Xenophanes

Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570 - c. 475 B.C.), philosopher and poet, was a most revolutionary and combative pre-Socratic thinker, attacking with irreverence the traditional understanding of the Greek gods. Where the Milesian philosophers before him subtly undermined Greek religion by explaining natural phenomena without supernatural causes, the Colophonian thinker explicitly dismissed the anthropomorphic gods as a naive error. In this video, Dr. Foxwede outlines the extraordinary ideas of this daring fellow, discussing his novel theological ideas, his predictions for the end of the world (!), and his appealingly modern fallibilist approach to scientific knowledge.

If you would like to learn more about the pre-Socratic philosophers, please like and subscribe.