Research Notes: Anaximenes

Anaximenes is the third Greek philosopher, the third philosopher of the Milesian school. Anaximenes believed that the 'air' was the source of all things. This claim constrasts with Thales' supposition that everything came from water. Anaximenes inisted that everything condensed out of the 'air' including all elements. Everything is air at different degrees of density, and under the influence of heat, which expands, and of cold, which contracts its volume, it gives rise to the several phases of existence. The process is gradual, and takes place in two directions, as heat or cold predominates. In this way was formed a broad disk of earth, floating on the circumambient air. Similar condensations produced the sun and stars; and the flaming state of these bodies is due to the velocity of their motions. He states:

"Just as our soul, being air, holds us together, so do breath and air encompass the whole world."

What makes the three Milesian philosophers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, stand out is that the theoretical human has become a reality. The way of thinking has in its basic form moved away from the mythological thinking (or mythos) and into the domain of the theoretical thinking (or logos). From now on it is about explaining the universal and the general. Everything in the universe can now be approached by the thoughts of humans. This notably influenced the Pythagoreans.

It was actually "aer" which he believed to be the common charecteristic between all things. "Aer" is the Greek word for a mist rather than just pure air.

As strange as this might seem, Anaximenes was not too far off mark. Anaximenes' theory preceded the Aetherial Void theory of the 19th Century; and now the fledging Zero Point Energy theory is superceding that. What is not unusual is that each theory is getting closer to the actual Omnipresence of God. As D&C 88:41 relates:

He ^acomprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever.

External Links:

• Anaximenes on Hypatia World.
• Anaximenes' Wikipedia entry.
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on Anaximenes.
  

Going beyond: the future.

I still have more research notes to post as to what kind of foundation that Atlantis 600 B.C. has. Hesiod and Thales are only a tiny scratch on the Iceberg for creating a wonderful Campaign Setting based not on Medieval Culture but on Ancient culture instead. Beyond the Greek Culture are the following cultures that I've researched.

• Egyptian. The Ancient Egyptian culture has influenced many cultures around the world. It was the first real World Superpower. Egypt and it's Pharoahs extended their influence as far east as Harrapan and as far north as Greece, as far south as Eithiopia, and as far west as North America (Examples of Demotic were discovered in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, and Missouri. Demotic was never found in Central and South America).
• Ancient Israel. Israel, also known as the Levant, had contributed much more than just the Bible to Western Civilization. The Israelites were among the first to use linear time recording instead of cyclic time recording. The ancient Israelites also was the very first civilization to have an organized religion that had a top-down structure. This religious structure currently exists in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Ancient India. Talk about a civilization that suffered invasion after invasion after invasion; and migration after migration after migration. Modern India is one of the few nations that have an Apartheid system that still works today. The Apartheid that Indians suffer is so ingrained into their culture its hard to separate them from it. Even with revolutionary philosophies such as Buddhism and Jainism. Still, India gave Western Society the first philosophical basis for Nudism and Naturism, and metaphysics. They also contributed plastic surgery, superior cotton fabric, Damascene steel, and the first instance of organic soluable sutures. Mostly in the form of ant heads.
• The Hopewell and Adena Cultures. Okay, Archaeology, both secular and religious, doesn't know what to make of these two except for the brass and ore tablets left by these two cultures that had Demotic written upon them; and the Mounds! Some archaelogists that specialize in the Hopewell and Adena cultures apply logic: Demotic was written by the Egyptians, the Hopewells and Adenians used Demotic; therefore the Hopewells and Adenians were Egyptian. However, there is very strong evidence to the contrary as to who the Hopewell people and Adenian people actually were.

Since Monday is Nude Blogging Day, I'll be writing two articles. The first will deal with wholesome social and family nudity; the second continues my notes on the Greek Philosophers.

Design Diary 4: A muse can be a harsh mistress

It is better to tell a rated R truth than to tell a G-rated lie.

-- Richard Dutcher

Since I first encountered Atlantis in the media (I think I was 6), I was gripped by the imagination of Atlantis. When I started playing Dungeons and Dragons when I was twelve, I learned about Atlantean Archaeology. "Atlantaeology" I believe it is called, is the study of Atlantis to see if it actually existed. Learning that Atlantis could actually exist fired up my imagination. That was when I started doing research for the Atlantis campaign setting.

However Clio, the Muse of Epic History, can be a harsh mistress. In my efforts, I learned many different points of view of the history and culture of four different ancient civilizations: Egypt, Greece, India, and Israel. The number one thing I learned was this: you can not assume that an ancient culture has the exact same attitude about modesty as the present day culture. This is especially true if you define modesty by how much square feet of the body has to be covered with cloth.

My research shows that neither of them carried the same sort of regard for modesty as our own. In fact, if anything, their definition of Modesty does not depend on how much cloth that needs to cover the body; but rather more on Webster's definition of Modesty which is this:

MOD'ESTY, n. [L. modestia.] That lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one's own worth and importance. This temper when natural, springs in some measure from timidity, and in young and inexperienced persons, is allied to bashfulness and diffidence. In persons who have seen the world, and lost their natural timidity, modesty springs no less from principle than from feeling, and is manifested by retiring, unobtrusive manners, assuming less to itself than others are willing to yield, and conceding to others all due honor and respect, or even more than they expect or require.

To complicate matters further, virginity was unheard of in Egypt, they didn't even have a word for virgin in Ancient Egyptian. Young girls as young as six would have sexual intercourse with a mate in Ancient Egypt. By the time that Moses was thirteen and raised as an Egyptian, he would have sown his wild oats with a girl about his age or younger. Meaning that he may have gotten an Egyptian noblewoman pregnant while she was 12, 13, or 14. An uncountable number of Egyptians may claim Moses as an ancestor.

In ancient Israel, a girl was considered to enter the age of Marriageability at the age of twelve, while a boy could be considered to enter the age of Marriageability at the age of 13. The Bar'Mitzvah and the Bat'Mitzvah; traditions where a young jew was considered to be of age stemms from this fact.

To complicate matters further, social nudity was regarded in these four ancient civilizations a lot differently than social nudity is now. To the Ancients, social nudity was regarded as a Gift of the Gods (or in Israel's case --- a sign of the Prophets) while in our day and age social nudity is regarded as destructive. In order to create an authentic Ancient Culture like that of Atlantis, social nudity has to be addressed.