Anaxagoras and His Nous

Morgan Elizabeth

From his youth, Socrates was intrigued by natural philosophy – the study of the causes of things. When he discovered Anaxagoras’ claim that the nous, intelligence, was the ultimate cause of everything, Socrates was ecstatic. However, Anaxagoras quickly and greatly dissatisfied Socrates, because though the former said that the nous was the cause of everything, he was not consistent with this in his following proofs. He only explains the material causes of things, and ignores the influence of the nous.