Editing Anaximander (section)

=== Multiple worlds ===

According to Simplicius, Anaximander already speculated on the [[Cosmic pluralism|plurality of worlds]], similar to [[atomism|atomists]] [[Leucippus]] and [[Democritus]], and later philosopher [[Epicurus]]. These thinkers supposed that worlds appeared and disappeared for a while, and that some were born when others perished. They claimed that this movement was eternal, "for without movement, there can be no generation, no destruction".<ref>Simplicius, ''Commentary on Aristotle's Physics'', 1121, 5–9</ref>

In addition to Simplicius, Hippolytus<ref>Hippolytus (?), ''Refutation'' I, 6</ref> reports Anaximander's claim that from the infinite comes the principle of beings, which themselves come from the heavens and the worlds (several doxographers use the plural when this philosopher is referring to the worlds within,<ref>Notably pseudo-Plutarch (III, 2) and Aetius, (I, 3, 3; I, 7, 12; II, 1, 3; II, 1, 8).</ref> which are often infinite in quantity). [[Cicero]] writes that he attributes different gods to the countless worlds.<ref>''On the Nature of the Gods'' (I, 10, 25):

: ''"Anaximandri autem opinio est nativos esse deos longis intervallis orientis occidentisque, eosque innumerabiles esse mundos."''
: "For Anaximander, gods were born, but the time is long between their birth and their death; and the worlds are countless."</ref>

This theory places Anaximander close to the Atomists and the [[Epicureanism|Epicureans]] who, more than a century later, also claimed that an infinity of worlds appeared and disappeared. In the [[Timeline of Western philosophers#Classical philosophers|timeline of the Greek history of thought]], some thinkers conceptualized a single world (Plato, Aristotle, [[Anaxagoras]] and [[Archelaus (philosopher)|Archelaus]]), while others instead speculated on the existence of a series of worlds, continuous or non-continuous ([[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]], [[Heraclitus]], [[Empedocles]] and [[Diogenes Apolloniates|Diogenes]]).