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knowledge of all that man can know, as well for the conduct of his life as for the preservation of his health and the discovery of all the arts, and that knowledge to subserve these ends must necessarily be deduced from first causes; so that in order to study the acquisition of it (which is properly called philosophizing), we must commence with the investigation of those first causes which are called
Principles. Now, these principles must possess two conditions: in the first place, they must be so clear and evident that the human mind, when it attentively considers them, cannot doubt their truth; in the second place, the knowledge of other things must be so dependent on them as that though the principles themselves may indeed be known apart from what depends on them, the latter cannot nevertheless be known apart from the former. It will accordingly be necessary thereafter to endeavor so to deduce from those principles the knowledge of the things that depend on them, as that there may be nothing in the whole series of deductions which is not perfectly manifest.
435:
elements. It is clear, then, that in the science of nature as elsewhere, we should try first to determine questions about the first principles. The naturally proper direction of our road is from things better known and clearer to us, to things that are clearer and better known by nature; for the things that are known to us are not the same as the things known unconditionally (haplôs). Hence it is necessary for us to progress, following this procedure, from the things that are less clear by nature, but clearer to us, towards things that are clearer and better known by nature. (Phys. 184a10–21)
282:, considered as a divine primordial condition, from which everything else appeared. In the creation "chaos" is a gaping-void, but later the word is used to describe the space between the Earth and the sky, after their separation. "Chaos" may mean infinite space, or a formless matter which can be differentiated. The notion of temporal infinity was familiar to the Greek mind from remote antiquity in the religious conception of immortality. The conception of the "divine" as an origin influenced the first Greek philosophers. In the
535:
328:, who believed it was air. This is considered as a permanent substance or either one or more which is conserved in the generation of rest of it. From this all things first come to be and into this they are resolved in a final state. This source of entity is always preserved. Although their theories were primitive, these philosophers were the first to give an explanation of the physical world without referencing the supernatural; this opened the way for much of modern
448:
is the condition necessary for the existence of something, the basis for what he calls "first philosophy" or metaphysics. The search for first principles is not peculiar to philosophy; philosophy shares this aim with biological, meteorological, and historical inquiries, among others. But
Aristotle's
520:
I should have desired, in the first place, to explain in it what philosophy is, by commencing with the most common matters, as, for example, that the word philosophy signifies the study of wisdom, and that by wisdom is to be understood not merely prudence in the management of affairs, but a perfect
398:
Anaximenes, Anaximander's pupil, advanced yet another theory. He returns to the elemental theory, but this time posits air, rather than water, as the arche and ascribes to it divine attributes. He was the first recorded philosopher who provided a theory of change and supported it with observation.
390:
Phys. 150, 22). He probably intended it to mean primarily "indefinite in kind" but assumed it also to be "of unlimited extent and duration". The notion of temporal infinity was familiar to the Greek mind from remote antiquity in the religious conception of immortality and
Anaximander's description
434:
In every systematic inquiry (methodos) where there are first principles, or causes, or elements, knowledge and science result from acquiring knowledge of these; for we think we know something just in case we acquire knowledge of the primary causes, the primary first principles, all the way to the
335:
Thales of
Miletus (7th to 6th century BC), the father of philosophy, claimed that the first principle of all things is water, and considered it as a substance that contains in it motion and change. His theory was supported by the observation of moisture throughout the world and coincided with his
487:, to systematically doubt everything he could possibly doubt until he was left with what he saw as purely indubitable truths. Using these self-evident propositions as his axioms, or foundations, he went on to deduce his entire body of knowledge from them. The foundations are also called
239:) is an Ancient Greek word with primary senses "beginning", "origin" or "source of action": from the beginning, οr the original argument, "command". The first principle or element corresponds to the "ultimate underlying substance" and "ultimate indemonstrable principle".
251:
already embodied the desire to articulate reality as a whole and this universalizing impulse was fundamental for the first projects of speculative theorizing. It appears that the order of "being" was first imaginatively visualized before it was abstractly thought.
159:
terms, reasoning or arguments, in that the former are simply assumed and exist prior to the reasoning process and the latter are deduced or inferred after the initial reasoning process. First principles are generally treated in the realm of philosophy known as
84:
in the given arena, before reasoning up by asking which ones are relevant to the question at hand, then cross referencing conclusions based on chosen axioms and making sure conclusions do not violate any fundamental laws.
80:, if it starts directly at the level of established science and does not make assumptions such as empirical model and parameter fitting. "First principles thinking" consists of decomposing things down to the fundamental
439:
The connection between knowledge and first principles is not axiomatic as expressed in
Aristotle's account of a first principle (in one sense) as "the first basis from which a thing is known" (Met. 1013a14–15). For
407:(thinning or thickening), he explains how air is part of a series of changes. Rarefied air becomes fire, condensed it becomes first wind, then cloud, water, earth, and stone in order. The
780:
263:, the primordial world is described as a "watery chaos" from which everything else appeared. This watery chaos has similarities in the cosmogony of the Greek mythographer
449:
references to first principles in this opening passage of the
Physics and at the start of other philosophical inquiries imply that it is a primary task of philosophy.
135:; its hundreds of geometric propositions can be deduced from a set of definitions, postulates, and common notions: all three types constitute first principles.
255:
In the mythological cosmogonies of the Near East, the universe is formless and empty and the only existing thing prior to creation was the water abyss. In the
199:
and later "first principle" or "element". By extension, it may mean "first place", "method of government", "empire, realm", "authorities" The concept of an
426:
When
Aristotle explains in general terms what he tries to do in his philosophical works, he says he is looking for "first principles" (or "origins";
347:
Anaximander argued that water could not be the arche, because it could not give rise to its opposite, fire. Anaximander claimed that none of the
1313:
1253:
VOL I, Principles, Preface to the French edition. Author's letter to the translator of the book which may here serve as a preface, p. 181.
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theory that the Earth floated on water. His ideas were influenced by the Near-Eastern mythological cosmogony and probably by the
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375:(endless or boundless) is something completely indefinite; and Anaximander was probably influenced by the original
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332:(and philosophy), which has the same goal of explaining the world without dependence on the supernatural.
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that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. First principles in philosophy are from
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Descartes describes the concept of a first principle in the following excerpt from the preface to the
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The earliest Pre-Socratic philosophers, the Ionian material monists, sought to explain all of nature (
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within a set of approximations that do not include fitting the model to experimental data is an
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and the Habit of the First
Principle in Thomas Aquinas (New York: Einsiedler Press, 2019)
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that cannot be deduced from any other within that system. The classic example is that of
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and Chaos and made in divine Aether a silvery egg, from which everything else appeared.
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that some of the statements can be deduced from other statements. For example, in the
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The phrase: "Divine is that which had no beginning, neither end" is attributed to
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and other sciences, theoretical work is said to be from first principles, or
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for that which writers from
Aristotle onwards called "the substratum" (
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was "the first principle of the philosophy of which I was in search."
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In philosophy "first principles" are often somewhat synonymous with
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truths. His most famous proposition is "Je pense, donc je suis" (
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Among the material monists were the three
Milesian philosophers:
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24:
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is called "eternal and ageless". (Hippolitus I,6, I;DK B2)
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119:"All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; Socrates is mortal"
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This is described as a large windy-gap, almost unlimited (
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is technically what underlies all of reality/appearances.
360:
1051:
A Presocratics Reader: Selected Fragments and Testimonia
314:, who believed that everything was composed of water;
738:
278:(8th to 7th century BC), the origin of the world is
1153:
The internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Anaximenes
893:. Translation H.G.Evelyn White (1914): 116, 736-744
732:
391:was in terms appropriate to this conception. This
121:the last claim can be deduced from the first two.
344:(ocean) is the source of all springs and rivers.
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382:Anaximander was the first philosopher that used
1193:
1009:G.S. Kirk, J.E. Raven and M. Schofield (2003).
841:. Cambridge University Press. pp. 58, 59.
806:
153:terms and arguments, which are contrasted to
1166:C.S.Kirk, J.E.Raven and M.Schofield (2003).
1095:G.S.Kirk, J.E.Raven and M.Schofield (2003).
943:G.S.Kirk, J.E.Raven and M.Schofield (2003).
109:that are consistent with one another, it is
184:
684:First cause | philosophy | Britannica.com
675:, (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1966), 14.
658:First cause | philosophy | Britannica.com
143:In philosophy "first principles" are from
1123:William Keith Chambers Guthrie (2000).
1067:William Keith Chambers Guthrie (2000).
903:William Keith Chambers Guthrie (2000).
835:William Keith Chambers Guthrie (2000).
242:
89:include counterintuitive concepts with
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66:, first principles are referred to as
1314:Concepts in the philosophy of science
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223:before being formalized as a part of
164:, but are an important factor in any
868:. Clarendon Press. pp. 104–107.
861:
529:
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215:, through the physical theories of
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479:system of philosophy. He used the
147:attitudes commonly referred to as
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14:
1325:
984:The Beginnings of Western Science
862:West, Martin Litchfield (1984).
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688: › topic › first-cause
662: › topic › first-cause
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399:Using two contrary processes of
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340:statement that the surrounding
16:Basic proposition or assumption
1172:. Cambridge University Press.
1129:. Cambridge University Press.
1101:. Cambridge University Press.
1073:. Cambridge University Press.
1015:. Cambridge University Press.
949:. Cambridge University Press.
909:. Cambridge University Press.
791:
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569:, a calculation is said to be
235:sometimes also transcribed as
203:was adapted from the earliest
1:
1197:Presocratic Philosophy. Vol 3
1169:The Pre-socratic Philosophers
1126:A History of Greek Philosophy
1098:The Pre-socratic Philosophers
1070:A History of Greek Philosophy
1040:(24, 13).<DK 12 A9, B1>
1012:The Pre-socratic Philosophers
906:A History of Greek Philosophy
838:A History of Greek Philosophy
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503:), which he indicated in his
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1227:Aristotle's First Principles
1057:, 1996), pp. 9, 11 & 14.
946:The Presocratic Philosophers
810:Presocratic Philosophy vol.3
590:For example, calculation of
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988:University of Chicago Press
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379:of Hesiod (yawning abyss).
306:) in terms of one unifying
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686:https://www.britannica.com
660:https://www.britannica.com
635:Clean room implementation
463:Profoundly influenced by
1194:Barry Sandywell (1996).
807:Barry Sandywell (1996).
513:Principles of Philosophy
191:Ancient Greek philosophy
185:Ancient Greek philosophy
124:A first principle is an
43:attitudes and taught by
1309:Metaphysical principles
1231:Oxford University Press
786:A Greek-English Lexicon
505:Discourse on the Method
495:I think, therefore I am
286:cosmogony, the unaging
217:Pre-Socratic philosophy
1200:. Routledge New York.
973:-Metaph.A, 983, b6ff).
890:The Theogony of Hesiod
813:. Routledge New York.
797:Peters Lexicon:1967:23
596:Schrödinger's equation
523:
451:
437:
318:, who believed it was
247:The heritage of Greek
1266:Orestes J. Gonzalez,
571:from first principles
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432:
424:
982:Lindberg, David C.,
592:electronic structure
243:Mythical cosmogonies
105:, that is, a set of
1294:Concepts in physics
265:Pherecydes of Syros
179:axiomatic reasoning
1150:Daniel.W.Graham.
1055:Hackett Publishing
990:, 2010), pp. 28–9.
545:. You can help by
267:. In the mythical
70:or postulates. In
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1289:Abstraction
1212:pp. 142–144
615:Abstraction
473:rationalist
401:rarefaction
316:Anaximander
261:Enuma Elish
225:metaphysics
205:cosmogonies
145:first cause
91:reiteration
60:mathematics
41:first cause
33:proposition
31:is a basic
1283:Categories
1229:. Oxford:
646:References
620:Brute fact
526:In physics
388:Simplicius
326:Anaximenes
257:Babylonian
139:Philosophy
87:Physicists
49:postulates
37:assumption
21:philosophy
971:Aristotle
601:ab initio
576:ab initio
554:July 2023
469:Descartes
459:Descartes
442:Aristotle
415:Aristotle
290:produced
272:cosmogony
249:mythology
229:Aristotle
130:Euclid's
115:syllogism
77:ab initio
1225:(1988).
1085:p 55, 77
884:Tartarus
769:ἐξ ἀρχῆς
609:See also
603:approach
516:(1644):
490:a priori
422:writes:
349:elements
174:a priori
150:a priori
132:Elements
111:possible
53:Kantians
888:online
825:p.28,42
630:Present
585:fitting
567:physics
373:Apeiron
369:apeiron
342:Oceanus
338:Homeric
330:science
321:apeiron
288:Chronos
213:Orphism
72:physics
25:science
1237:
1204:
1176:
1133:
1105:
1077:
1019:
953:
932:Thales
913:
845:
817:
673:Ethics
594:using
471:was a
465:Euclid
444:, the
428:archai
324:; and
312:Thales
308:arche.
304:physis
292:Aether
284:Orphic
276:Hesiod
209:Hesiod
82:axioms
68:axioms
1184:p 144
1113:p 110
880:abyss
714:ἀρχαί
581:model
573:, or
497:, or
446:arche
409:arche
393:arche
384:arche
377:chaos
365:water
353:earth
280:Chaos
269:Greek
237:arkhé
233:Arche
221:Plato
201:arche
196:arche
126:axiom
1235:ISBN
1202:ISBN
1174:ISBN
1141:p 83
1131:ISBN
1103:ISBN
1075:ISBN
1017:ISBN
961:p.24
951:ISBN
921:p 83
911:ISBN
843:ISBN
815:ISBN
781:ἀρχή
755:ἀρχή
583:and
403:and
357:fire
219:and
211:and
62:and
27:, a
23:and
736:ɑːr
565:In
549:.
430:):
361:air
274:of
227:by
207:of
189:In
58:In
51:by
35:or
19:In
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783:,
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717:),
605:.
467:,
363:,
359:,
355:,
231:.
181:.
117:,
93:.
55:.
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1243:.
1210:.
1182:.
1156:.
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1111:.
1083:.
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1025:.
986:(
959:.
919:.
851:.
823:.
758:;
745:/
742:i
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730:/
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556:)
552:(
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