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A History of Greek Philosophy / THE SCHOOL OF MILETUS / ANAXIMENES

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Elpenor's note : It should be added at least that "with Anaximenes apparent differences of kind of quality are for the first time reduced to a common origin in differences of quantity" (Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, v. I, p. 126) with Burnet's remark (EGP, 74) that "a theory which explains everything as a form of a single substance", therefore "bound to regard all differences as quantitative, the only way to save the unity of the primary substance is to say that all diversities are due to the presence of more or less of it in a given space".

Such a belief is not 'materialistic' because in this primal substance there is attributed a divine character. Presocratic philosophy is internally connected with the ancient and rather theological poetry, that is mainly Homer and Hesiod. Anaximenes belongs to this tradition, but without a deep interest in its theological dimension; as Guthrie observes "religion had little appeal for him" (l.c. p. 140).

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Cf. Guthrie, The Early Presocratics and the Pythagoreans - A Synopsis of Greek Philosophy

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