Empedocles and the THEORY of the 4 elements

The theory of the 4 elements of Empedocles establishes that there are four constitutive principles of all things ("roots" or rhicómata), and that they are the four natural elements: water, air, earth and fire. At unPROFESOR.com we tell you.

Empedocles is one of the most prominent philosophers and scientists of the pre-Socratic philosophers. An ancient philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC and who was born in Agrigento, Sicily, and whose main contribution to pre-Socratic thought is the theory of the four elements.

In this lesson of unPROFESOR.com we offer you a summary of this four element theory so that you can know one of the earliest conceptions of the nature of matter and the cosmos.

Index

1. What is the philosophy of Empedocles?
2. What does the theory of the 4 elements of Empedocles propose?
3. What is the force that causes continuous change?

throughout the whole presocratic period, the philosophers searched for what could be the constitutive principle of the Cosmos,

The philosophers of the school of miletus and the Pythagoreans proposed as a principle both elements and air or water as to abstract principles like numbers. Added to this were very different conceptions of reality. So, Parmenides established that reality was one and immutable, while heraclitus he maintained that nature is characterized by constant and continuous change.

Empedocles' philosophy was one of the first attempts to try to reconcile the two positions by establishing that the arche was made up of a variety of elements and that, within that constant change, maintained an immutability. But what were the constituent elements or principles of all things for Empedocles?

According to the theory of the 4 elements of Empedocles, the constitutive principles of all things are four rhicomata or roots. Some roots that correspond to the four natural elements:

• Water
• the air
• the earth
• the fire

The four would be that arche sought by the previous pre-Socratic philosophers as Thales of Miletus, Anaximenes or Heraclitus, although unlike them, Empedocles established that these principles were qualitatively unalterable, immutable and eternal.

This conception of matter and the Cosmos established by Empedocles does not refer to earth, water, air and fire as chemical elements, but as basic components of reality.

According to Empedocles, the four elements could be defined as:

• The land It would be the solid and most stable part and would form part of most solid substances such as minerals or rocks.
• He water it is cohesion and fluidity and it is in liquids.
• He fire it is change and energy, heat and transformation.
• He air it is movement and lightness and is related to all the gaseous forms in which matter occurs.

But what is the force that causes continuous change, the evolution of things? For Empedocles, everything changes thanks to two enormous cosmic forces that he called Love and hate:

• Love has the strength to unite the four elements, attracting each other for being so different.
• While Hate is the great divisive force.

If love is the prevailing force, everything that is created is perfection and purity. A harmony that Hate is responsible for undoing, sowing chaos. After that moment of separation and discomfort, love intervenes again to unite again what Hate has separated. A cycle that is building and destroying the Cosmos.

These four elements and two forces that move them are likewise the source of knowledge. Thus, since the human being is composed of these four elements, he is capable of knowing what is similar to him. Everything around him is emanating flows with which he comes into contact through the senses and thus he is able to recognize objects and get to know them. The diversity of the world is also explained thanks to this constant change and transformation of reality.

The theory of the 4 elements of Empedocles had a great influence on ancient philosophy, although it was refined and redefined, giving rise to new theories to explain the composition of matter and how the Cosmos works.

If you want to read more articles similar to Empedocles and the theory of the 4 elements: summary, we recommend that you enter our category of Philosophy.

• APARICIO-GOMEZ, William-Oswaldo. The Presocratics and the Idea of ​​God: Divine Conceptions in Ancient Philosophy. International Journal of Theoretical and Practical Philosophy, 2023, vol. 3, not 2, p. 11-22.
• CAÑAS-QUIROS, Roberto. Scientific-religious pluralism in Empedocles. Academic Record, 2010, vol. 46, no Mayo, p. 135-154.
• GARCIA ESCRIVA, Vicente. The divine names of the four elements. Plot and background: culture magazine, 2016, no 41, p. 79-86.
• GONZALEZ ESCUDERO, Santiago. Roots and elements in Empedocles. The Basilisk: Journal of Philosophical Materialism, 1981, no 13, p. 62-69.