In this episode of Philosophize This!, Stephen West discusses the origins of philosophy by exploring early human migration and the conditions that allowed philosophical thought to develop. He begins with the "Out of Africa" theory and explains how early humans, driven by the need for resources, migrated to the Fertile Crescent and beyond. He highlights the importance of having basic needs met before humans can engage in higher-level thinking like philosophy, using the show "The Walking Dead" as an analogy. West then introduces the Pre-Socratic philosophers, focusing on Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, and Democritus, detailing their key ideas and contributions to metaphysics and early scientific thought, including Thales's theory that everything is made of water, Heraclitus's concept of constant change, and Democritus's atomic theory. The episode emphasizes that while many of these early theories were later proven incorrect, they were crucial steps in the development of rational explanations for the world.
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