Single Idea 22727

[catalogued under 26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / a. Greek matter]

Full Idea

Anaxagoras assumed that Mind, which is God, is the efficient principle, and the multi-mixture of homoeomeries is the material principle.

Clarification

The parts of a homoeomery consist of the same stuff as the whole

Gist of Idea

Mind creates the world from a mixture of pure substances

Source

report of Anaxagoras (fragments/reports [c.460 BCE]) by - I.6

Book Reference

Sextus Empiricus: 'Against the Physicists/Against the Ethicists', ed/tr. Bury,R.G. [Harvard Loeb 1997], p.5


A Reaction

The choice of homoeomeries as basic is a good one. They are much better candidates than materials which are made of parts of a quite different kind, where the parts are a better candidate than the whole.