Nietzsche on Thales

Nietzsche has got to be, hands down, one of my favorite philosophers. I enjoyed reading him in an existential context, and seeing him handle the ancient Greek philosophers is a real treat.

Nietzsche puts the Greeks in a whole new context, one that makes them seem a better fit in the realm of philosophy rather than that of literature. Like we discussed in class, it is often easier to read into a work than it is to take it for what it is, and people have made this mistake with countless other texts (the Bible, anyone?); Nietzsche does a great job of putting Thales and other Greek philosophers in their appropriate place within the philosophical timeline.
It is quite possible that Nietzsche is right when he says that Thales may not have known exactly where his thought of "everything is water" was taking him, or what it implied about philosophy of the world during his time. I love that Nietzsche connects this to a larger context of the nature of things and what is important when considering the connection between events and physical things in the world.