Thales has two philosophies, one is "Everything originates from water" and the other is "animism". For example, stones have souls. Although Thales realized that the world may have originated from some kind of same matrix, his philosophical explanation, speculation, observation and demonstration are few, so it is difficult to hold water in philosophy. But his contribution to mathematics and astronomy is worthy of the title of natural scientist.
Thales was born in an aristocratic family in Miletus, ancient Greece. He had business experience. It is said that he is not short of money, but in order to explore knowledge, he gave up business and focused on academic research. Why?
It is said that Thales' family's financial situation is getting more and more embarrassed because he specializes in studying. A familiar businessman began to laugh at him and thought his academic research was useless. In order to prove the value of his knowledge, Thales used his astronomical knowledge to predict a bumper harvest of olives next year. This winter, he rented all the oil mills near Miletus at a low price. The following year, olives had a bumper harvest. When the businessmen who laughed at him were crowded in the crowd and had to pay high prices to extract oil, Thales proved that he was good at making money, but, as Aristotle said, his ambition was not here.
There are two kinds of knowledge in the world, one is basic knowledge, and their research is not directly related to economy, like philosophy. One is practical knowledge, such as medicine and business studies, which can be used immediately after learning and get benefits. As for those inventions that can bring direct economic benefits, they are all popular.
It is understandable that everyone has different basic conditions and hobbies and is willing to study what knowledge, but for thousands of years, people who can promote the progress of basic disciplines deserve the support of society and people. They are like backbones, supporting the body of human civilization.
Famous philosophers in history are not millionaires, and even people like Marx need Engels' help to survive. Speaking of reasons, one is that people have limited energy. If a person desperately wants to make money all day, he will have much less time to think about philosophy. One is that after people have a certain philosophical accomplishment, they will not take making money as the highest purpose of life.
Thales once told a joke: one night he walked in the wild and looked up at the starry sky, but he predicted that it would rain the next day. Just when he predicted that it would rain, he fell into a pit and almost died. Someone else saved him. He said thank you for saving me, you know? It will rain tomorrow, so some people joke that Thales is a man who only knows what is going on in the sky and doesn't know what is happening under his feet.
In my opinion, people are not omnipotent. When observing astronomy, Thales may accidentally fall into the pit in front of him, but this will not damage Thales' image at all. Because if everyone only looks down at the road, does not look up at the starry sky, and is only satisfied with the small profits in front of him, there is no hope for this country and nation.
Today, many people in China have lost their social beliefs and are satisfied with a well-off life with plenty of food and clothing. The mainstream of the whole society is trapped in the formatted life of entertainment, games, making money and consumption. The pursuit of material desire and sensory stimulation exceeds the desire for spiritual belief. There is no doubt that at this rate, we will lose our way.
We need more wise men who look up at the sky like Thales, and we need to carry forward Thales' spirit of constantly pursuing knowledge and exploring problems. Only by rebuilding the banner of scientific and democratic beliefs since the May 4th Movement can we find our own soul.