Editing Anaximenes of Miletus (section)

=== Subsequent interpretation ===
Some of Anaximenes's writings are referenced during the [[Hellenistic period]], but no record of those documents currently exists.{{Sfn|Eisman|2007|p=76}} Philosophers such as [[Heraclitus]], [[Anaxagoras]], and Diogenes of Apollonia were all directly influenced by the work of Anaximenes.{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=181}} Diogenes of Apollonia adapted Anaximenes's ideas to the philosophy of [[Stoicism]].{{Sfn|Vamvacas|2009|p=49}} The ideas ridiculed in the [[Aristophanes]] play ''[[The Clouds]]'' originated from the ideas of Anaximander and Anaximenes.{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=181}}{{Sfn|Martins|2020|p=37}} Philosophers such as [[Xenophanes]] later adopted Anaximenes's model of cosmology.{{Sfn|Kočandrle|2019|p=109}} Xenophanes's theory that the ''arche'' is earth and water has also been interpreted as a response to Anaximenes.{{Sfn|McKirahan|1994|pp=65–66}}

[[Plato]] referenced the concept of air as the cause of thought in the ''[[Phaedo]]'', rejecting it with the argument that one's physical state does not determine their fate.{{Sfn|Graham|2006|pp=47–48}} In the ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'', Plato favorably mentions Anaximenes's theory of matter and its seven states from stone to fire.{{Sfn|Graham|2015}} [[Aristotle]] was critical of the ideas of Anaximenes.{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=174}} In his ''[[Metaphysics (Aristotle)|Metaphysics]]'', Aristotle characterized Anaximenes and his predecessors as [[monism|monists]], those who believe that all things are composed of a single substance. This description came to be widely accepted in philosophy.{{Sfn|Graham|2006|pp=49–50}} Practitioners of Aristotelian philosophy further considered Anaximenes to be a founder of [[Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalism]].{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=173}} After Aristotle, [[Theophrastus]] continued the [[doxography]] of the Milesian philosophers and other Ionians.{{Sfn|Graham|2006|pp=49–50}} He described Anaximenes as a [[natural philosopher]].{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=174}} Other ancient philosophers who analyzed the work of Anaximenes include [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]], [[Aetius (philosopher)|Aetius]], Hippolytus, and [[Plutarch]].{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=180}}

[[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] said that Anaximenes was the first philosopher to transfer the ideas of natural philosophy into the philosophy of consciousness.{{Sfn|Sandywell|1995|p=186}} [[Werner Heisenberg]] said that the philosophy of Anaximenes caused a setback in scientific understanding, as it moved analysis away from physical properties themselves.{{Sfn|Vamvacas|2009|p=49}} [[Karl Popper]] suggested that Anaximenes and Anaximander developed a philosophy of [[rationalist]] critique, allowing criticism of one's teacher, that was not revived until the [[Renaissance]].{{Sfn|Vamvacas|2009|pp=49–50}}