Editing Pre-Socratic philosophy (section)

=== Theology ===
Pre-Socratic thought contributed to the demythologization of the Greek popular religion. The narrative of their thought contributed to shifting the course of ancient Greek philosophy and religion away from the realm of divinity and even paved the way for teleological explanations.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|pp=496-497}} They attacked the traditional representations of gods that Homer and Hesiod had established and put Greek popular religion under scrutiny, initiating the schism between natural philosophy and theology.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|p=497}} Pre-Socratic philosophers did not have atheistic beliefs, but it should be kept in mind that being an atheist those days was not without social or legal dangers. Despite that, arguments rejecting deities were not barred from the public sphere which can be seen in Protagoras's quotation on the gods: "About the gods I am able to know neither that they exist nor that they do not exist."{{sfn|Sedley|2013|p=140}}

The theological thought starts with the Milesian philosophers. It is evident in Anaximander's idea of the ''[[Apeiron (cosmology)|apeiron]]'' steering everything, which had other abilities usually attributed to Zeus.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|pp=485-487}} Later, Xenophanes developed a critique of the anthropomorphism of the gods. Xenophanes set three preconditions for God: he had to be all good, immortal and not resembling humans in appearance, which had a major impact on western religious thought.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|pp=487-488}}

The theological thought of Heraclitus and Parmenides is not entirely certain, but it is generally accepted that they believed in some kind of divinity. The Pythagoreans and Empedocles believed in the [[Reincarnation|transmigration of souls]]. Anaxagoras asserted that cosmic intelligence (''[[nous]]'') gives life to things. Diogenes of Appollonia expanded this line of thinking and might have constructed the first teleological argument "it would not be possible without Intellection for it so to be divided up that it has the measures of all things — of winter and summer and night and day and rains and winds and fair weather. The other things, too, if one wishes to consider them, one would find disposed of in the best possible way."{{sfn|Robinson|2008|pp=490-492}} While some pre-Socratics were trying to find alternatives to divinity, others were setting the foundation of explaining the universe in terms of teleology and intelligent design by a divine force.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|p=496}}