Ionian School

The Ionian School was a group of early Greek philosophers in the 6th century BCE, primarily based in the region of Ionia (modern-day Turkey). They sought to understand the nature of the universe using rational thought and observation rather than mythology. Key figures included Thales, who proposed that water is the fundamental substance of all things; Anaximander, who introduced the concept of the "apeiron" (an indefinite origin of all things); and Heraclitus, who believed in the constant change of the universe. Their inquiries laid the groundwork for scientific and philosophical thought in Western civilization.