it in his famous "best of all possible
worlds" argument.
apeiron - answerAccording to Anaximander, the first principle from which all existing
things develop, a vast "Indefinite-Infinite"; the apeiron is an infinite mass of forces with
no specific qualities.
pneuma - answerAccording to Anaximenes, the ultimate pervasive spirit that holds the
world together; all things are produced by either "rarefaction" of the pneuma, which
creates fire, or condensation of the pneuma, which creates (in order of density) wind,
cloud, water, earth, and stone.
psyche - answerGreek for "soul"; in today's terms, a combination of mind and soul,
including the capacity for reflective thinking.
logos - answerOne of the richest and most complex terms in ancient philosophy;
associated meanings include "intelligence," "speech," "discourse, "thought," "reason,"
"word," "meaning" ; the root of "log" (record), "logo," "logic," and the "ology" suffix found
in terms like sociology and physiology, According to Heraclitus, the rule according to
which all things are accomplished and the law which is found in all things.
cosmos - answerGreek term for "ordered whole"; first used by the Pythagoreans to
characterize the universe as an ordered whole consisting of harmonies of contrasting
elements.
cosmology - answerFrom the Greek word kosmos, meaning "world," universe," or
"orderly structure," the study of the universe as an ordered system or cosmos.
sophos - answerSage or wise man; term applied to the first philosophers; from the
Greek word for "wise"
monism - answerThe general name for the belief that everything consists of only one,
ultimate, unique substance such as matter or spirit.
rational discourse - answerThe interplay of carefully argued ideas; the use of reason to
order, clarify, and identify reality and truth according to agreed-upon standards of
verification.
principle of sufficient reason - answerThe principle that nothing happens without a
reason; consequently, no adequate theory or explanation can contain any brute, crude,
unexplained facts. First specifically encountered in the work of the medieval philosopher
Peter Abelard (1079-1142), it is usually associated with the rationalist philosopher
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), who used it in his famous "best of all possible
worlds" argument.
apeiron - answerAccording to Anaximander, the first principle from which all existing
things develop, a vast "Indefinite-Infinite"; the apeiron is an infinite mass of forces with
no specific qualities.
pneuma - answerAccording to Anaximenes, the ultimate pervasive spirit that holds the
world together; all things are produced by either "rarefaction" of the pneuma, which
creates fire, or condensation of the pneuma, which creates (in order of density) wind,
cloud, water, earth, and stone.
psyche - answerGreek for "soul"; in today's terms, a combination of mind and soul,
including the capacity for reflective thinking.
logos - answerOne of the richest and most complex terms in ancient philosophy;
associated meanings include "intelligence," "speech," "discourse, "thought," "reason,"
"word," "meaning" ; the root of "log" (record), "logo," "logic," and the "ology" suffix found
in terms like sociology and physiology, According to Heraclitus, the rule according to
which all things are accomplished and the law which is found in all things.
cosmos - answerGreek term for "ordered whole"; first used by the Pythagoreans to
characterize the universe as an ordered whole consisting of harmonies of contrasting
elements.
cosmology - answerFrom the Greek word kosmos, meaning "world," universe," or
"orderly structure," the study of the universe as an ordered system or cosmos.
