Hi. Interesting article.

“ Most of the Presocratics believed the world is composed of one or another element — earth, water, wind, or fire. They didn’t, however, try to explain what the elements actually are. They didn’t ask ‘What is water?’ or ‘What is fire?’ The elements, they believed, weren’t capable of further explanation. They were simply the starting point from which everything else had to be explained”.

Not sure I agree with you there. I believe that when they talked about water or fire, they weren’t necessarily using the words in the same way as when others talked about the four elements as the building blocks of the material universe. I discussed this here:

The Four Elements — the Source of All That Is — Update

I’d be interested in any comments you have.

Best wishes