PANDEMONIUM BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS.
Merida, Venezuela, 1999. COPYRIGHT: Franz J. T. Lee.
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Towards Philosophy: Thales
Thinking a n d Thought:
cogitare e t cogitatio.
Cosmos and Thinking
Within the eviternal boundless cosmic process, Thinking commences somewhence, nowhence, everywhence; somewhere, nowhere, everywhere; somewhither, nowhither, everywhither.
According to "modern scientists", some twenty-five million years ago, on the "Dark Continent", with the advent of the Ape Man or Man Ape, Proconsul, towards homo sahelanthropus tchadensis, some seven million years ago, the melodrama of "human history" had begun. Thus, in the bosom of "Mother Africa", the seeds for cogitare (Thinking) and cogitatio (Thought) were born. Nonetheless, in the alma mater, officially we are being taught that around 600 B.C., with Thales of Miletus scientific and philosophic Thinking and Thought began.
A Question par excellence!
However, it is certain that the Milesian philosophic
"synthesis" was filled with
"cultured" and "civilized" Aurora; measured by
"continental" standards, not all ancient global ones, it was new and original,
id
est, it was primeval, primogenital, primordial. Now, what was the "subject"
matter of this Milesian archaic thinking? Thales,
Anaximander
and Anaximenes wanted to know: what is, what is the arché
? What is Being? What is the Essence of Being, of Things? What is Human
Being? What is the Essence of Human Being?
Of course, a posteriori, it is well-nigh impossible to decipher what exactly the Milesians were thinking, what their concepts precisely denoted, but some erudite scholars have tried to throw light on this sphingid labyrinth. Unfortunately, we have to depend on the "official" interpretations of these experts, who generally affirm the "Western", "Cultured", "Christian", "Civilized" status quo; notwithstanding, negating them, by taking them with us, in omnia mecum porto mea * style, we will reorient their elucidations with our own supersensitive, oscillating magnet needle of thinking and thought. As we indicated in the introduction, concerning Ancient Greek Philosophy, the maxim, ex oriente lux, ** definitively merits academic, educative consideration.
Miletus: Cradle of Western Philosophy
Fiat lux! *** Let us spotlight ancient Miletus. Many ancient cities, like Babylon, Athens or Rome, are world-renowned, strange enough, the birthplace of Western Philosophy is nearly unknown. Yet, between the 8th and 5th Centuries B.C., Miletus was a flourishing sea-port, which reflected the original primitive accumulation of capital in Asia Minor.
From the harbour of the "Ornament of Ionia" (Herodotus), the Milesian ships sailed in all directions in the Mediterranean region, a colossal merchant navy, protected by an invincible war fleet. They were fully laden with merchandise, with fabrics woven and dyed in its local industry, with decorated garments carpets and pottery. Its woollens were highly in demand in Athens and Southern Italy. The famous cloak of Antisthenes of Sybaris was produced in Ionia; its zones of exotic flowers and beautiful pictures was a Milesian mistresspiece of embroidery in Oriental style. On all ancient Mediterranean markets Milesians were present.
Ancient Beverly Hills & Haute Couture
Miletus was a mighty colonial power, it conquered commercial cities from the Hellespont to the Black Sea (Euxine). Ionia was also the cradle of "high society" and "culture". About the ruling classes, A. Jarde, a French scholar, gave us a vivid picture:
"Phocacea, Ephesos, and the other great
towns of Ionia,
peopled, like Miletus, by a busy throng
of merchants,
craftsmen, and sailors, were all the scene
of the like
activity and the like wealth. Everywhere
there was the same
taste for luxury, the same love of fine
fabrics and rich jewels;
everywhere there were the same banquets
and festivals.
The courtesans of Ionia were models of
elegance and culture,
and all antiquity would marvel at the friend
of Pericles,
Milesian Aspasia."
Well, Ionia had its Miss Cosmos International
beauty contests, its own
"Irene Saez", the beloved courtesan "wife" of
Pericles, Aspasia. Xenophanes of Colophon vividly
portrayed this wealthy class, whose honoured members were strolling on
the Agora "clad all in purple, with their hair beautifully dressed, shedding
the perfume of subtle ointments." Of course, the waterfront workers and
the slaves were not depicted by Xenophanes.
Water and Capital
Now, what has the "accumulation of capital" got to do with the "hydor" (Water) of Thales of Miletus? Not only was Miletus a sea-port, its wealth came from overseas, came from water. It was the first Greek city to use coined money, as exchange value in trade. All merchandise could be exchanged across this medium. Furthermore, the famous Temple of Apollo at Didyma was not only a "Vatican", the shrine of worship for the whole region, it was also the Ionian "Bank of Ambrosia". The wealthy temple authorities minted coins, acted as employees of a type of "Central Bank"; they held deposits, and supervised the whole Mediterranean commercial business.
Another highly prized commodity was "speaking-tools",
slaves. The
traders captured "barbarian" slaves in Asia Minor,
and they were sold across Hellas. The slave-owning merchant and ship-owning
classes of Miletus became so rich, that even the legendary wealthy King
Croesus of Lydia came to its "CEO's" and "billionaires" for funds. Ionia,
especially Miletus, was certainly the most suitable birthplace of capitalism
and of its ideological superstructure, of Western Philosophy. In commerce,
coined money was the best exchange value; in philosophy, water was
the best arché
into which everything could be changed, "rechanged" and exchanged.
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