Editing Anaximander (section)

== Legacy ==

[[Bertrand Russell]] in the ''[[History of Western Philosophy (Russell)|History of Western Philosophy]]'' interprets Anaximander's theories as <!-- the above quote as | CLARIFY: probably due to editing, the quote referenced here is unclear. --> an assertion of the necessity of an appropriate balance between earth, fire, and water, all of which may be independently seeking to aggrandize their proportions relative to the others. Anaximander seems to express his belief that a natural order ensures balance among these elements, that where there was fire, ashes (earth) now exist.<ref>Bertrand Russell, ''A History of Western Philosophy and Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1946).</ref> His Greek peers echoed this sentiment with their belief in natural boundaries beyond which not even the gods could operate.

[[Friedrich Nietzsche]], in ''[[Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks]]'', claimed that Anaximander was a pessimist who asserted that the primal being of the world was a state of indefiniteness. In accordance with this, anything definite has to eventually pass back into indefiniteness. In other words, Anaximander viewed "...all coming-to-be as though it were an illegitimate emancipation from eternal being, a wrong for which destruction is the only penance". (''Ibid.'', § 4) The world of individual objects, in this way of thinking, has no worth and should perish.<ref>Friedrich Nietzsche, ''Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks'' (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1962).</ref>

[[Martin Heidegger]] lectured extensively on Anaximander, and delivered a lecture entitled "Anaximander's Saying" which was subsequently included in ''Off the Beaten Track''. The lecture examines the ontological difference and the oblivion of Being or ''[[Dasein]]'' in the context of the Anaximander fragment.<ref>Martin Heidegger, ''Off the Beaten Track'' (Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002).</ref> Heidegger's lecture is, in turn, an important influence on the French philosopher [[Jacques Derrida]].<ref>Cf. Jacques Derrida, ''Margins of Philosophy'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), pp. 66–7; Derrida, "''Geschlecht'' II: Heidegger's Hand," in [[John Sallis]] (ed.), ''Deconstruction and Philosophy'' (Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 1987), pp. 181–2; Derrida, ''Given Time: I. Counterfeit Money'' (Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 1992), p. 159, n. 28.</ref>

In the 2017 essay collection ''Anaximander in Context: New Studies on the Origins of Greek Philosophy'', Dirk Couprie, [[Robert Hahn (professor)|Robert Hahn]] and Gerald Naddaf describe Anaximander as "one of the greatest minds in history", but one that has not been given his due. Couprie goes to state that he considers him on par with Newton.<ref name="CouprieHahnNaddaf2012">{{cite book |author1=Dirk L. Couprie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uu0wNrdNmW0C |title=Anaximander in Context: New Studies in the Origins of Greek Philosophy |author2=Robert Hahn |author3=Gerard Naddaf |date=1 February 2012 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-8778-5 |pages=1, 167 |oclc=1018071798}}</ref> Similar sentiments are expressed in [[Carlo Rovelli]]'s 2011 book ''The First Scientist: Anaximander and His Legacy.''

The [[Anaximander (31st) High School of Thessaloniki]], Greece is named after Anaximander.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ΑΡΧΙΚΗ |url=http://31lyk-thess.thess.sch.gr/autosch/joomla15/ |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=31lyk-thess.thess.sch.gr}}</ref>