User:PeterL/Reference:Anaximander



Anaximander (Ancient Greek: Ἀναξίμανδρος) (c.610 BC - c. 546 BC) was a pre-socratic ancient Greek philosopher of Ionia, as well as an astronomer and geologist. He was one of the first people to have a belief in evolution-like concepts and one of the first people to develop a theory of abiogenesis: he believed that humans and other animals evolved from a fish-like organism and that life formed from mist. He described his theories in his book On Nature, but his book has been lost and most of our information on his theories come from second-hand quotes found in other books. Anaximander also believed there are multiple planets in the universe that harbor life, making Anaximander one of the first people in history to believe that extraterrestrial life exists.