Implications of Monism attitude to The Principle (ἀρχὴ) in Pre-Socraticsʼ Thought

Malekmohammadi, Ali

Implications of Monism attitude to The Principle (ἀρχὴ) in Pre-Socraticsʼ Thought

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Ali Malekmohammadi

Master PhD. Student in Ancient and Medival Philosophy, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This article aims to investigate how explained the relation between the one and the pluralities in Early Pre-Socratic philosophers' thoughts. Discussion of the one\the pluralities matters especially introduced in the discussion of the relationship between the one principle and the coming to be of beings as the pluralities that they are pendent on that one principle. Early Pre-Socratic philosophers after accepting the one principle, proceed to explain the relationship < /span> between the one\the pluralities in different manners. We can classify these explanations in three mainstream. In the first stream both the one principle and the pluralities or beings accepted by Thales, Anaximenes, and Anaximander. In the second stream despite the fact that being of the one\the pluralities accepted, Xenophanesian and Heraclitusian understanding of the one principle somehow leads to recognizing that positing the one principle is not consisting with acceptance of pluralities. In the third stream that Parmenides is a most basic representative of it, being of pluralities absolutely denied. It should show that how throughout these three streams, concepts of "one", "pluralities" and "relationship" between the one and the pluralities developed and extend and provide the context for maximal dehiscence of monism attitude to the principle.

Keywords

Early Pre-Socratics

the One

the pluralities

the principle

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