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Ancient philosophy

This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (c. 600 CE).

Overview
Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures roughly contemporaneously. Karl Jaspers termed the intense period of philosophical development beginning around the 7th century BCE and concluding around the 3rd century BCE an Axial Age in human thought.

In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire marked the ending of Hellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of medieval philosophy, whereas in the Middle East, the spread of Islam through the Arab Empire marked the end of Old Iranian philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of early Islamic philosophy.

Pre-Socratic philosophers

 * Milesian School
 * Thales (624 – c 546 BCE)
 * Anaximander (610 – 546 BCE)
 * Anaximenes of Miletus (c. 585 – c. 525 BCE)

 * Pythagoreans
 * Pythagoras (582 – 496 BCE)
 * Philolaus (470 – 380 BCE)
 * Alcmaeon of Croton
 * Archytas (428 – 347 BCE)

 * Heraclitus (535 – 475 BCE)
 * Eleatic School
 * Xenophanes (570 – 470 BCE)
 * Parmenides (510 – 440 BCE)
 * Zeno of Elea (490 – 430 BCE)
 * Melissus of Samos (c. 470 BCE – ?)

 * Pluralists
 * Empedocles (490 – 430 BCE)
 * Anaxagoras (500 – 428 BCE)

 * Atomists
 * Leucippus (first half of 5th century BCE)
 * Democritus (460 – 370 BCE)
 * Metrodorus of Chios (4th century BCE)

 * Pherecydes of Syros (6th century BCE)
 * Sophists
 * Protagoras (490 – 420 BCE)
 * Gorgias (487 – 376 BCE)
 * Antiphon (480 – 411 BCE)
 * Prodicus (465/450 – after 399 BCE)
 * Hippias (middle of the 5th century BCE)
 * Thrasymachus (459 – 400 BCE)
 * Callicles
 * Critias
 * Lycophron

 * Diogenes of Apollonia (c. 460 BCE – ?)

Classical Greek philosophers

 * Socrates (469 – 399 BCE)
 * Euclid of Megara (450 – 380 BCE)
 * Antisthenes (445 – 360 BCE)
 * Aristippus (435 – 356 BCE)
 * Plato (428 – 347 BCE)
 * Speusippus (407 – 339 BCE)
 * Diogenes of Sinope (400 – 325 BCE)
 * Xenocrates (396 – 314 BCE)
 * Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE)
 * Stilpo (380 – 300 BCE)
 * Theophrastus (370 – 288 BCE)

Hellenistic philosophy

 * Pyrrho (365 – 275 BCE)
 * Epicurus (341 – 270 BCE)
 * Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the younger) (331 – 278 BCE)
 * Zeno of Citium (333 – 263 BCE)
 * Cleanthes (c. 330 – c. 230 BCE)
 * Timon (320 – 230 BCE)
 * Arcesilaus (316 – 232 BCE)
 * Menippus (3rd century BCE)
 * Archimedes (c. 287 – 212 BCE)
 * Chrysippus (280 – 207 BCE)
 * Carneades (214 – 129 BCE)
 * Clitomachus (187 – 109 BCE)
 * Metrodorus of Stratonicea (late 2nd century BCE)
 * Philo of Larissa (160 – 80 BCE)
 * Posidonius (135 – 51 BCE)
 * Antiochus of Ascalon (130 – 68 BCE)
 * Aenesidemus (1st century BCE)
 * Agrippa (1st century CE)

Hellenistic schools of thought

 * Academic skepticism
 * Cynicism
 * Cyrenaicism
 * Eclecticism
 * Epicureanism
 * Middle Platonism
 * Neo-Platonism
 * Neopythagoreanism
 * Peripatetic School
 * Pyrrhonism
 * Stoicism
 * Sophism

Early Roman and Christian philosophy

 * Neoplatonism in Christianity
 * School of the Sextii

Philosophers during Roman times

 * Cicero (106 – 43 BCE)
 * Lucretius (94 – 55 BCE)
 * Seneca (4 BCE – 65 CE)
 * Musonius Rufus (30 – 100 CE)
 * Plutarch (45 – 120 CE)
 * Epictetus (55 – 135 CE)
 * Favorinus (c. 80 – c. 160 CE)
 * Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 CE)
 * Clement of Alexandria (150 – 215 CE)
 * Alcinous (philosopher) (2nd century CE)
 * Sextus Empiricus (3rd century CE)
 * Alexander of Aphrodisias (3rd century CE)
 * Ammonius Saccas (3rd century CE)
 * Plotinus (205 – 270 CE)
 * Porphyry (232 – 304 CE)
 * Iamblichus (242 – 327 CE)
 * Themistius (317 – 388 CE)
 * Ambrose (340 – 397 CE)
 * Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 CE)
 * Proclus (411 – 485 CE)
 * Damascius (462 – 540 CE)
 * Boethius (472 – 524 CE)
 * Simplicius of Cilicia (490 – 560 CE)
 * John Philoponus (490 – 570 CE)

Ancient Iranian philosophy

See also: Dualism, Dualism (philosophy of mind)

While there are ancient relations between the Indian Vedas and the Iranian Avesta, the two main families of the Indo-Iranian philosophical traditions were characterized by fundamental differences in their implications for the human being's position in society and their view of man's role in the universe. The first charter of human rights by Cyrus the Great as understood in the Cyrus cylinder is often seen as a reflection of the questions and thoughts expressed by Zarathustra and developed in Zoroastrian schools of thought of the Achaemenid Era of Iranian history.

Schools of thought
Ideas and tenets of Zoroastrian schools of Early Persian philosophy are part of many works written in Middle Persian and of the extant scriptures of the Zoroastrian religion in Avestan language. Among these are treatises such as the Shikand-gumanic Vichar by Mardan-Farrux Ohrmazddadan, selections of Denkard, Wizidagīhā-ī Zātspram ("Selections of Zātspram") as well as older passages of the book Avesta, the Gathas which are attributed to Zarathustra himself and regarded as his "direct teachings".

Zoroastrianism
Anacharsis
 * Zarathustra
 * Jamasp
 * Ostanes
 * Mardan-Farrux Ohrmazddadan
 * Adurfarnbag Farroxzadan
 * Adurbad Emedan
 * Avesta
 * Gathas

Pre-Manichaean thought

 * Bardesanes

Manichaeism

 * Mani (c. 216 – 276 CE)
 * Ammo

Mazdakism

 * Mazdak the Elder
 * Mazdak (died c. 524 or 528 CE)

Zurvanism

 * Aesthetic Zurvanism
 * Materialist Zurvanism
 * Fatalistic Zurvanism

Philosophy and the Empire

 * Political philosophy
 * Tansar
 * University of Gundishapur
 * Borzouye
 * Bakhtshooa Gondishapuri
 * Emperor Khosrau's philosophical discourses
 * Paul the Persian

Literature

 * Pahlavi literature

Ancient Jewish philosophy

 * Qohelet (c. 450-180 BCE)
 * Pseudo-Aristeas (c. 2nd century BCE)
 * Ben Sira (fl. 180–175 BCE)
 * Aristobulus of Alexandria (181–124 BCE)
 * Philo of Alexandria (30 BCE – 45 CE)
 * Wisdom of Solomon (c. 1st century BCE - 1st century CE)
 * 4 Maccabees (c. 1st century CE)
 * Rabbi Akiva (c. 40 – c. 137 CE)

Ancient Indian philosophy
The ancient Indian philosophy is a fusion of two ancient traditions: the Vedic tradition and the śramaṇa tradition.

Vedic philosophy
Indian philosophy begins with the Vedas wherein questions pertaining to laws of nature, the origin of the universe and the place of man in it are asked. In the famous Rigvedic Hymn of Creation (Nasadiya Sukta) the poet asks:
 * "Whence all creation had its origin,
 * he, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not,
 * he, who surveys it all from highest heaven,
 * he knows—or maybe even he does not know."

In the Vedic view, creation is ascribed to the self-consciousness of the primeval being (Purusha). This leads to the inquiry into the one being that underlies the diversity of empirical phenomena and the origin of all things. Cosmic order is termed rta and causal law by karma. Nature (prakriti) is taken to have three qualities (sattva, rajas, and tamas).
 * Vedas
 * Upanishads
 * Hindu philosophy

Sramana philosophy
Jainism and Buddhism are continuation of the Sramana school of thought. The Sramanas cultivated a pessimistic worldview of the samsara as full of suffering and advocated renunciation and austerities. They laid stress on philosophical concepts like Ahimsa, Karma, Jnana, Samsara and Moksa. Cārvāka (Sanskrit: चार्वाक) (atheist) philosophy, also known as Lokāyata, it is a system of Hindu philosophy that assumes various forms of philosophical skepticism and religious indifference. It is named after its founder, Cārvāka, author of the Bārhaspatya-sūtras.

Classical Indian philosophy
In classical times, these inquiries were systematized in six schools of philosophy. Some of the questions asked were:
 * What is the ontological nature of consciousness?
 * How is cognition itself experienced?
 * Is mind (chit) intentional or not?
 * Does cognition have its own structure?

The six schools of Indian philosophy are:
 * Nyaya
 * Vaisheshika
 * Samkhya
 * Yoga
 * Mimamsa (Purva Mimamsa)
 * Vedanta (Uttara Mimamsa)

1st millennium BCE

 * Parashara – writer of Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

Philosophers of Vedic Age (c. 1500 – c. 600 BCE)

 * Rishi Narayana – seer of the Purusha Sukta of the Rig Veda.
 * Seven Rishis – Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kasyapa, Vasishtha, Viswamitra.
 * Other Vedic Rishis – Gritsamada, Sandilya, Kanva etc.
 * Rishaba – Rishi mentioned in Rig Veda and later in several Puranas, and believed by Jains to be the first official religious guru of Jainism, as accredited by later followers.
 * Yajnavalkya – one of the Vedic sages, greatly influenced Buddhistic thought.
 * Lopamudra
 * Gargi Vachaknavi
 * Maitreyi
 * Parshvanatha
 * Ghosha
 * Angiras – one of the seers of the Atharva Veda and author of Mundaka Upanishad.
 * Uddalaka Aruni – an Upanishadic sage who authored major portions of Chāndogya Upaniṣad.
 * Ashvapati – a King in the Later Vedic age who authored Vaishvanara Vidya of Chāndogya Upaniṣad.
 * Ashtavakra – an Upanishadic Sage mentioned in the Mahabharata, who authored Ashtavakra Gita.

Philosophers of Axial Age (600–185 BCE)

 * Gotama (c. 600 BCE), logician, author of Nyaya Sutra
 * Kanada (c. 600 BCE), founded the philosophical school of Vaisheshika, gave theory of atomism
 * Mahavira (599–527 BCE) – heavily influenced Jainism, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.
 * Purana Kassapa
 * Ajita Kesakambali
 * Payasi
 * Makkhali Gośāla
 * Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta
 * Mahavira
 * Dandamis
 * Nagasena
 * Lakulisha

 * Pakudha Kaccayana
 * Pāṇini (520–460 BCE), grammarian, author of Ashtadhyayi
 * Kapila (c. 500 BCE), proponent of the Samkhya system of philosophy.
 * Badarayana (lived between 500 BCE and 400 BCE) – Author of Brahma Sutras.
 * Jaimini (c. 400 BCE), author of Purva Mimamsa Sutras.
 * Pingala (c. 500 BCE), author of the Chandas shastra
 * Gautama Buddha (c. 480 – c. 400 BCE), founder of Buddhist school of thought
 * Śāriputra
 * Chanakya (c. 350 – c. 275 BCE), author of Arthashastra, professor (acharya) of political science at the Takshashila University
 * Patañjali (c. 200 BCE), developed the philosophy of Raja Yoga in his Yoga Sutras.
 * Shvetashvatara – Author of earliest textual exposition of a systematic philosophy of Shaivism.

Philosophers of Golden Age (184 BCE – 600 CE)

 * Aśvaghoṣa, believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa
 * Vatsyana, known for "Kama Sutra"
 * Samantabhadra, a proponent of the Jaina doctrine of Anekantavada
 * Isvarakrsna
 * Aryadeva, a student of Nagarjuna and contributed significantly to the Madhyamaka
 * Dharmakirti
 * Haribhadra
 * Pujyapada
 * Buddhaghosa
 * Kamandaka
 * Maticandra
 * Prashastapada
 * Bhāviveka
 * Dharmapala
 * Udyotakara
 * Gaudapada
 * Siddhasena
 * Valluvar (c. 5th century CE), wrote the Kural text, a Tamil-language treatise on morality and secular ethics
 * Dignāga (c. 500), one of the founders of Buddhist school of Indian logic
 * Asanga (c. 300), exponent of the Yogacara
 * Bhartrihari (c. 450–510 CE), early figure in Indic linguistic theory
 * Bodhidharma (c. 440–528 CE), founder of the Zen school of Buddhism
 * Siddhasena Divākara (5th century CE), Jain logician and author of important works in Sanskrit and Prakrit, such as, Nyāyāvatāra (on Logic) and Sanmatisūtra (dealing with the seven Jaina standpoints, knowledge and the objects of knowledge)
 * Vasubandhu (c. 300 CE), one of the main founders of the Indian Yogacara school
 * Kundakunda (2nd century CE), exponent of Jain mysticism and Jain nayas dealing with the nature of the soul and its contamination by matter, author of Pañcāstikāyasāra (Essence of the Five Existents), the Pravacanasāra (Essence of the Scripture) and the Samayasāra (Essence of the Doctrine)
 * Nagarjuna (c. 150 – 250 CE), the founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Path) school of Mahāyāna Buddhism
 * Umāsvāti or Umasvami (2nd century CE), author of first Jain work in Sanskrit, Tattvārthasūtra, expounding the Jain philosophy in a most systematized form acceptable to all sects of Jainism
 * Adi Shankara – philosopher and theologian, most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy

Ancient Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy is the dominant philosophical thought in China and other countries within the East Asian cultural sphere that share a common language, including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Hundred Schools of Thought
The Hundred Schools of Thought were philosophers and schools that flourished from the 6th century to 221 BCE, an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China. Even though this period – known in its earlier part as the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period – in its latter part was fraught with chaos and bloody battles, it is also known as the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy because a broad range of thoughts and ideas were developed and discussed freely. The thoughts and ideas discussed and refined during this period have profoundly influenced lifestyles and social consciousness up to the present day in East Asian countries. The intellectual society of this era was characterized by itinerant scholars, who were often employed by various state rulers as advisers on the methods of government, war, and diplomacy. This period ended with the rise of the Qin dynasty and the subsequent purge of dissent. The Book of Han lists ten major schools, they are:
 * Confucianism, which teaches that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. A main idea of Confucianism is the cultivation of virtue and the development of moral perfection. Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.
 * Legalism. Often compared with Machiavelli, and foundational for the traditional Chinese bureaucratic empire, the Legalists examined administrative methods, emphasizing a realistic consolidation of the wealth and power of autocrat and state.
 * Taoism (also called Daoism), a philosophy which emphasizes the Three Jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility, while Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos; health and longevity; and wu wei (action through inaction). Harmony with the Universe, or the source thereof (Tao), is the intended result of many Taoist rules and practices.
 * Mohism, which advocated the idea of universal love: Mozi believed that "everyone is equal before heaven", and that people should seek to imitate heaven by engaging in the practice of collective love. His epistemology can be regarded as primitive materialist empiricism; he believed that human cognition ought to be based on one's perceptions – one's sensory experiences, such as sight and hearing – instead of imagination or internal logic, elements founded on the human capacity for abstraction. Mozi advocated frugality, condemning the Confucian emphasis on ritual and music, which he denounced as extravagant.
 * Naturalism, the School of Naturalists or the Yin-yang school, which synthesized the concepts of yin and yang and the Five Elements; Zou Yan is considered the founder of this school.
 * Agrarianism, or the School of Agrarianism, which advocated peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism. The Agrarians believed that Chinese society should be modeled around that of the early sage king Shen Nong, a folk hero which was portrayed in Chinese literature as "working in the fields, along with everyone else, and consulting with everyone else when any decision had to be reached."
 * The Logicians or the School of Names, which focused on definition and logic. It is said to have parallels with that of the Ancient Greek sophists or dialecticians. The most notable Logician was Gongsun Longzi.
 * The School of Diplomacy or School of Vertical and Horizontal [Alliances], which focused on practical matters instead of any moral principle, so it stressed political and diplomatic tactics, and debate and lobbying skill. Scholars from this school were good orators, debaters and tacticians.
 * The Miscellaneous School, which integrated teachings from different schools; for instance, Lü Buwei found scholars from different schools to write a book called Lüshi Chunqiu cooperatively. This school tried to integrate the merits of various schools and avoid their perceived flaws.
 * The School of "Minor-talks", which was not a unique school of thought, but a philosophy constructed of all the thoughts which were discussed by and originated from normal people on the street.
 * Another group is the School of the Military that studied strategy and the philosophy of war; Sunzi and Sun Bin were influential leaders. However, this school was not one of the "Ten Schools" defined by Hanshu.

Early Imperial China
The founder of the Qin dynasty, who implemented Legalism as the official philosophy, quashed Mohist and Confucianist schools. Legalism remained influential until the emperors of the Han dynasty adopted Daoism and later Confucianism as official doctrine. These latter two became the determining forces of Chinese thought until the introduction of Buddhism.

Confucianism was particularly strong during the Han dynasty, whose greatest thinker was Dong Zhongshu, who integrated Confucianism with the thoughts of the Zhongshu School and the theory of the Five Elements. He also was a promoter of the New Text school, which considered Confucius as a divine figure and a spiritual ruler of China, who foresaw and started the evolution of the world towards the Universal Peace. In contrast, there was an Old Text school that advocated the use of Confucian works written in ancient language (from this comes the denomination Old Text) that were so much more reliable. In particular, they refuted the assumption of Confucius as a godlike figure and considered him as the greatest sage, but simply a human and mortal.

The 3rd and 4th centuries saw the rise of the Xuanxue (mysterious learning), also called Neo-Taoism. The most important philosophers of this movement were Wang Bi, Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang. The main question of this school was whether Being came before Not-Being (in Chinese, ming and wuming). A peculiar feature of these Taoist thinkers, like the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, was the concept of feng liu (lit. wind and flow), a sort of romantic spirit which encouraged following the natural and instinctive impulse.

Buddhism arrived in China around the 1st century AD, but it was not until the Northern and Southern, Sui and Tang dynasties that it gained considerable influence and acknowledgement. At the beginning, it was considered a sort of Taoist sect, and there was even a theory about Laozi, founder of Taoism, who went to India and taught his philosophy to Buddha. Mahayana Buddhism was far more successful in China than its rival Hinayana, and both Indian schools and local Chinese sects arose from the 5th century. Two chiefly important monk philosophers were Sengzhao and Daosheng. But probably the most influential and original of these schools was the Chan sect, which had an even stronger impact in Japan as the Zen sect.

Philosophers

 * Taoism
 * Laozi (5th–4th century BCE)
 * Zhuangzi (4th century BCE)
 * Zhang Daoling
 * Zhang Jue (died 184 CE)
 * Ge Hong (283 – 343 CE)
 * Confucianism
 * Confucius
 * Mencius
 * Xun Zi (c. 312 – 230 BCE)
 * Legalism
 * Li Si
 * Li Kui
 * Han Fei
 * Mi Su Yu
 * Shang Yang
 * Shen Buhai
 * Shen Dao
 * Mohism
 * Mozi
 * Song Xing
 * Logicians
 * Deng Xi
 * Hui Shi (380–305 BCE)
 * Gongsun Long (c. 325 – c. 250 BCE)
 * Agrarianism
 * Xu Xing
 * Naturalism
 * Zou Yan (305 – 240 BCE)
 * Neotaoism
 * Wang Bi
 * Guo Xiang
 * Xiang Xiu
 * School of Diplomacy
 * Guiguzi
 * Su Qin (380 – 284 BCE)
 * Zhang Yi (bef. 329 – 309 BCE)
 * Yue Yi
 * Li Yiji (268 – 204 BCE)
 * Military strategy
 * Sunzi (c. 500 BCE)
 * Sun Bin (died 316 BCE)

title: Ancient philosophy


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Anaximander

Anaximander (Ἀναξίμανδρος Anaximandros; c. 610 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus, a city of Ionia (in modern-day Turkey). He belonged to the Milesian school and learned the teachings of his master Thales. He succeeded Thales and became the second master of that school where he counted Anaximenes and, arguably, Pythagoras amongst his pupils.

Little of his life and work is known today. According to available historical documents, he is the first philosopher known to have written down his studies, although only one fragment of his work remains. Fragmentary testimonies found in documents after his death provide a portrait of the man.

Anaximander was an early proponent of science and tried to observe and explain different aspects of the universe, with a particular interest in its origins, claiming that nature is ruled by laws, just like human societies, and anything that disturbs the balance of nature does not last long. Like many thinkers of his time, Anaximander's philosophy included contributions to many disciplines. In astronomy, he attempted to describe the mechanics of celestial bodies in relation to the Earth. In physics, his postulation that the indefinite (or apeiron) was the source of all things, led Greek philosophy to a new level of conceptual abstraction. His knowledge of geometry allowed him to introduce the gnomon in Greece. He created a map of the world that contributed greatly to the advancement of geography. Anaximander was also involved in the politics of Miletus and was sent as a leader to one of its colonies.

Biography

Anaximander, son of Praxiades, was born in the third year of the 42nd Olympiad (610 BC). According to Apollodorus of Athens, Greek grammarian of the 2nd century BC, he was sixty-four years old during the second year of the 58th Olympiad (547–546 BC) and died shortly afterwards.

Establishing a timeline of his work is impossible, since no document provides chronological references. Themistius, a 4th-century Byzantine rhetorician, mentions that he was the "first of the known Greeks to publish a written document on nature." Therefore, his texts would be amongst the earliest written in prose, at least in the Western world. By the time of Plato, his philosophy was almost forgotten, and Aristotle, his successor Theophrastus, and a few doxographers provide us with the little information that remains. However, we know from Aristotle that Thales, also from Miletus, precedes Anaximander. It is debatable whether Thales actually was the teacher of Anaximander, but there is no doubt that Anaximander was influenced by Thales' theory that everything is derived from water. One thing that is not debatable is that even the ancient Greeks considered Anaximander to be from the Monist school which began in Miletus, with Thales followed by Anaximander and which ended with Anaximenes. 3rd-century Roman rhetorician Aelian depicts Anaximander as leader of the Milesian colony to Apollonia on the Black Sea coast, and hence some have inferred that he was a prominent citizen. Indeed, Various History (III, 17) explains that philosophers sometimes also dealt with political matters. It is very likely that leaders of Miletus sent him there as a legislator to create a constitution or simply to maintain the colony's allegiance.

Anaximander lived the final few years of his life as a subject of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.

Theories

Anaximander's theories were influenced by the Greek mythical tradition, and by some ideas of Thales – the father of Western philosophy – as well as by observations made by older civilizations in the Near East, especially Babylon. All these were developed rationally. In his desire to find some universal principle, he assumed, like traditional religion, the existence of a cosmic order; and his ideas on this used the old language of myths which ascribed divine control to various spheres of reality. This was a common practice for the Greek philosophers in a society which saw gods everywhere, and therefore could fit their ideas into a tolerably elastic system.

Some scholars see a gap between the existing mythical and the new rational way of thought which is the main characteristic of the archaic period (8th to 6th century BC) in the Greek city-states. This has given rise to the phrase "Greek miracle". But there may not have been such an abrupt break as initially appears. The basic elements of nature (water, air, fire, earth) which the first Greek philosophers believed made up the universe in fact represent the primordial forces imagined in earlier ways of thinking. Their collision produced what the mythical tradition had called cosmic harmony. In the old cosmogonies – Hesiod (8th – 7th century BC) and Pherecydes (6th century BC) – Zeus establishes his order in the world by destroying the powers which were threatening this harmony (the Titans). Anaximander claimed that the cosmic order is not monarchic but geometric, and that this causes the equilibrium of the Earth, which is lying in the centre of the universe. This is the projection on nature of a new political order and a new space organized around a centre which is the static point of the system in the society as in nature. In this space there is isonomy (equal rights) and all the forces are symmetrical and transferable. The decisions are now taken by the assembly of demos in the agora which is lying in the middle of the city.

The same rational way of thought led him to introduce the abstract apeiron (indefinite, infinite, boundless, unlimited ) as an origin of the universe, a concept that is probably influenced by the original Chaos (gaping void, abyss, formless state) from which everything else appeared in the mythical Greek cosmogony. It also takes notice of the mutual changes between the four elements. Origin, then, must be something else unlimited in its source, that could create without experiencing decay, so that genesis would never stop.

Apeiron
The Refutation attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (I, 5), and the later 6th century Byzantine philosopher Simplicius of Cilicia, attribute to Anaximander the earliest use of the word apeiron (ἄπειρον "infinite" or "limitless") to designate the original principle. He was the first philosopher to employ, in a philosophical context, the term archē (ἀρχή), which until then had meant beginning or origin.

"That Anaximander called this something by the name of Φύσις is the natural interpretation of what Theophrastos says; the current statement that the term ἀρχή was introduced by him appears to be due to a misunderstanding."

And "Hippolytos, however, is not an independent authority, and the only question is what Theophrastos wrote."

For him, it became no longer a mere point in time, but a source that could perpetually give birth to whatever will be. The indefiniteness is spatial in early usages as in Homer (indefinite sea) and as in Xenophanes (6th century BC) who said that the Earth went down indefinitely (to apeiron) i.e. beyond the imagination or concept of men.

Burnet (1930) in Early Greek Philosophy says:

"'Nearly all we know of Anaximander's system is derived in the last resort from Theophrastos, who certainly knew his book. He seems once at least to have quoted Anaximander's own words, and he criticised his style. Here are the remains of what he said of him in the First Book:"

"'Anaximander of Miletos, son of Praxiades, a fellow-citizen and associate of Thales, said that the material cause and first element of things was the Infinite, he being the first to introduce this name of the material cause. He says it is neither water nor any other of the so-called elements, but a substance different from them which is infinite' [apeiron, or ἄπειρον] 'from which arise all the heavens and the worlds within them.—Phys, Op. fr. 2 (Dox. p. 476; R. P. 16).'"

Burnet's quote from the "First Book" is his translation of Theophrastos' Physic Opinion fragment 2 as it appears in p. 476 of Historia Philosophiae Graecae (1898) by Ritter and Preller and section 16 of Doxographi Graeci (1879) by Diels.

By ascribing the "Infinite" with a "material cause", Theophrastos is following the Aristotelian tradition of "nearly always discussing the facts from the point of view of his own system".

Aristotle writes (Metaphysics, I.III 3–4) that the Pre-Socratics were searching for the element that constitutes all things. While each pre-Socratic philosopher gave a different answer as to the identity of this element (water for Thales and air for Anaximenes), Anaximander understood the beginning or first principle to be an endless, unlimited primordial mass (apeiron), subject to neither old age nor decay, that perpetually yielded fresh materials from which everything we perceive is derived. He proposed the theory of the apeiron in direct response to the earlier theory of his teacher, Thales, who had claimed that the primary substance was water. The notion of temporal infinity was familiar to the Greek mind from remote antiquity in the religious concept of immortality, and Anaximander's description was in terms appropriate to this conception. This archē is called "eternal and ageless". (Hippolytus (?), Refutation, I,6,I;DK B2)

"'Aristotle puts things in his own way regardless of historical considerations, and it is difficult to see that it is more of an anachronism to call the Boundless ' intermediate between the elements ' than to say that it is ' distinct from the elements.' Indeed, if once we introduce the elements at all, the former description is the more adequate of the two. At any rate, if we refuse to understand these passages as referring to Anaximander, we shall have to say that Aristotle paid a great deal of attention to some one whose very name has been lost, and who not only agreed with some of Anaximander's views, but also used some of his most characteristic expressions. We may add that in one or two places Aristotle certainly seems to identify the ' intermediate ' with the something ' distinct from ' the elements.'"

"'It is certain that he [Anaximander] cannot have said anything about elements, which no one thought of before Empedokles, and no one could think of before Parmenides. The question has only been mentioned because it has given rise to a lengthy controversy, and because it throws light on the historical value of Aristotle's statements. From the point of view of his own system, these may be justified; but we shall have to remember in other cases that, when he seems to attribute an idea to some earlier thinker, we are not bound to take what he says in an historical sense.'"

For Anaximander, the principle of things, the constituent of all substances, is nothing determined and not an element such as water in Thales' view. Neither is it something halfway between air and water, or between air and fire, thicker than air and fire, or more subtle than water and earth. Anaximander argues that water cannot embrace all of the opposites found in nature — for example, water can only be wet, never dry — and therefore cannot be the one primary substance; nor could any of the other candidates. He postulated the apeiron as a substance that, although not directly perceptible to us, could explain the opposites he saw around him.

"'If Thales had been right in saying that water was the fundamental reality, it would not be easy to see how anything else could ever have existed. One side of the opposition, the cold and moist, would have had its way unchecked, and the warm and dry would have been driven from the field long ago. We must, then, have something not itself one of the warring opposites, something more primitive, out of which they arise, and into which they once more pass away.'"

Anaximander explains how the four elements of ancient physics (air, earth, water and fire) are formed, and how Earth and terrestrial beings are formed through their interactions. Unlike other Pre-Socratics, he never defines this principle precisely, and it has generally been understood (e.g., by Aristotle and by Saint Augustine) as a sort of primal chaos. According to him, the Universe originates in the separation of opposites in the primordial matter. It embraces the opposites of hot and cold, wet and dry, and directs the movement of things; an entire host of shapes and differences then grow that are found in "all the worlds" (for he believed there were many).

"'Anaximander taught, then, that there was an eternal. The indestructible something out of which everything arises, and into which everything returns; a boundless stock from which the waste of existence is continually made good, 'elements.'. That is only the natural development of the thought we have ascribed to Thales, and there can be no doubt that Anaximander at least formulated it distinctly. Indeed, we can still follow to some extent the reasoning which led him to do so. Thales had regarded water as the most likely thing to be that of which all others are forms; Anaximander appears to have asked how the primary substance could be one of these particular things. His argument seems to be preserved by Aristotle, who has the following passage in his discussion of the Infinite: 'Further, there cannot be a single, simple body which is infinite, either, as some hold, one distinct from the elements, which they then derive from it, or without this qualification. For there are some who make this. (i.e. a body distinct from the elements). the infinite, and not air or water, in order that the other things may not be destroyed by their infinity. They are in opposition one to another. air is cold, water moist, and fire hot. and therefore, if any one of them were infinite, the rest would have ceased to be by this time. Accordingly they say that what is infinite is something other than the elements, and from it the elements arise.'—Aristotle Physics. F, 5 204 b 22 (Ritter and Preller (1898) Historia Philosophiae Graecae, section 16 b).'"

Anaximander maintains that all dying things are returning to the element from which they came (apeiron). The one surviving fragment of Anaximander's writing deals with this matter. Simplicius transmitted it as a quotation, which describes the balanced and mutual changes of the elements:

Whence things have their origin, Thence also their destruction happens, According to necessity; For they give to each other justice and recompense For their injustice In conformity with the ordinance of Time.

Simplicius mentions that Anaximander said all these "in poetic terms", meaning that he used the old mythical language. The goddess Justice (Dike) keeps the cosmic order. This concept of returning to the element of origin was often revisited afterwards, notably by Aristotle, and by the Greek tragedian Euripides: "what comes from earth must return to earth." Friedrich Nietzsche, in his Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks, stated that Anaximander viewed "... all coming-to-be as though it were an illegitimate emancipation from eternal being, a wrong for which destruction is the only penance." Physicist Max Born, in commenting upon Werner Heisenberg's arriving at the idea that the elementary particles of quantum mechanics are to be seen as different manifestations, different quantum states, of one and the same "primordial substance,"' proposed that this primordial substance be called apeiron.

A free-floating Earth
Anaximander was the first to conceive a mechanical model of the world. In his model, the Earth floats very still in the centre of the infinite, not supported by anything. It remains "in the same place because of its indifference", a point of view that Aristotle considered ingenious, in On the Heavens. Its curious shape is that of a cylinder with a height one-third of its diameter. The flat top forms the inhabited world.

Carlo Rovelli suggests that Anaximander took the idea of the Earth's shape as a floating disk from Thales, who had imagined the Earth floating in water, the "immense ocean from which everything is born and upon which the Earth floats." Anaximander was then able to envisage the Earth at the centre of an infinite space, in which case it required no support as there was nowhere "down" to fall. In Rovelli's view, the shape – a cylinder or a sphere – is unimportant compared to the appreciation of a "finite body that floats free in space."

Anaximander's realization that the Earth floats free without falling and does not need to be resting on something has been indicated by many as the first cosmological revolution and the starting point of scientific thinking. Karl Popper calls this idea "one of the boldest, most revolutionary, and most portentous ideas in the whole history of human thinking." Such a model allowed the concept that celestial bodies could pass under the Earth, opening the way to Greek astronomy. Rovelli suggests that seeing the stars circling the Pole star, and both vanishing below the horizon on one side and reappearing above it on the other, would suggest to the astronomer that there was a void both above and below the Earth.

Cosmology

Anaximander's bold use of non-mythological explanatory hypotheses considerably distinguishes him from previous cosmology writers such as Hesiod. It indicates a pre-Socratic effort to demystify physical processes. His major contribution to history was writing the oldest prose document about the Universe and the origins of life; for this he is often called the "Father of Cosmology" and founder of astronomy. However, pseudo-Plutarch states that he still viewed celestial bodies as deities. He placed the celestial bodies in the wrong order. He thought that the stars were nearest to the Earth, then the Moon, and the Sun farthest away. His scheme is compatible with the Indo-Iranian philosophical traditions contained in the Iranian Avesta and the Indian Upanishads.

At the origin, after the separation of hot and cold, a ball of flame appeared that surrounded Earth like bark on a tree. This ball broke apart to form the rest of the Universe. It resembled a system of hollow concentric wheels, filled with fire, with the rims pierced by holes like those of a flute. Consequently, the Sun was the fire that one could see through a hole the same size as the Earth on the farthest wheel, and an eclipse corresponded with the occlusion of that hole. The diameter of the solar wheel was twenty-seven times that of the Earth (or twenty-eight, depending on the sources) and the lunar wheel, whose fire was less intense, eighteen (or nineteen) times. Its hole could change shape, thus explaining lunar phases. The stars and the planets, located closer, followed the same model.

Anaximander was the first astronomer to consider the Sun as a huge mass, and consequently, to realize how far from Earth it might be, and the first to present a system where the celestial bodies turned at different distances. Furthermore, according to Diogenes Laertius (II, 2), he built a celestial sphere. This invention undoubtedly made him the first to realize the obliquity of the Zodiac as the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder reports in Natural History (II, 8). It is a little early to use the term ecliptic, but his knowledge and work on astronomy confirm that he must have observed the inclination of the celestial sphere in relation to the plane of the Earth to explain the seasons. The doxographer and theologian Aetius attributes to Pythagoras the exact measurement of the obliquity.

Multiple worlds
According to Simplicius, Anaximander already speculated on the plurality of worlds, similar to 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".

In addition to Simplicius, Hippolytus 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, which are often infinite in quantity). Cicero writes that he attributes different gods to the countless worlds.

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

Meteorological phenomena
Anaximander attributed some phenomena, such as thunder and lightning, to the intervention of elements, rather than to divine causes. In his system, thunder results from the shock of clouds hitting each other; the loudness of the sound is proportionate with that of the shock. Thunder without lightning is the result of the wind being too weak to emit any flame, but strong enough to produce a sound. A flash of lightning without thunder is a jolt of the air that disperses and falls, allowing a less active fire to break free. Thunderbolts are the result of a thicker and more violent air flow.

He saw the sea as a remnant of the mass of humidity that once surrounded Earth. A part of that mass evaporated under the Sun's action, thus causing the winds and even the rotation of the celestial bodies, which he believed were attracted to places where water is more abundant. He explained rain as a product of the humidity pumped up from Earth by the sun. For him, the Earth was slowly drying up and water only remained in the deepest regions, which someday would go dry as well. According to Aristotle's Meteorology (II, 3), Democritus also shared this opinion.

Origin of mankind
Anaximander speculated about the beginnings and origin of animal life, and that humans came from other animals in waters. According to his evolutionary theory, animals sprang out of the sea long ago, born trapped in a spiny bark, but as they got older, the bark would dry up and animals would be able to break it. The 3rd century Roman writer Censorinus reports:

"Anaximander of Miletus considered that from warmed up water and earth emerged either fish or entirely fishlike animals. Inside these animals, men took form and embryos were held prisoners until puberty; only then, after these animals burst open, could men and women come out, now able to feed themselves."

Anaximander put forward the idea that humans had to spend part of this transition inside the mouths of big fish to protect themselves from the Earth's climate until they could come out in open air and lose their scales. He thought that, considering humans' extended infancy, we could not have survived in the primeval world in the same manner we do presently.

Cartography

Both Strabo and Agathemerus (later Greek geographers) claim that, according to the geographer Eratosthenes, Anaximander was the first to publish a map of the world. The map probably inspired the Greek historian Hecataeus of Miletus to draw a more accurate version. Strabo viewed both as the first geographers after Homer.

Maps were produced in ancient times, also notably in Egypt, Lydia, the Middle East, and Babylon. Only some small examples survived until today. The unique example of a world map comes from the late Babylonian Map of the World later than 9th century BC but is based probably on a much older map. These maps indicated directions, roads, towns, borders, and geological features. Anaximander's innovation was to represent the entire inhabited land known to the ancient Greeks.

Such an accomplishment is more significant than it at first appears. Anaximander most likely drew this map for three reasons. First, it could be used to improve navigation and trade between Miletus's colonies and other colonies around the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Second, Thales would probably have found it easier to convince the Ionian city-states to join in a federation in order to push the Median threat away if he possessed such a tool. Finally, the philosophical idea of a global representation of the world simply for the sake of knowledge was reason enough to design one.

Surely aware of the sea's convexity, he may have designed his map on a slightly rounded metal surface. The centre or “navel” of the world (ὀμφαλός γῆς omphalós gẽs) could have been Delphi, but is more likely in Anaximander's time to have been located near Miletus. The Aegean Sea was near the map's centre and enclosed by three continents, themselves located in the middle of the ocean and isolated like islands by sea and rivers. Europe was bordered on the south by the Mediterranean Sea and was separated from Asia by the Black Sea, the Lake Maeotis, and, further east, either by the Phasis River (now called the Rioni in Georgia) or the Tanais. The Nile flowed south into the ocean, separating Libya (which was the name for the part of the then-known African continent) from Asia.

Gnomon
The Suda relates that Anaximander explained some basic notions of geometry. It also mentions his interest in the measurement of time and associates him with the introduction in Greece of the gnomon. In Lacedaemon, he participated in the construction, or at least in the adjustment, of sundials to indicate solstices and equinoxes. Indeed, a gnomon required adjustments from a place to another because of the difference in latitude.

In his time, the gnomon was simply a vertical pillar or rod mounted on a horizontal plane. The position of its shadow on the plane indicated the time of day. As it moves through its apparent course, the Sun draws a curve with the tip of the projected shadow, which is shortest at noon, when pointing due south. The variation in the tip's position at noon indicates the solar time and the seasons; the shadow is longest on the winter solstice and shortest on the summer solstice.

The invention of the gnomon itself cannot be attributed to Anaximander because its use, as well as the division of days into twelve parts, came from the Babylonians. It is they, according to Herodotus' Histories (II, 109), who gave the Greeks the art of time measurement. It is likely that he was not the first to determine the solstices, because no calculation is necessary. On the other hand, equinoxes do not correspond to the middle point between the positions during solstices, as the Babylonians thought. As the Suda seems to suggest, it is very likely that with his knowledge of geometry, he became the first Greek to determine accurately the equinoxes.

Prediction of an earthquake
In his philosophical work De Divinatione (I, 50, 112), Cicero states that Anaximander convinced the inhabitants of Lacedaemon to abandon their city and spend the night in the country with their weapons because an earthquake was near. The city collapsed when the top of the Taygetus split like the stern of a ship. Pliny the Elder also mentions this anecdote (II, 81), suggesting that it came from an "admirable inspiration", as opposed to Cicero, who did not associate the prediction with divination.

Scientific method
Rovelli credits Anaximander with pioneering the "first great scientific revolution in history" by introducing the naturalistic approach to understanding the universe, according to which the universe operates by inviolable laws, without recourse to supernatural explanations. According to Rovelli, Anaximander not only paved the way for modern science, but revolutionized the process for how we form our worldview, by constantly questioning and rejecting certainty. Rovelli further states that Anaximander has not been given his due credit, largely because his naturalistic approach was strongly opposed in antiquity (among others by Aristotle) and had yet to yield the tangible benefits it has today.

Legacy
Bertrand Russell in the History of Western Philosophy interprets Anaximander's theories as an assertion of the necessity of an appropriate balance between earth, fire, and water, all of which may be independently seeking to aggrandize their proportions relative to the others. Anaximander seems to express his belief that a natural order ensures balance among these elements, that where there was fire, ashes (earth) now exist. His Greek peers echoed this sentiment with their belief in natural boundaries beyond which not even the gods could operate.

Friedrich Nietzsche, in Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks, claimed that Anaximander was a pessimist who asserted that the primal being of the world was a state of indefiniteness. In accordance with this, anything definite has to eventually pass back into indefiniteness. In other words, Anaximander viewed "...all coming-to-be as though it were an illegitimate emancipation from eternal being, a wrong for which destruction is the only penance". (Ibid., § 4) The world of individual objects, in this way of thinking, has no worth and should perish.

Martin Heidegger lectured extensively on Anaximander, and delivered a lecture entitled "Anaximander's Saying" which was subsequently included in Off the Beaten Track. The lecture examines the ontological difference and the oblivion of Being or Dasein in the context of the Anaximander fragment. Heidegger's lecture is, in turn, an important influence on the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.

In the 2017 essay collection Anaximander in Context: New Studies on the Origins of Greek Philosophy, Dirk Couprie, Robert Hahn and Gerald Naddaf describe Anaximander as "one of the greatest minds in history", but one that has not been given his due. Couprie goes to state that he considers him on par with Newton. Similar sentiments are expressed in Carlo Rovelli's 2011 book The First Scientist: Anaximander and His Legacy.

The Anaximander (31st) High School of Thessaloniki, Greece is named after Anaximander.

Works
According to the Suda:

 * On Nature (Περὶ φύσεως / Perì phúseôs)
 * Rotation of the Earth (Γῆς περίοδος / Gễs períodos)
 * On Fixed stars (Περὶ τῶν ἀπλανῶν / Perì tỗn aplanỗn)
 * The [Celestial] Sphere (Σφαῖρα / Sphaĩra)

Primary

 * Aelian: Various History (III, 17)
 * Aëtius: De Fide (I-III; V)
 * Agathemerus: A Sketch of Geography in Epitome (I, 1)
 * Aristotle: Meteorology (II, 3) Translated by E. W. Webster
 * Aristotle: On Generation and Corruption (II, 5) Translated by H. H. Joachim
 * Aristotle: On the Heavens (II, 13) Translated by J. L. Stocks
 * (III, 5, 204 b 33–34)
 * Censorinus: De Die Natali (IV, 7) See original text at LacusCurtius
 * (I, 50, 112)
 * Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods (I, 10, 25)
 * Euripides: The Suppliants (532) Translated by E. P. Coleridge
 * Eusebius of Caesarea: Preparation for the Gospel (X, 14, 11) Translated by E.H. Gifford
 * Heidel, W.A. Anaximander's Book: PAAAS, vol. 56, n.7, 1921, pp. 239–288.
 * Herodotus: Histories (II, 109) See original text in Perseus project
 * Hippolytus (?): Refutation of All Heresies (I, 5) Translated by Roberts and Donaldson
 * Pliny the Elder: Natural History (II, 8) See original text in Perseus project
 * Pseudo-Plutarch: The Doctrines of the Philosophers (I, 3; I, 7; II, 20–28; III, 2–16; V, 19)
 * Seneca the Younger: Natural Questions (II, 18)
 * Simplicius: Comments on Aristotle's Physics (24, 13–25; 1121, 5–9)
 * Strabo: Geography (I, 1) Books 1‑7, 15‑17 translated by H. L. Jones
 * Themistius: Oratio (36, 317)
 * The Suda (Suda On Line)
 * The Suda (Suda On Line)

Secondary

 * The default source; anything not otherwise attributed should be in Conche.
 * The default source; anything not otherwise attributed should be in Conche.
 * The default source; anything not otherwise attributed should be in Conche.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Anaximander


text:
APL

APL is an abbreviation, acronym, or initialism that may refer to:

Science and technology

 * 132524 APL, an asteroid
 * Abductor pollicis longus muscle, in the human hand
 * Acute promyelocytic leukemia, a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia
 * Applied Physics Letters, a physics journal
 * Nampula Airport (IATA airport code: APL), in Mozambique

Computers

 * .apl, the file extension of the Monkey's Audio metadata file
 * AMD Performance Library, renamed Framewave, a computer compiler library
 * APL (programming language), an array-based programming language
 * APL (codepage), the character set for programming in APL
 * Address Prefix List, a DNS record type
 * Address (programming language), an early high-level programming language developed in the Soviet Union
 * Advanced Physical Layer, an extension of Ethernet 10BASE-T1L for field devices
 * Alexa Presentation Language, a language for developing Amazon Alexa skills
 * Associative Programming Language, a database query language

Software licences

 * Adaptive Public License, an Open Source license from the University of Victoria, Canada
 * AROS Public License, a license of AROS Research Operating System
 * Arphic Public License, a free font license

Organizations

 * APL (shipping company), a Singapore-based container and shipping company
 * Aden Protectorate Levies, a militia force for local defense of the Aden Protectorate
 * Advanced Production and Loading, a Norwegian marine engineering company formed in 1993
 * Afghanistan Premier League, an Afghan Twenty20 cricket league
 * Afghan Premier League, a men's football league in Afghanistan
 * American Patriot League, a proposed American football spring league
 * American Premiere League, a Twenty20 cricket league in the US
 * American President Lines, a container transportation and shipping company
 * American Protective League, a World War I-era pro-war organization
 * Applied Physics Laboratory, at Johns Hopkins University
 * Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington
 * Association of Pension Lawyers, UK
 * Aurora Public Library (disambiguation)
 * Australian Professional Leagues, an Australian soccer governing body
 * Irish Anti-Partition League, a Northern Ireland political organisation

Other uses

 * apl.de.ap (born 1974), pseudonym of Allan Pineda Lindo, Filipino–American musician
 * A US Navy hull classification symbol: Barracks craft (APL)

title: APL


text:
Architect

An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that have human occupancy or use as their principal purpose. Etymologically, the term architect derives from the Latin architectus, which derives from the Greek (arkhi-, chief + tekton, builder), i.e., chief builder.

The professional requirements for architects vary from location to location. An architect's decisions affect public safety, and thus the architect must undergo specialised training consisting of advanced education and a practicum (or internship) for practical experience to earn a license to practice architecture. Practical, technical, and academic requirements for becoming an architect vary by jurisdiction though the formal study of architecture in academic institutions has played a pivotal role in the development of the profession.

Origins
Throughout ancient and medieval history, most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans—such as stone masons and carpenters—who rose to the role of master builders. Until modern times, there was no clear distinction between architect and engineer. In Europe, the titles architect and engineer were primarily geographical variations that referred to the same person, often used interchangeably. "Architect" derives from Greek ἀρχιτέκτων (, "master builder," "chief ).  It is suggested that various developments in technology and mathematics allowed the development of the professional 'gentleman' architect, separate from the hands-on craftsman. Paper was not used in Europe for drawing until the 15th century but became increasingly available after 1500. Pencils were used for drawing by 1600. The availability of both paper and pencils allowed pre-construction drawings to be made by professionals. Concurrently, the introduction of linear perspective and innovations such as the use of different projections to describe a three-dimensional building in two dimensions, together with an increased understanding of dimensional accuracy, helped building designers communicate their ideas. However, development was gradual and slow-going. Until the 18th century, buildings continued to be designed and set out by craftsmen, with the exception of high-status projects.

Architecture
In most developed countries only those qualified with an appropriate license, certification, or registration with a relevant body (often a government) may legally practice architecture. Such licensure usually requires a university degree, successful completion of exams, and a training period. Representation of oneself as an architect through the use of terms and titles were restricted to licensed individuals by law, although in general, derivatives such as architectural designer were not legally protected.

To practice architecture implies the ability to practice independently of supervision. The term building design professional (or design professional), by contrast, is a much broader term that includes professionals who practice independently under an alternate profession, such as engineering professionals, or those who assist in the practice of architecture under the supervision of a licensed architect, such as intern architects. In many places, independent, non-licensed individuals may perform design services outside of professional restrictions, such as the design of houses or other smaller structures.

Practice
In the architectural profession, technical and environmental knowledge, design, and construction management require an understanding of business as well as design. However, design is the driving force throughout the project and beyond. An architect accepts a commission from a client. The commission might involve preparing feasibility reports, building audits, and designing a building or several buildings, structures, and the spaces among them. The architect participates in developing the requirements the client wants in the building. Throughout the project (planning to occupancy), the architect coordinates a design team. Structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers are hired by the client or architect, who must ensure that the work is coordinated to construct the design.

Design role
The architect, once hired by a client, is responsible for creating a design concept that meets the requirements of that client and provides a facility suitable to the required use. The architect must meet with and ask questions to the client, to ascertain all the requirements (and nuances) of the planned project.

Often, the full brief is not clear in the beginning. It involves a degree of risk in the design undertaking. The architect may make early proposals to the client which may rework the terms of the brief. The "program" (or brief) is essential to producing a project that meets all the needs of the owner. This becomes a guide for the architect in creating the design concept.

Design proposal(s) are generally expected to be both imaginative and pragmatic. Much depends upon the time, place, finance, culture, and available crafts and technology in which the design takes place. The extent and nature of these expectations will vary. Foresight is a prerequisite when designing buildings as it is a very complex and demanding undertaking.

Any design concept during the early stage of its generation must take into account a great number of issues and variables, including the qualities of the space(s), the end-use and life-cycle of these proposed spaces, connections, relations, and aspects between spaces, including how they are put together, and the impact of proposals on the immediate and wider locality. The selection of appropriate materials and technology must be considered, tested, and reviewed at an early stage in the design to ensure there are no setbacks (such as higher-than-expected costs) which could occur later in the project.

The site and its surrounding environment, as well as the culture and history of the place, will also influence the design. The design must also balance increasing concerns with environmental sustainability. The architect may introduce (intentionally or not), aspects of mathematics and architecture, new or current architectural theory, or references to architectural history.

A key part of the design is that the architect often must consult with engineers, surveyors, and other specialists throughout the design, ensuring that aspects such as structural supports and air conditioning elements are coordinated. The control and planning of construction costs are also part of these consultations. Coordination of the different aspects involves a high degree of specialized communication, including advanced computer technology such as building information modeling (BIM), computer-aided design (CAD), and cloud-based technologies. Finally, at all times, the architect must report back to the client, who may have reservations or recommendations which might introduce further variables into the design.

Architects also deal with local and federal jurisdictions regarding regulations and building codes. The architect might need to comply with local planning and zoning laws such as required setbacks, height limitations, parking requirements, transparency requirements (windows), and land use. Some jurisdictions require adherence to design and historic preservation guidelines. Health and safety risks form a vital part of the current design, and in some jurisdictions, design reports and records are required to include ongoing considerations of materials and contaminants, waste management and recycling, traffic control, and fire safety.

Means of design
Previously, architects employed drawings to illustrate and generate design proposals. While conceptual sketches are still widely used by architects, computer technology has now become the industry standard. Furthermore, design may include the use of photos, collages, prints, linocuts, 3D scanning technology, and other media in design production. Increasingly, computer software is shaping how architects work. BIM technology allows for the creation of a virtual building that serves as an information database for the sharing of design and building information throughout the life-cycle of the building's design, construction, and maintenance. Virtual reality (VR) presentations are becoming more common for visualizing structural designs and interior spaces from the point-of-view perspective.

Environmental role
Since modern buildings are known to release carbon into the atmosphere, increasing controls are being placed on buildings and associated technology to reduce emissions, increase energy efficiency, and make use of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources may be designed into the proposed building by local or national renewable energy providers. As a result, the architect is required to remain abreast of current regulations that are continually being updated. Some new developments exhibit extremely low energy use or passive solar building design. However, the architect is also increasingly being required to provide initiatives in a wider environmental sense. Examples of this include making provisions for low-energy transport, natural daylighting instead of artificial lighting, natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, pollution, and waste management, use of recycled materials, and employment of materials which can be easily recycled.

Construction role
As the design becomes more advanced and detailed, specifications and detail designs are made of all the elements and components of the building. Techniques in the production of a building are continually advancing which places a demand on the architect to ensure that he or she remains up to date with these advances.

Depending on the client's needs and the jurisdiction's requirements, the spectrum of the architect's services during each construction stage may be extensive (detailed document preparation and construction review) or less involved (such as allowing a contractor to exercise considerable design-build functions).

Architects typically put projects to tender on behalf of their clients, advise them on the award of the project to a general contractor, facilitate and administer a contract of agreement, which is often between the client and the contractor. This contract is legally binding and covers a wide range of aspects, including the insurance and commitments of all stakeholders, the status of the design documents, provisions for the architect's access, and procedures for the control of the works as they proceed. Depending on the type of contract used, provisions for further sub-contract tenders may be required. The architect may require that some elements be covered by a warranty which specifies the expected life and other aspects of the material, product, or work.

In most jurisdictions prior notification to the relevant authority must be given before commencement of the project, giving the local authority notice to carry out independent inspections. The architect will then review and inspect the progress of the work in coordination with the local authority.

The architect will typically review contractor shop drawings and other submittals, prepare and issue site instructions, and provide Certificates for Payment to the contractor (see also Design-bid-build) which is based on the work done as well as any materials and other goods purchased or hired in the future. In the United Kingdom and other countries, a quantity surveyor is often part of the team to provide cost consulting. With large, complex projects, an independent construction manager is sometimes hired to assist in the design and management of the construction.

In many jurisdictions mandatory certification or assurance of the completed work or part of the work is required. This demand for certification entails a high degree of risk; therefore, regular inspections of the work as it progresses on site is required to ensure that the design is in compliance itself as well as following all relevant statutes and permissions.

Alternate practice and specialisations
Recent decades have seen the rise of specialisations within the profession. Many architects and architectural firms focus on certain project types (e.g. healthcare, retail, public housing, and event management), technological expertise, or project delivery methods. Some architects specialise in building code, building envelope, sustainable design, technical writing, historic preservation(US) or conservation (UK), and accessibility.

Many architects elect to move into real-estate (property) development, corporate facilities planning, project management, construction management, chief sustainability officers interior design, city planning, user experience design, and design research.

Professional requirements

Although there are variations in each location, most of the world's architects are required to register with the appropriate jurisdiction. Architects are typically required to meet three common requirements: education, experience, and examination.

Basic educational requirement generally consist of a university in architecture. The experience requirement for degree candidates is usually satisfied by a practicum or internship (usually two to three years). Finally, a Registration Examination or a series of exams is required prior to licensure.

Professionals who engaged in the design and supervision of construction projects before the late 19th century were not necessarily trained in a separate architecture program in an academic setting. Instead, they often trained under established architects. Prior to modern times, there was no distinction between architects and engineers and the title used varied depending on geographical location. They often carried the title of master builder or surveyor after serving a number of years as an apprentice (such as Sir Christopher Wren). The formal study of architecture in academic institutions played a pivotal role in the development of the profession as a whole, serving as a focal point for advances in architectural technology and theory. The use of "Architect" or abbreviations such as "Ar." as a title attached to a person's name was regulated by law in some countries.

Fees
Architects' fee structure was typically based on a percentage of construction value, as a rate per unit area of the proposed construction, hourly rates, or a fixed lump sum fee. Combination of these structures were also common. Fixed fees were usually based on a project's allocated construction cost and could range between 4 and 12% of new construction cost for commercial and institutional projects, depending on the project's size and complexity. Residential projects ranged from 12 to 20%. Renovation projects typically commanded higher percentages such as 15–20%.

Overall billings for architectural firms range widely, depending on their location and economic climate. Billings have traditionally been dependent on local economic conditions, but with rapid globalization, this is becoming less of a factor for large international firms. Salaries could also vary depending on experience, position within the firm (i.e. staff architect, partner, or shareholder, etc.), and the size and location of the firm.

Professional organizations
A number of national professional organizations exist to promote career and business development in architecture.

 * The International Union of Architects (UIA)
 * The American Institute of Architects (AIA) US
 * Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) UK
 * Architects Registration Board (ARB) UK
 * The Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Australia
 * The South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) South Africa
 * Association of Consultant Architects (ACA) UK
 * Association of Licensed Architects (ALA) US
 * The Consejo Profesional de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (CPAU) Argentina
 * Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) & Council of Architecture (COA) India
 * The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) US

Prizes and awards
A wide variety of prizes is awarded by national professional associations and other bodies, recognizing accomplished architects, their buildings, structures, and professional careers.

The most lucrative award an architect can receive is the Pritzker Prize, sometimes termed the "Nobel Prize for architecture". The inaugural Pritzker Prize winner was Philip Johnson who was cited as having "50 years of imagination and vitality embodied in a myriad of museums, theatres libraries, houses gardens and corporate structures". The Pritzker Prize has been awarded for forty-two straight editions without interruption, and there are now 22 countries with at least one winning architect. Other prestigious architectural awards are the Royal Gold Medal, the AIA Gold Medal (US), AIA Gold Medal (Australia), and the Praemium Imperiale.

Architects in the UK who have made contributions to the profession through design excellence or architectural education or have in some other way advanced the profession might, until 1971, be elected Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects and can write FRIBA after their name if they feel so inclined. Those elected to chartered membership of the RIBA after 1971 may use the initials RIBA but cannot use the old ARIBA and FRIBA. An honorary fellow may use the initials Hon. FRIBA, and an international fellow may use the initials Int. FRIBA. Architects in the US who have made contributions to the profession through design excellence or architectural education or have in some other way advanced the profession are elected Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and can write FAIA after their name. Architects in Canada who have made outstanding contributions to the profession through contributions to research, scholarship, public service, or professional standing to the good of architecture in Canada or elsewhere may be recognized as Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and can write FRAIC after their name. In Hong Kong, those elected to chartered membership may use the initial HKIA, and those who have made a special contribution after nomination and election by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA), may be elected as fellow members of HKIA and may use FHKIA after their name.

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Abbreviation

An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning "short" ) is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym) or crasis.

An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word with a trailing period. For example: etcetera is usually abbreviated etc. and abbreviation is sometimes abbreviated abbr., abbrv., or abbrev.. But sometimes the trailing period is not used for such shortened forms.

A contraction is an abbreviation formed by replacing letters with an apostrophe. Examples include I'm for I am and li'l for little.

An initialism or acronym is an abbreviation consisting of the initial letter of a sequence of words without other punctuation. For example, FBI (FBI), USA (USA), IBM (IBM), BBC (BBC). When initialism is used as the preferred term, acronym refers more specifically to when the abbreviation is pronounced as a word rather than as separate letters; examples include SWAT and NASA.

Initialisms, contractions and crasis share some semantic and phonetic functions, and are connected by the term abbreviation in loose parlance.

History
In early times, abbreviations may have been common due to the effort involved in writing (many inscriptions were carved in stone) or to provide secrecy via obfuscation.

Reduction of a word to a single letter was common in both Greek and Roman writing. In Roman inscriptions, "Words were commonly abbreviated by using the initial letter or letters of words, and most inscriptions have at least one abbreviation". However, "some could have more than one meaning, depending on their context. (For example, $⟨A⟩$ can be an abbreviation for many words, such as ager, amicus, annus, as, Aulus, Aurelius, aurum and avus.)" Many frequent abbreviations consisted of more than one letter: for example COS for consul and COSS for its nominative etc. plural consules.

Abbreviations were frequently used in early English. Manuscripts of copies of the Old English poem Beowulf used many abbreviations, for example the Tironian et (⁊) or & for and, and y for since, so that "not much space is wasted". The standardisation of English in the 15th through 17th centuries included a growth in the use of such abbreviations. At first, abbreviations were sometimes represented with various suspension signs, not only periods. For example, sequences like $⟨er⟩$ were replaced with $⟨ɔ⟩$, as in mastɔ for master and exacɔbate for exacerbate. While this may seem trivial, it was symptomatic of an attempt by people manually reproducing academic texts to reduce the copy time. "Mastɔ subwardenɔ y ɔmēde me to you. And wherɔ y wrot to you the last wyke that y trouyde itt good to differrɔ thelectionɔ ovɔ to quīdenaɔ tinitatis y have be thougħt me synɔ that itt woll be thenɔ a bowte mydsomɔ."

In the Early Modern English period, between the 15th and 17th centuries, the thorn Þ was used for th, as in Þe ('the'). In modern times, $⟨Þ⟩$ was often used (in the form $⟨y⟩$) for promotional reasons, as in Ye Olde Tea Shoppe.

During the growth of philological linguistic theory in academic Britain, abbreviating became very fashionable. Likewise, a century earlier in Boston, a fad of abbreviation started that swept the United States, with the globally popular term OK generally credited as a remnant of its influence.

Over the years, however, the lack of convention in some style guides has made it difficult to determine which two-word abbreviations should be abbreviated with periods and which should not. This question is considered below.

Widespread use of electronic communication through mobile phones and the Internet during the 1990s led to a marked rise in colloquial abbreviation. This was due largely to increasing popularity of textual communication services such as instant and text messaging. The original SMS supported message lengths of 160 characters at most (using the GSM 03.38 character set), for instance. This brevity gave rise to an informal abbreviation scheme sometimes called Textese, with which 10% or more of the words in a typical SMS message are abbreviated. More recently Twitter, a popular social networking service, began driving abbreviation use with 140 character message limits.

In HTML, abbreviations can be annotated using  to reveal its meaning by hovering the cursor.

Style conventions in English
In modern English, there are multiple conventions for abbreviation, and there is controversy as to which should be used. One generally accepted rule is to be consistent in a body of work. To this end, publishers may express their preferences in a style guide.

Some controversies that arise are described below.

Capitalization
If the original word was capitalized then the first letter of its abbreviation should retain the capital, for example Lev. for Leviticus. When a word is abbreviated to more than a single letter and was originally spelled with lower case letters then there is no need for capitalization. However, when abbreviating a phrase where only the first letter of each word is taken, then all letters should be capitalized, as in YTD for year-to-date, PCB for printed circuit board and FYI for for your information. However, see the following section regarding abbreviations that have become common vocabulary: these are no longer written with capital letters.

Periods
A period (a.k.a. full stop) is sometimes used to signify abbreviation, but opinion is divided as to when and if this convention is best practice.

According to Hart's Rules, a word shortened by dropping letters from the end terminates with a period, whereas a word shorted by dropping letters from the middle does not. Fowler's Modern English Usage says a period is used for both of these shortened forms, but recommends against this practice: advising it only for end-shortened words and lower-case initialisms; not for middle-shortened words and upper-case initialisms.

Some British style guides, such as for The Guardian and The Economist, disallow periods for all abbreviations.

In American English, the period is usually included regardless of whether or not it is a contraction, e.g. Dr. or Mrs.. In some cases, periods are optional, as in either US or U.S. for United States, EU or E.U. for European Union, and UN or U.N. for United Nations. There are some house styles, however—American ones included—that remove the periods from almost all abbreviations. For example:
 * The U.S. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices advises that periods should not be used with abbreviations on road signs, except for cardinal directions as part of a destination name. (For example, "Northwest Blvd", "W. Jefferson", and "PED XING" all follow this recommendation.)
 * AMA style, used in many medical journals, uses no periods in abbreviations or acronyms, with almost no exceptions. Thus eg, ie, vs, et al, Dr, Mr, MRI, ICU, and hundreds of others contain no periods. The only exceptions are No. (an abbreviation of Numero, Number), to avoid confusion with the word "No"; initials within persons' names (such as "George R. Smith"); and "St." within persons' names when the person prefers it (such as "Emily R. St. Clair") (but not in city names such as St Louis or St Paul).

Acronyms that were originally capitalized (with or without periods) but have since entered the vocabulary as generic words are no longer written with capital letters nor with any periods. Examples are sonar, radar, lidar, laser, snafu, and scuba.

When an abbreviation appears at the end of a sentence, only one period is used: The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C.

In the past, some initialisms were styled with a period after each letter and a space between each pair. For example, U. S., but today this is typically US.

Plural
There are multiple ways to pluralize an abbreviation. Sometimes this accomplished by adding an apostrophe and an s ('s), as in "two PC's have broken screens". But, some find this confusing since the notation can indicate possessive case. And, this style is deprecated by many style guides. For instance, Kate Turabian, writing about style in academic writings, allows for an apostrophe to form plural acronyms "only when an abbreviation contains internal periods or both capital and lowercase letters". For example, "DVDs" and "URLs" and "Ph.D.'s", while the Modern Language Association explicitly says, "do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of an abbreviation". Also, the American Psychological Association specifically says, "without an apostrophe".

However, the 1999 style guide for The New York Times states that the addition of an apostrophe is necessary when pluralizing all abbreviations, preferring "PC's, TV's and VCR's".

Forming a plural of an initialization without an apostrophe can also be used for a number, or a letter. Examples:
 * Runs batted in, RBIs
 * The roaring 20s
 * Mind your Ps and Qs

For units of measure, the same form is used for both singular and plural. Examples:

 * 1 lb or 20 lb
 * 1 ft or 16 ft
 * 1 min or 45 min

When an abbreviation contains more than one period, Hart's Rules recommends putting the s after the final one. Examples:

 * Ph.D.s
 * M.Phil.s
 * the d.t.s

However, the same plurals may be rendered less formally as:

 * PhDs
 * MPhils
 * the DTs. (This is the recommended form in the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors.)

According to Hart's Rules, an apostrophe may be used in rare cases where clarity calls for it, for example when letters or symbols are referred to as objects. However, the apostrophe can be dispensed with if the items are set in italics or quotes:
 * The x's of the equation
 * Dot the i's and cross the t's
 * The xs of the equation
 * Dot the 'i's and cross the 't's

In Latin, and continuing to the derivative forms in European languages as well as English, single-letter abbreviations had the plural being a doubling of the letter for note-taking. Most of these deal with writing and publishing. A few longer abbreviations use this as well.

United States
Publications based in the U.S. tend to follow the style guides of The Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press. The U.S. government follows a style guide published by the U.S. Government Printing Office. The National Institute of Standards and Technology sets the style for abbreviations of units.

United Kingdom
Many British publications follow some of these guidelines in abbreviation:
 * For the sake of convenience, many British publications, including the BBC and The Guardian, have completely done away with the use of periods in all abbreviations. These include:
 * Social titles, e.g. Ms or Mr (though these would usually have not had periods—see above) Capt, Prof, etc.;
 * Two-letter abbreviations for countries ("US", not "U.S.");
 * Abbreviations beyond three letters (full caps for all except initialisms);
 * Words seldom abbreviated with lower case letters ("PR", instead of "p.r.", or "pr")
 * Names ("FW de Klerk", "GB Whiteley", "Park JS"). A notable exception is The Economist which writes "Mr F. W. de Klerk".
 * Scientific units (see Measurement below).
 * Acronyms are often referred to with only the first letter of the abbreviation capitalized. For instance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization can be abbreviated as "Nato" or "NATO", and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome as "Sars" or "SARS" (compare with "laser" which has made the full transition to an English word and is rarely capitalised at all).
 * Initialisms are always written in capitals; for example the "British Broadcasting Corporation" is abbreviated to "BBC", never "Bbc". An initialism is also an acronym but is not pronounced as a word.
 * When abbreviating scientific units, no space is added between the number and unit ( 100mph, 100m, 10cm, 10°C ). (This is contrary to the SI standard; see below.)

Miscellaneous and general rules

 * A doubled letter appears in abbreviations of some Welsh names, as in Welsh the double "l" is a separate sound: "Ll. George" for (British prime minister) David Lloyd George.
 * Some titles, such as "Reverend" and "Honourable", are spelt out when preceded by "the", rather than as "Rev." or "Hon." respectively. This is true for most British publications, and some in the United States.
 * A repeatedly used abbreviation should be spelt out for identification on its first occurrence in a written or spoken passage. Abbreviations likely to be unfamiliar to many readers should be avoided.

Measurements: abbreviations or symbols
Writers often use shorthand to denote units of measure. Such shorthand can be an abbreviation, such as "in" for "inch" or can be a symbol such as "km" for "kilometre".

In the International System of Units (SI) manual the word "symbol" is used consistently to define the shorthand used to represent the various SI units of measure. The manual also defines the way in which units should be written, the principal rules being:
 * The conventions for upper and lower case letters must be observed—for example 1 MW (megawatts) is equal to 1,000,000 watts and 1,000,000,000 mW (milliwatts).
 * No periods should be inserted between letters—for example "m.s" (which is an approximation of "m·s", which correctly uses middle dot) is the symbol for "metres multiplied by seconds", but "ms" is the symbol for milliseconds.
 * No periods should follow the symbol unless the syntax of the sentence demands otherwise (for example a full stop at the end of a sentence).
 * The singular and plural versions of the symbol are identical—not all languages use the letter "s" to denote a plural.

Syllabic abbreviation
A syllabic abbreviation is usually formed from the initial syllables of several words, such as Interpol = International + police. It is a variant of the acronym. Syllabic abbreviations are usually written using lower case, sometimes starting with a capital letter, and are always pronounced as words rather than letter by letter. Syllabic abbreviations should be distinguished from portmanteaus, which combine two words without necessarily taking whole syllables from each.

Albanian
In Albanian, syllabic acronyms are sometimes used for composing a person's name, such as Migjeni – an abbreviation from his original name (Millosh Gjergj Nikolla) a famous Albanian poet and writer – or ASDRENI (Aleksander Stavre Drenova), another famous Albanian poet.

Other such names which are used commonly in recent decades are GETOAR, composed from Gegeria + Tosks (representing the two main dialects of the Albanian language, Gegë and Toskë), and Arbanon - which is an alternative way used to describe all Albanian lands.

English
Syllabic abbreviations are not widely used in English. Some UK government agencies such as Ofcom (Office of Communications) and the former Oftel (Office of Telecommunications) use this style.

New York City has various neighborhoods named by syllabic abbreviation, such as Tribeca (Triangle below Canal Street) and SoHo (South of Houston Street). This usage has spread into other American cities, giving SoMa, San Francisco (South of Market) and LoDo, Denver (Lower Downtown), amongst others.

Chicago-based electric service provider ComEd is a syllabic abbreviation of Commonwealth and (Thomas) Edison.

Sections of California are also often colloquially syllabically abbreviated, as in NorCal (Northern California), CenCal (Central California), and SoCal (Southern California). Additionally, in the context of Los Angeles, the syllabic abbreviation SoHo (Southern Hollywood) refers to the southern portion of the Hollywood neighborhood.

Partially syllabic abbreviations are preferred by the US Navy, as they increase readability amidst the large number of initialisms that would otherwise have to fit into the same acronyms. Hence DESRON 6 is used (in the full capital form) to mean "Destroyer Squadron 6", while COMNAVAIRLANT would be "Commander, Naval Air Force (in the) Atlantic."

Syllabic abbreviations are a prominent feature of Newspeak, the fictional language of George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The political contractions of Newspeak—Ingsoc (English Socialism), Minitrue (Ministry of Truth), Miniplenty (Ministry of Plenty)—are described by Orwell as similar to real examples of German (q.v.) and Russian contractions (q.v.) in the 20th century. Like Nazi (Nationalsozialismus) and Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei), politburo (Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union), Comintern (Communist International), kolkhoz (collective farm), and Komsomol (Young Communists' League), the contractions in Newspeak are supposed to have a political function by virtue of their abbreviated structure itself: nice sounding and easily pronounceable, their purpose is to mask all ideological content from the speaker.

A more recent syllabic abbreviation has emerged with the disease COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) caused by the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (itself frequently abbreviated to SARS-CoV-2, partly an initialism).

German
Syllabic abbreviations were and are common in German; much like acronyms in English, they have a distinctly modern connotation, although contrary to popular belief, many date back to before 1933, if not the end of the Great War. Kriminalpolizei, literally criminal police but idiomatically the Criminal Investigation Department of any German police force, begat KriPo (variously capitalised), and likewise Schutzpolizei (protection police or uniform department) begat SchuPo. Along the same lines, the Swiss Federal Railways' Transit Police—the Transportpolizei—are abbreviated as the TraPo.

With the National Socialist German Workers' Party gaining power came a frenzy of government reorganisation, and with it a series of entirely new syllabic abbreviations. The single national police force amalgamated from the Schutzpolizeien of the various states became the OrPo (Ordnungspolizei, "order police"); the state KriPos together formed the "SiPo" (Sicherheitspolizei, "security police"); and there was also the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei, "secret state police"). The new order of the German Democratic Republic in the east brought about a conscious denazification, but also a repudiation of earlier turns of phrase in favour of neologisms such as Stasi for Staatssicherheit ("state security", the secret police) and VoPo for Volkspolizei. The phrase politisches Büro, which may be rendered literally as "office of politics" or idiomatically as "political party steering committee", became Politbüro.

Syllabic abbreviations are not only used in politics, however. Many business names, trademarks, and service marks from across Germany are created on the same pattern: for a few examples, there is Aldi, from Theo Albrecht, the name of its founder, followed by discount; Haribo, from Hans Riegel, the name of its founder, followed by Bonn, the town of its head office; and Adidas, from Adolf "Adi" Dassler, the nickname of its founder followed by his surname.

Russian
Syllabic abbreviations are very common in Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. They are often used as names of organizations. Historically, popularization of abbreviations was a way to simplify mass-education in 1920s (see Likbez).

Leninist organisations such as the Comintern (Communist International) and Komsomol (Kommunisticheskii Soyuz Molodyozhi, or "Communist youth union") used Russian language syllabic abbreviations. In the modern Russian language, words like Rosselkhozbank (from Rossiysky selskokhozyaystvenny bank — Russian Agricultural Bank, RusAg) and Minobrnauki (from Ministerstvo obrazovaniya i nauki — Ministry of Education and Science) are still commonly used. In nearby Belarus, there are Beltelecom (Belarus Telecommunication) and Belsat (Belarus Satellite).

Spanish
Syllabic abbreviations are common in Spanish; examples abound in organization names such as Pemex for Petróleos Mexicanos ("Mexican Petroleums") or Fonafifo for Fondo Nacional de Financimiento Forestal (National Forestry Financing Fund).

Malay and Indonesian
In Southeast Asian languages, especially in Malay languages, abbreviations are common; examples include Petronas (for Petroliam Nasional, "National Petroleum"), its Indonesian equivalent Pertamina (from its original name Perusahaan Pertambangan Minyak dan Gas Bumi Negara, "State Oil and Natural Gas Mining Company"), and Kemenhub (from Kementerian Perhubungan, "Ministry of Transportation").

Malaysian abbreviation often uses letters from each word, while Indonesia usually uses syllables; although some cases do not follow the style. For example, general elections in Malaysian Malay often shortened into PRU (pilihan raya umum) while Indonesian often shortened into pemilu (pemilihan umum). Another example is Ministry of Health in which Malaysian Malay uses KKM (Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia), compared to Indonesian Kemenkes (Kementerian Kesehatan).

Chinese and Japanese kanji
East Asian languages whose writing systems use Chinese characters form abbreviations similarly by using key Chinese characters from a term or phrase. For example, in Japanese the term for the United Nations, kokusai rengō (国際連合) is often abbreviated to kokuren (国連). (Such abbreviations are called ryakugo (略語) in Japanese; see also Japanese abbreviated and contracted words). The syllabic abbreviation of kanji words is frequently used for universities: for instance, Tōdai (東大) for Tōkyō daigaku (東京大学, University of Tokyo) and is used similarly in Chinese: Běidà (北大) for Běijīng Dàxué (北京大学, Peking University). Korean universities often follow the same conventions, such as Hongdae (홍대) as short for Hongik Daehakgyo, or Hongik University. The English phrase "Gung ho" originated as a Chinese abbreviation.

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Talk:Automorphism

Olivier/Millar
(I am not satisfied with that, it is too much jargon, there should be an example, it does not convey the power of the concept and is just a definition) -- Olivier.

 * Not only that, but what the heck is it?!?!  Seriously, I think good encyclopedia articles should assume that the reader may not know the context of the article.
 * A single introductory sentence describing the context can make all the difference in the world. -- Alan Millar

Link suggestions
An automated Wikipedia link suggester has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Automorphism article, and they have been placed on this page for your convenience. Tip: Some people find it helpful if these suggestions are shown on this talk page, rather than on another page. To do this, just add to this page. — LinkBot 01:01, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * I added the links that made sense. Edward 07:52, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Centerless?
It talks of "if G is centerless" in the examples, but isn't G a group, and so contains the identity, which is commutative by definition, and hence all centers contain the identity? so doesn't this put the talk of a centerless group as impossible? -- Moxmalin

 * By definition, a group is centerless if its center consists of only the identity. See center of a group. -- Fropuff 00:16, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Automorphisms of R
Currently the article states that R has no non-trivial order-preserving field-automorphisms, which is true, but potentially misleading since in fact R has no non-trivial field-automorphisms at all (since the order can be recovered from the field operations, as the positive elements are precisely the nonzero squares). I'm changing it. Algebraist 17:15, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Not maps
The following examples were removed: This article refers to a certain class of self-mappings of a mathematical object. The Sudoku section corresponds in title but not content to this article. The Similarity redlink and Maintzer ref are inappropriate for this article. — Rgdboer (talk) 00:51, 7 January 2018 (UTC)
 * In puzzles, automorphism exists when elements of the puzzle have a type of symmetry among the elements and their positions, such as an automorphic Sudoku.
 * An example of an automorphism is a similarity transform, which leaves the geometrical form of a figure unchanged.

Inconsistencies with General linear group
The linear algebra example states: "When the vector space is finite-dimensional, the automorphism group of V is the same as the general linear group, GL(V)."

This suggests that this is not the case for infinite-dimensional vector spaces. However, the article on the General linear group states that GL(V) = Aut(V) in general: "V is a vector space over the field F, the general linear group of V, written GL(V) or Aut(V), is the group of all automorphisms of V, [...]. If V has finite dimension n, then GL(V) and GL(n, F) are isomorphic." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.172.82.115 (talk) 15:45, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Automorphism