Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T18:48:36.511Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 1 - Fire, Heat, and Motive Force in Early Greek Philosophy and Medicine

from I - Early Greek Philosophy and Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2020

By
Gábor Betegh
Edited by
Hynek Bartoš  and
Colin Guthrie King
Hynek Bartoš
Affiliation:
Charles University, Prague
Colin Guthrie King
Affiliation:
Providence College, Rhode Island
Get access

Summary

Betegh explores to what extent the Presocratic philosophers made the motive power of heat topical, and how they tried to provide an explanation of that power. He argues that while the motive power of heat never seems to obtain a principal role in the cosmological theories of the Presocratics, it appears to take a more important role in the explanation of living beings in a number of theories.

Keywords

Fireheatmotive forceearly Greek philosophyearly Greek medicineDemocritusEmpedoclesParmenides
Type
Chapter
Information
Heat, Pneuma, and Soul in Ancient Philosophy and Science , pp. 35 - 60
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×