#284 - Thales of Miletus

#284 - Thales of Miletus

From Books of Titans Podcast by Erik Rostad

March 27, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

This episode explores the life and ideas of Thales of Miletus, the Father of Natural Philosophy, and his impact on the shift from mythological to natural explanations of the world.

Aristotle called Thales the Father of Natural Philosophy. At a very high level, he’s credited with shifting from mythos to logos, from a mythological explanation of the world to one based upon natural observation. Thales believed that water was the underlying principle of everything, that an immortal soul existed, and that earthquakes were caused by waves underneath a flat earth instead of by the gods. Thales of Miletus is one of the earliest Greek philosophers (625 - 545 BC) and in this podcast episode, I look at his life, his ideas, and his impact both now and then. Books Referenced: * Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics * The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Host: Erik Rostad

Topics covered

  • Greek philosophy
  • natural philosophy
  • Thales
  • mythos to logos
  • water as principle
  • earthquakes
  • immortal soul

Keywords

  • Thales
  • natural philosophy
  • Aristotle
  • Greek philosophers
  • mythos
  • logos
  • water principle
  • earthquakes
  • immortal soul

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes, The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield

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