Philosopher Equal to Gods – EMPEDOCLES

Empedocles, a resident of the city of Acragas in South Italy (c. 494 – 434 BCE), was not only the doctor of his time but also a famous philosopher. History knows him primarily as a philosopher. Therefore, this wise man was both a physicist, an astronomer, and a biologist.

Empedocles says that there is no creation or destruction. Creation is the union of elements. It’s that simple. Destruction is the disintegration of that union. The foundation of matter lies in four elements – fire, water, air, and earth. Life is the combination of fire, air, water, and earth particles; death is the decomposition of organisms in nature. As a result of this decomposition, new objects are formed. As we can see, the philosopher synthesizes the concepts of Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Heraclitus.

These elements, which Empedocles calls “roots,” form the foundation of objects. Objects do not come into existence or perish; they are formed from the combination of the mentioned elements. When destroyed, these elements disperse. For objects to form, the elements must be set in motion. Thus, there must be an external force that unites and separates them. The philosopher names these forces as love and hate. They are in constant motion. Love unites and creates, while hate, the opposite force, divides and destroys. This process is continually repeated. However, the four fundamental elements neither emerge nor perish. They are eternal, unchanging, and move due to the two aforementioned forces. The structure of the world depends on which force is dominant at a given moment in time.

Empedocles’ concept reminds us of the law of conservation of mass in modern physics. “Nothing can come from nothing, and no existing object can be destroyed” – in this way, Empedocles first formulates the law of conservation of mass. In its modern form, this law states that the mass of a physical system remains constant in all processes.

Like Parmenides, Empedocles believes that the creation of being from nothing is impossible and declares that the world was not created by anyone. According to the philosopher, living beings originated from inanimate ones, and it was love that gave them breath.

Over time, Empedocles discovers that there is competition among living beings and develops the theory that the stronger one wins and survives. This idea can be considered the first form of the modern theory of “natural selection.” Some 23 centuries after Empedocles, Charles Darwin would establish the foundation of the theory of evolution and discover that “natural selection” is one of the key mechanisms of evolution.

Natural selection is the survival and reproduction of organisms better adapted to their environment, while those less adapted are destroyed. Natural selection is the complete opposite of artificial selection, or selective breeding, and Darwin uses this distinction to illustrate his point.

The English naturalist considers natural selection the primary mechanism of evolution and comes to the conclusion that the same process can be applied not only to individual organisms but also to entire species.

Empedocles, who uncovered the main mechanism of evolution, takes the first step in the formation of the theory. Evolution may be one of the most magnificent and dramatic works of science. Evolution is the natural process of development in life, where the hereditary characteristics of living organisms change from generation to generation, resulting in the survival and reproduction of those adapted to their environment.

The first ideas about evolution were formed in ancient times. Before Empedocles, Anaximander, a member of the Milesian school of philosophy, developed a similar theory. According to him, the first animals lived in the water and later emerged onto the land. Also, humans are descendants of fish or fish-like creatures. Similar theories were also developed by other ancient philosophers and evolved during the medieval period.

However, the First Scientific Theory of Evolution Was Created Two Centuries Ago by Charles Darwin.
The English naturalist described his theory in the book On the Origin of Species, which sold out by the day of its publication. The central ideas of the book are as follows:

Living organisms, if there are no barriers, multiply in an unlimited manner. Based on the calculations of German naturalist Ehrenberg, a simple, single-celled infusoria could grow so much in five years, without any obstacles, that it would create a mass 10^4 times the volume of the Earth.

Natural resources are limited.

The limitation of natural resources prevents living organisms from multiplying in unlimited numbers, and they are forced to fight for survival.

Another factor is variability. Living organisms differ from one another, which means they have different chances in the struggle for survival and reproduction. These two factors form the basis of natural selection.

Let’s return to Empedocles.

Empedocles, who was aware of the physiology of respiration, discovers that air is physical, meaning material. Light travels at a great speed, but seeing this is beyond human capabilities. However, this speed can be measured; it is not infinite – says the wise man from Acragas. This idea of Empedocles was revolutionary and opposed the physics of his time. Twenty-one centuries later, in 1676, the Danish astronomer Ole Rømer experimentally proves that the speed of light is not infinite. To do this, he observes the eclipses of Jupiter’s moons at the nearest and farthest distances from Earth. Empedocles was right.

Empedocles clarifies the difference between planets and stars and associates solar eclipses with the moon passing in front of the star. Centuries later, science proves once again that the philosopher was correct.

“Medicine is a science, and being a doctor is not fortune-telling,” says the philosopher, who also reflects on perception. According to him, the ability to perceive nature and the universe depends on the form of human organs, and there must be harmony between the perceiver and the perceived. However, the philosopher believes that human senses and perception are limited.

Modern physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss expresses a similar idea, stating that the brain, the organ for understanding, is similar to the kidney, which processes waste. Both are the result of millions of years of evolution, so they are not likely to change in a single day. The type of thinking that helped us survive in the African deserts is not suitable for understanding quantum mechanics. Therefore, the cosmologist advises that we must continue to think.

According to Empedocles, humans can only see parts, not the whole. Therefore, thought and perspective must be broad. The problem identified by the philosopher millennia ago might be humanity’s greatest tragedy. People still see only parts, but the problem is not in the part being seen. The tragedy lies in the belief that the part is the whole. Humans think they know the whole because they see a part, living in this illusion. In reality, they do not live; they only think they do.

Light leaves the eye and touches the object, and this is how we see the surroundings – Empedocles is the first to create a theory of light and vision. Later, the fundamentals of optics will be established, continuing from this concept.

The philosopher, who founded the Sicilian School of Medicine, considers it wrong to kill animals for food and believes that his soul is immortal, equal to the gods. According to legend, he threw himself into the Etna volcano to reunite with the gods.

Anaxagoras (c. 500 – 428 BCE) opposes Parmenides’ concept of stability and the impossibility of change. He says that the world is made of infinite particles, “seeds.” According to the philosopher’s theory, every object can be divided infinitely, and even the tiniest particle of matter contains other elements.

While Empedocles sees the basis of existence in four elements, Anaxagoras thinks their number is infinite. These particles are homogeneous, meaning they have only one quality. They are tiny and immutable. Existence arises and disintegrates due to the combination and separation of these particles. Therefore, there must be a cause or force that sets these processes in motion. The philosopher calls this force “Nous,” meaning Mind in Greek. Anaxagoras claims that this force is separate from matter, meaning matter is motionless in itself. Matter only moves due to external force. This force can be considered the precursor to natural laws.

Renouncing wealth and state, the philosopher leaves his native city of Clazomenae and settles in Athens, the center of philosophy. There, he engages in philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics. Later, Anaxagoras will establish the foundation of the Athenian school of philosophy.