Anaxagorass

Anaxagoras was an ancient Greek philosopher and astronomer. He was born in Clazomenae in Ionia around 500 BCE and later moved to Athens, where he became a prominent figure in intellectual circles. Anaxagoras was a proponent of the atomist theory, which suggested that all matter is composed of tiny, indivisible particles called "atoms." However, his understanding of these particles differed from later atomists like Democritus. Anaxagoras believed that each substance contained a portion of every other substance, and that differences arose from the varying proportions of ingredients. He proposed that "in everything there is a portion of everything."

He introduced the concept of Nous (Mind or Intellect) as the organizing principle of the universe. Nous, for Anaxagoras, was an independent, self-ruling force that initiated and directed the cosmic order, separating and arranging the primordial mixture of substances. This was a significant departure from previous cosmological explanations that relied on chance or necessity. Anaxagoras also offered explanations for natural phenomena, including eclipses, which he attributed to the blocking of the sun or moon by celestial bodies. His scientific inquiries and philosophical ideas made him a controversial figure, and he was eventually exiled from Athens due to accusations of impiety. He spent his later years in Lampsacus, where he died around 428 BCE. His work, though largely lost, influenced subsequent philosophers, including Socrates and Plato.