File:Illustrerad_Verldshistoria_band_I_Ill_107.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ36303· pop 160· linked from 927 articles

Thales

Also known as Thales of Miletus

ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician

AI overview

Thales was an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived around 2,600 years ago and is often considered the first Western philosopher. He matters because he pioneered the idea of explaining the natural world through reason and observation rather than mythology, laying the groundwork for Western science and philosophy.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Part of: Seven Sages of Greece
Gender: male
Place of birth: Miletus
Place of death: Miletus
Occupation: teacher
Languages spoken: Ancient Greek
Religion: monism
Notable work: Thales' theorem
Field of work: mathematics
Movement: Pre-Socratic philosophy
Image: Illustrerad Verldshistoria band I Ill 107.svg
Residence: Miletus

Show 12 more facts

Commons category: Thales of Miletus
date of death: 0545-00-00
student: Pythagoras
topic's main category: Category:Thales of Miletus
name in native language: Θαλῆς ὁ Μιλήσιος
writing language: Ancient Greek
present in work: The Divine Comedy
cause of death: heat stroke
date of birth: 0620-00-00
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
maintained by WikiProject: WikiProject Mathematics
manner of death: natural causes

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

1 object attributed to Thales, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

Untitled

~34 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Thales of Miletus (/ˈθeɪliːz/ THAY-leez; Ancient Greek: Θαλῆς; c. 626/623 – c. 548/545 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages, founding figures of Ancient Greece.

Beginning in eighteenth-century historiography, many came to regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition, breaking from the prior use of mythology to explain the world and instead using natural philosophy. He is thus otherwise referred to as the first to have engaged in mathematics, science, and deductive reasoning.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Thales” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.