As much as I favorite Heraclitus for his obscure, negative outlooks, and mysterious sayings, I would have to say that Thales of Miletus (in my opinion), has the most compelling ideas and philosophies in the pre-Socratic ages. He was usually credited for being the first systematic philosopher of the Western World. He believed that there was an explanation for everything instead of believing/ promoting supernatural causes.
"Aristotle, the major source for Thales's philosophy and science, identified Thales as the first person to investigate the basic principles, the question of the originating substances of matter and, therefore, as the founder of the school of natural philosophy. Thales was interested in almost everything, investigating almost all areas of knowledge, philosophy, history, science, mathematics, engineering, geography, and politics." (Thales of Miletus, http://www.iep.utm.edu/thales/)
He often developed logical, geometrical theories, such as devising some that allowed hi to measure the height of the pyramids from the ground, and used his intelligence and understanding of the world to predict crop outcomes, and be very profitable at it. It is also pretty interesting to find out that he was technically the first person to study electricity. "LORDZB" states,
"It had been noticed that amber, when rubbed, attracted threads of fiber to it. It was this static electricity which Thales’ studied. When the negative particle of the atom was named it was called the electron, after the Greek for amber – elektron." (LORDZB, Top Ten Pre-Socratic Philosophers, http://listverse.com/2012/06/26/top-10-pre-socratic-philosophers/)
I find that Thales of Miletus' ideas and philosophies are most compelling to me because he used knowledge, understanding, and intuition in most everything that he did. He did not simply say it was supernatural and the Gods' ways of things happening just because everyone was taught hat. He believed there was more to life, and that there was an explanation to everything. Als the fact that he used his knowledge and understandings to make huge profits is pretty smart and cunning. With Thales of Miletus and every other philosopher, we wouldn't be where we are today, and that alone is something to find compelling in itself.
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References
O'Grady, P. 2015. Thales of Miletus. Australia: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/thales/.
LORDZB. June 26, 2012. Top Ten Pre-Socratic Philosophers. Retrieved from http://listverse.com/2012/06/26/top-10-pre-socratic-philosophers/ 