Thales – Ocean

The First Man Who Fell Into a Well Looking at the Stars, Yet Lit Up Human Civilization with Reason

Deep as Ocean, Reason & Origin

Character Introduction and Historical Background

Thales (Ancient Greek: Θαλῆς) lived in the 6th century BC in the ancient Greek city-state of Miletus. He is widely recognized as the “Father of Western Philosophy” and the “Founder of Science.” In a mythological era where lightning was seen as “Zeus losing his temper” and tsunamis as “Poseidon’s wrath,” Thales was the very first person to attempt to explain the world using “natural phenomena.”

There are two highly contrasting and amusing anecdotes about him that perfectly define what it means to be a “philosopher”:

• The Nerd Who Fell Into a Well: Once, while walking, he was so engrossed in gazing at the stars that he misstepped and fell into a well. A servant nearby mocked him: “You can’t even see the road under your feet, yet you want to understand the stars in the sky?” This became the classic stereotype of the “out-of-touch” philosopher for thousands of years.
• The Grandfather of Financial Futures: To counter those who mocked philosophy as “useless and unprofitable,” he used astronomical observations to predict a bumper harvest of olives for the coming year. He then rented all the olive presses in the city in advance at a low price. When the harvest season arrived and everyone scrambled for presses, he rented them out at a premium, making a fortune. He proved through action that philosophers are not incapable of making money; they simply have higher pursuits than wealth.

Core Philosophy and Metaphors

Throughout his life, Thales explored an unprecedented ultimate question: “What fundamental substance makes up this ever-changing world? (What is the origin of all things?)”

His core philosophy can be summed up in a simple phrase: “All things originate from water.” While this statement might not seem entirely scientific today, it was an earth-shattering breakthrough at the time. Why choose water? Thales observed that:

• All things require moisture: Seeds need moisture to sprout, and animals die if they lose water.
• Transformation of states: Water is the only substance in nature that can easily manifest in three states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (water vapor).

Thales did not use mythological stories as metaphors; instead, he directly established the natural element of “water” as the foundation of everything. He believed the earth was like a large wooden board floating on a boundless ocean (which also became his explanation for earthquakes: when the water ripples, the earth shakes with it).

Representative Works and Famous Quotes

Thales did not leave behind any written works of his own; his thoughts were passed down entirely through the records of later generations (such as Aristotle).

Aside from “all things originate from water,” his other highly representative famous quote is:

“All things are full of gods.” (Πάντα πλήρη θεῶν.)

This statement sounds superstitious, but it is not. He meant that nature itself possesses the power to operate on its own (for instance, lodestones can attract iron). This internal law and driving force is omnipresent, much like the gods. This was actually humanity’s earliest form of “animism,” and more importantly, the prototype for physics’ later exploration of “natural laws.”

Modern Inspiration

The greatest inspiration Thales leaves for modern people is not the answer “water,” but his “method of finding the answer.” In an era flooded with fake news and conspiracy theories, where people are accustomed to blaming the unknown on metaphysics or others, Thales’s spirit reminds us: do not easily accept those taken-for-granted “myths” or “authoritative explanations.”

At the same time, his story of the “olive presses” tells us that underlying logic (philosophy and deep thinking) may seem useless, but at critical moments, those who see through to the essence can often make the most accurate predictions. Once you grasp the underlying laws of things, whether facing changes in the workplace or the investment market, you will possess the wisdom to outmaneuver the competition from a higher dimension.