Thales of Miletus, a pre-Socratic Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher from Miletus, Asia Minor, was a pre-Socratic Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher.
He was one of Greece's Seven Sages. Many, including Aristotle, considered him the first Greek philosopher, and he is also historically recognized as the first person known to have entertained and engaged in scientific philosophy. He is regarded to as the "Father of Science" by many.
In a forerunner to modern science, Thales is credited for abandoning the use of mythology to explain the world and the universe, instead relying on naturalistic theories and hypotheses to describe natural objects and events. Instead of utilizing mythological explanations, almost all other pre-Socratic philosophers followed him in explaining nature as arising from a unity of everything predicated on the existence of a single fundamental substance. Thales' hypothesis that the initial basis of nature and the essence of matter was a single material substance: water, was recounted by Aristotle as the founder of the Ionian School.
Thales utilized geometry to determine the heights of pyramids and the distances between ships and the shore in mathematics. By deriving four corollaries to Thales' thesis, he is the first documented person to employ deductive reasoning in geometry. He is the first known person to be credited with a mathematical breakthrough.
He was the first scientist in history.
Rather than assuming that everything happened because one of the Greek gods commanded it, Thales looked for patterns in nature to explain how the universe operated. He did away with superstitions and replaced them with science.
He was the first to apply deductive logic to discover new conclusions in geometry, and he elevated mathematics to a new level by requiring the proof of theorems.
In general, everything we know about him was published hundreds of years after his death, for example, by Aristotle.
We say thail-eez when we say his name, accentuating the first syllable.
There could have been more scientists before Thales, but we don't know who they were.
Early Life and Education.
Thales was born into a wealthy family in the ancient Greek city of Miletus around the year 624 BC. He was the son of a wealthy merchant. He was born to Examyes and Cleobuline, who were both named Examyes and Cleobuline, respectively. He was born at the same time as Aesop, who is most known for his stories.
When Thales was born, Miletus was one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in all of Greece, and he grew up in that position. In modern times, it can be found on the Turkish shore.
Historically, Thales was born into a Greek civilization that was less intellectually evolved than societies to its east and south, such as the Babylonians and the Ancient Egyptians, among others. The Babylonians were outstanding astronomers and mathematicians, and the Egyptians were likewise light years ahead of the Greeks in these sciences, according to historical records.
Thales began his career as a merchant following in the footsteps of his family's business.
Thales moved to Egypt in his later years, where he studied astronomy and mathematics under the tutelage of the Egyptians.
When Thales returned to Miletus, he changed his profession, suffered a significant decrease in income, and went on to become Ancient Greece's first scientist.
Contribution in Mathematics.
In terms of mathematics, he arrived at solutions to issues by the use of geometry; for example, he used geometry to compute the height or distance between two points on a graph. In mathematics, he was a pioneer in the discovery of a new scientific approach, which is why he has come to be known as the world's first true mathematician. Another notable accomplishment of his was the derivation of the theorem, which is often known as the Thales theorem, on the basis of deductive reasoning.
One way to understand his understanding of geometry is to consider his passionately held belief that “space is the greatest thing since it includes everything.”
He had a far more scientific and theoretical approach to geometry than most other students did. The majority of the time, he applied his knowledge in a practical manner; for example, he used his understanding of right and similar triangles to determine the height or length of pyramids. In addition to this, he developed his own theorem, which is concerned with the inscription of a triangle in a circle and the diameter of the circle being equal to the length of one leg. In addition to this, he is credited with establishing another theory, which is known as the intercept theorem. He is credited with making the discovery that a circle may be divided in half by its diameter and that the base angles of a triangle and the vertical angles of a triangle are equal.
Death.
Although his exact date of death is unknown, it is assumed that he died sometime between 547 and 546 BC.
