Overview

Early in the sixth century B.C., Greek philosophy began to develop, and philosophers of this period undertook a serious inquiry into the nature and organization of the world. They explored questions involving the natural sciences, including questions about the substances that constitute Earth and the sky above it. They also began to ponder geographical questions about the shape of Earth and the nature of its origins. Initially, the endeavors of these philosophers were steeped in the pervasive myths of their day. As philosophers began to pose new questions and come up with new answers, however, they began the gradual move away from using mythology to explain natural phenomena. No longer using the arbitrary acts of the gods to explain natural phenomena, philosophers began to believe that Earth was actually an orderly and predictable world...