The question of reality—what it is, how we perceive it, and how it interacts with human existence—has occupied thinkers across all cultures throughout history. Western philosophical inquiries into reality, often attributed to Socrates, have roots far earlier than his time. To fully understand how Socrates approached the concept of reality, we must first look at how earlier civilizations and pre-Socratic philosophers viewed it. This essay will explore the concept of reality before Socrates, focusing on the beliefs and intellectual movements that shaped ancient Greek thought, including mythological interpretations, early metaphysical ideas, and the contributions of philosophers who sought a rational understanding of the cosmos.
The Role of Mythology in Early Greek Thought
Before the rise of philosophy in ancient Greece, the concept of reality was closely tied to mythology. Greek myths provided explanations for natural phenomena, the origins of the world, and the human experience. In these myths, the gods were central figures, acting as explanations for everything from the creation of the universe to human emotions and social dynamics. Reality, in this context, was understood as a divine order, shaped and governed by the gods’ wills.
In Hesiod’s Theogony, for example, the creation of the world is a divine process. Chaos, a primordial void, gave birth to Gaia (Earth), and from this early order, the gods emerged. The world was not governed by abstract laws or impersonal forces but was instead the product of divine actions. The gods’ interactions with the world were not seen as separate from reality; they were the embodiment of reality itself. The Greek gods acted as the immediate cause of everything, from the rise of the sun to the changing seasons, and their moods and whims often had a direct effect on the lives of mortals.
For ancient Greeks, reality was therefore seen as a combination of the divine and the material world. It was subjective, in the sense that human perception was mediated by the gods and their stories, which provided both meaning and purpose to the world.
Early Greek Philosophers and the Shift Toward Rationalism
The shift from mythological explanations to rational ones marked a fundamental transformation in the understanding of reality in ancient Greece. The early pre-Socratic philosophers sought to find natural explanations for the world, moving away from the divine narratives and attempting to understand reality through observation, reason, and the pursuit of knowledge. The pre-Socratics initiated the search for fundamental principles, the basic substance or force that underlies all existence.
Thales of Miletus: Water as the Arche
The first philosopher traditionally regarded as a pre-Socratic thinker was Thales of Miletus (c. 624–546 BCE), who is often credited with the assertion that “everything is water.” Thales’ view of reality was rooted in the idea that the primary substance of all things is water. According to Thales, the world’s changes could be explained by the transformation of this one fundamental substance. His idea marked a significant shift from mythological explanations, which personified natural forces, to a more rational, naturalistic approach.
By identifying a single, unchanging principle behind the changing phenomena of the world, Thales sought to explain the reality of nature in terms that could be understood by observation and reason. Water, for Thales, was not just a physical element but the principle of life itself, suggesting that all things emerge from, and ultimately return to, this fundamental substance.
Anaximander: The Apeiron as the Source of All
Anaximander, a student of Thales, introduced an even more abstract concept of reality. Instead of focusing on a single substance like water, Anaximander proposed that the fundamental principle of reality was the apeiron, meaning the “boundless” or “infinite.” The apeiron was an indeterminate, eternal substance from which everything in the universe emerged and to which everything would eventually return. For Anaximander, reality was not limited to specific substances or forms, but a dynamic process of becoming, governed by a cosmic order of balance and justice.
In Anaximander’s view, the apeiron was the source of all opposites—such as hot and cold, dry and wet, or light and dark—which came into conflict and were resolved by the ongoing cosmic cycle. This view of reality emphasized the flux and change inherent in the world, yet it still suggested an underlying unity, an infinite source that transcended all particular forms. Reality, for Anaximander, was both an ongoing process and an underlying unity, a concept that would later influence the development of metaphysical thought.
Heraclitus: Reality as Flux
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535–475 BCE) further developed the idea of reality as a dynamic process by arguing that everything is in a constant state of flux. His famous assertion that “you cannot step into the same river twice” encapsulates his understanding of reality. Heraclitus believed that the world is in a perpetual state of change, driven by a fundamental tension between opposites. He referred to this underlying process as the Logos, a rational principle that governs the order and transformation of the world.
For Heraclitus, reality was not static or determined by fixed substances; rather, it was a continual process of becoming, governed by the interplay of opposing forces. His view challenged traditional ideas of a stable, unchanging reality, emphasizing instead the primacy of change and transformation. Reality, in Heraclitus’ view, was a balance of opposites and contradictions, where unity arose from the constant flow of change.
Pythagoras: Mathematical Harmony in Reality
Another influential pre-Socratic thinker was Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BCE), whose ideas about reality were rooted in mathematics and harmony. Pythagoras and his followers believed that reality could be understood through mathematical relationships and proportions. They saw the world as being governed by a set of mathematical principles, such as the harmony of the spheres, which suggested that the movements of celestial bodies were governed by mathematical ratios.
For the Pythagoreans, reality was not just a physical world of matter and change, but a world of abstract, mathematical principles. Numbers were seen as the essence of reality, and the study of mathematics was believed to reveal the fundamental order of the universe. This view of reality highlighted the interconnectedness of all things and the idea that behind the apparent chaos of the world, there was a rational, mathematical order that governed the cosmos.
The Presocratics’ Influence on Socratic Thought
The pre-Socratic philosophers paved the way for the intellectual revolution that Socrates would later spearhead. By moving away from mythological explanations and focusing on natural, rational principles, they established the groundwork for a more systematic exploration of reality. Their emphasis on substance, change, and harmony would influence Socrates’ own approach to understanding the world, especially in terms of ethics and human nature.
However, while the pre-Socratics focused primarily on the nature of the cosmos and the physical world, Socrates shifted the focus of philosophy to the nature of human existence and knowledge. Socrates questioned the nature of virtue, the soul, and the relationship between knowledge and reality. He sought to uncover ethical truths and challenge the conventional understanding of reality, not through abstract metaphysics, but through dialectical reasoning and ethical inquiry.
Conclusion
The concept of reality before Socrates was shaped by a variety of intellectual currents, from the mythological explanations of the early Greeks to the rational and metaphysical inquiries of the pre-Socratic philosophers. While early Greek thought was deeply rooted in the divine and the mythical, thinkers such as Thales, Anaximander, Heraclitus, and Pythagoras began to challenge these views and proposed that reality could be understood through natural principles, change, and mathematical harmony. The legacy of these philosophers provided Socrates with a foundation upon which he could build his own exploration of human nature, knowledge, and ethics.
In the centuries leading up to Socrates, Greek thought underwent a profound transformation, moving from mythological explanations to a more rational understanding of reality. Socrates would go on to revolutionize the way we think about knowledge, virtue, and the self, but his work would not have been possible without the contributions of those who sought to understand reality before him. Their ideas, each in their own way, explored the fundamental nature of the universe and the human experience, laying the groundwork for the philosophical inquiries that would shape the Western intellectual tradition for centuries to come.
