Analogy of the divided line Plato’s illustration of his contention that there is a hierarchy of understanding. The lowest type of understanding is based on images of empirical objects. Next highest is an understanding of empirical objects themselves, which results only in opinion. Next is an understanding of abstract mathe- matical principles. Then comes an understanding of the forms. The highest understanding (true knowledge) is an understanding of the form of the good that includes a knowledge of all forms and their organization.
Anaxagoras Postulated an infinite number of elements (seeds) from which everything is made. He believed that everything contains all the ele- ments and that a thing’s identity is determined by which elements predominate. An exception is the mind, which contains no other element but may combine with other elements, thereby creating life.
Anaximander Suggested the infinite or boundless as the physis and formulated a rudi- mentary theory of evolution.