The pre-Socratic philosophers had a reductive intuition, where they believed that there was an underlying simplicity and unity to reality that could be arrived at through reasoning. They rejected the idea of naive realism, that reality was exactly as it appeared, and instead subjected appearances to analysis to uncover the underlying reality. This approach to understanding reality continues to influence contemporary scientific views, such as Einstein's theory of relativity, which describes a world very different from our everyday appearances.
In this video, Rebecca Goldstein explores the questions posed by the earliest Greek philosophers, known as the Pre-Socratics. These philosophers shared the belief that there was an underlying simplicity and unity to the world, and rejected the idea of naive realism, which holds that reality is exactly as it appears. They instead sought to analyze appearances to arrive at a deeper understanding of the underlying reality. The Pre-Socratics' ideas continue to influence contemporary scientific world views and the distinction between appearance and reality.
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