“The first principle is the boundless, the apeiron, and it is neither water nor any other of the so-called elements.”
— AnaximanderParaphrase of testimonia in Aristotle, Physics 203b, and Simplicius; not a verbatim quotation
Commentary
This paraphrase reports the doctrine, transmitted by Aristotle and Simplicius, that the origin of all things is an indefinite and unlimited stuff rather than one of the familiar elements. Aristotle presents the apeiron as the answer to the question of the arche, and he contrasts it with Thales' choice of water, which Anaximander is said to have rejected. Kirk, Raven, and Schofield treat the apeiron as the most significant advance of the Milesian tradition, since it removes the first principle from the sensible world. Charles Kahn argues that the term is best understood as indefinite rather than infinite in the later sense, so that it names a boundless undifferentiated source. Jonathan Barnes notes that Aristotle's own report is interpretive and that the meaning of apeiron in Anaximander remains debated. Guthrie emphasises the originality of the concept, which anticipates later theories of matter. The sentence is a paraphrase of a doctrinal report, and it should be labelled as such with the testimonia consulted before quotation.
Commentary
This paraphrase reports the doctrine, transmitted by Aristotle and Simplicius, that the origin of all things is an indefinite and unlimited stuff rather than one of the familiar elements. Aristotle presents the apeiron as the answer to the question of the arche, and he contrasts it with Thales' choice of water, which Anaximander is said to have rejected. Kirk, Raven, and Schofield treat the apeiron as the most significant advance of the Milesian tradition, since it removes the first principle from the sensible world. Charles Kahn argues that the term is best understood as indefinite rather than infinite in the later sense, so that it names a boundless undifferentiated source. Jonathan Barnes notes that Aristotle's own report is interpretive and that the meaning of apeiron in Anaximander remains debated. Guthrie emphasises the originality of the concept, which anticipates later theories of matter. The sentence is a paraphrase of a doctrinal report, and it should be labelled as such with the testimonia consulted before quotation.