Table of Contents
From the 6th century BC onwards, Greek thinkers began to move beyond isolated observations and sought to understand the nature of all things — their fundamental substances and forces.
The Roots of Modern Science
Though earlier civilisations (for example in Egypt) had made significant scientific insights, the Greeks transformed this into more systematic reflection. From about the 6th century BC, thinkers such as Thales and Pythagoras did not ask only what nature is, but why and how. They try to establish explanations based on rational inquiry rather than myth.
Key Figures & Innovations
- Pythagoras (≈ 572–492 BC) and the Pythagorean school advanced mathematics by seeing numbers and their relations as the basis of reality.
- Demokrit proposed that nature is composed of indivisible particles (“atoms”) moving in the void — an early form of atomism.
- Aristoteles classified many branches of natural knowledge and helped systematise the sciences.
- Others such as Archimedes, Eratosthenes, and Ptolemäus made major advances in geometry, geography, astronomy and mechanics.
Why Their Work Still Matters
These Greek scholars were not satisfied with isolated observations. They aimed for overarching theories, clear classification of knowledge, and a unified view of nature. Their approach laid the groundwork for the later development of the modern scientific method.