I came away buzzing and reassured that we still have in this century a wide ranging community fascinated not just by famous authors (I’ve rarely seen so many concentrated in one place) but by challenging ideas and questions. Anassimandro è uno dei filosofi pre-socratici, che spesso scivola anonimo tra le prime lezioni di filosofia al liceo. Ma in questo libro (e ricordo un simile accenno nei documentari di Carl Sagan) lo si eleva a prima incarnazione storica dello spirito "scientifico", non essendosi accontentato nelle sue spiegazioni dei fenomeni naturali di tirare in ballo gli dei, ma avendo elaborato una proposta del tutto fisica. Anaximander drew up the first map of the known world. In the generation following him, another Milesian, Hecataeus, expanded this map. Hecataeus’s map served then as the basis for all other ancient (and hence modern) maps. A theoretical physicist examines an obscure Greek philosopher and maintains that he was the first modern scientific thinker.

Science] means building and developing an image of the world, which is to say a conceptual structure for thinking about the world, effective and consistent with what we know and learn about the world itself. I have a few quibbles on the history, though. First, Anaximander's theory of the origin of humankind doesn't seem to imply an evolution of humans from fish-like creatures. When I read the English translation on Wikipedia, for example, it seems like humans (in their current form) were in the fishes and thrown on land when land was made available (also The Dream of Reason by Gottlieb says the same thing about Anaximander not having thought of evolution even in the proto-form of animals changing into other animals). Second, Hypatia and the state of religion vs. science after the Fall of Rome is mentioned in a way that I think is a bit unfair. Hypatia was murdered, but it seems more for being associated with a rival bishop than for her scientific achievements, so it's not really a science vs religion issue, and while I agree that science wasn't achieving great advances during the Middle Ages, it wasn't as stark as it is sometime made out (see the Oxford calculators for example). Personally, an eye-opening read & I’m definitely indulged in the scientific thinking & methodology part of this book which I hoped I’ve read during my postgrad studies. I fancy reading on/discovering thinkers & undoubtedly, it's one of the best read on scientific thought, process, & pioneering scientific frameworks.

Rovelli's first book is on the Italian student political movements in the 1970s. [26] He later refused to compulsory military draft and was briefly detained. A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.

As Rovelli’s fans will expect, this book is excellent. It is never less than engaging, and enviably compendious.”— The Telegraph (UK) Anaximander was one of the world’s first scientists and had some amazingly modern theories, as Carlo Rovelli reveals At first this seemed like hyperbole from someone championing a particular favourite, but by the end of the book I was convinced. What Rovelli attributes to Anaximander are the idea of a non-flat Earth floating in space - surrounded by the heavens, rather than a flat Earth with the heavens above; building on Thales' example as the first known explanation for physical processes without divine intervention; introducing the concept of natural law; and challenging his master's ideas rather than simply building on them. Adnkronos (18 October 2023). "√ Musica, i Belladonna e Carlo Rovelli nel ballott dei Grammy Awards". Adnkronos (in Italian) . Retrieved 18 October 2023.What is time, what is space? (interview), Di Renzo Editore, 2006 / Che cos'è il tempo, che cos'é lo spazio?, Di Renzo Editore, 2004.

An insightful survey of the scientific contributions of Greek philosopher Anaximander…Rovelli makes the most of the available evidence in building his case that the philosopher’s emphasis on natural causes marked a sea change in human thought. This is a masterful overview of a pivotal figure in scientific history.”— Publisher’s WeeklyCaldeira, A. O.; Leggett, A. J. (1981). "Influence of Dissipation on Quantum Tunneling in Macroscopic Systems". Physical Review Letters. 46 (4): 211–214. Bibcode: 1981PhRvL..46..211C. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.46.211. ISSN 0031-9007. Anaximander wrote a treatise in prose called On Nature. This book is now lost and only one fragment remains quoted by Simplicius of Cilicia in his commentary on Aristotle's Physics: Ma non si spaventi il lettore digiuno di studi umanistici (come, per dire, me): la lettura scorre sempre facile, il dibattito non si fa mai sterilmente accademico, animato com'è dalla prosa energica dell'autore, e dal suo ottimismo di fondo. Discussions of religion vs. science tend to be one-sided, and Rovelli’s is no exception. I found particularly presumptuous this characterization of science as acceptance of uncertainty and religion as assertion of absolutism. In practice, the difference doesn’t seem so stark. Scientists often assert absolute postitions. Sometimes it’s the truth of theories, and other times, equally forceful, the absolutism of method. And religion is often a dynamic of faith and doubt, and sometimes acceptance of mystery. Broad strokes don’t do either side justice. The second concept is the “apeiron” as the origin or principle (“arche”) of all things. “Apeiron” is sometimes translated as “the infinite” or “the indefinite” or “the undifferentiated.” I think it a stretch to give an unambiguously naturalistic interpretation of “apeiron”. In a naturalistic interpretation, you could read it as a truly empirical “thing” — an undifferentiated substance out of which all the multiplicity of things we are familiar with originates. Or you could see it as a logical concept, as the origin of multiplicity in undifferentiated unity. In fact, I think the distinction between a naturalistic interpretation and a logical one is something we lay over Anaxminder’s thought — it simply wasn’t a mature distinction at the time.

A celebration of the scientific spirit of inquiry and the remarkable achievements of one man more than 2,500 years ago.” —Times Literary Supplement (UK)Adnkronos (23 November 2022). "I Belladonna mettono all'asta come Nft un brano con Carlo Rovelli". Adnkronos . Retrieved 27 November 2022. The Museum of Curiosity - Series 17 - Episode 1". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sounds . Retrieved 4 March 2023. Since the dawn of civilization, humans had believed in the heavens above and the Earth below. Then, on the Ionian coast, a Greek philosopher named Anaximander set in motion a revolution. He not only conceived that the Earth floats in space, but also that animals evolve, that storms and earthquakes are natural, not supernatural, that the world can be mapped and, above all, that progress is made by the endless search for knowledge. Rovelli, Carlo (26 October 2023). "The new global arms race will lead to catastrophe. The west can pursue it — or choose peace". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 October 2023. A deep-thinking, restlessly inquiring spirit’: Carlo Rovelli. Photograph: Roberto Serra/Iguana Press/Getty Images