Mind Over Matter

According to Phaedo, Anaxagoras thought that the arche was the Mind. In Anaxagoras' view, the Mind directs the world and everything in it. Socrates found this idea engaging because it elevated the value of reason and wisdom to the very highest possible stature. If the Mind directed the universe, then all things that exist would exist with a rationally determinable purpose and function. Beyond this individual functionality, all things would be arranged in relationships to each other that can logically be defended as the "best."  In this way, Anaxagoras reasoned that the Universe must be rationally ordered into a comprehensive, rational system, and that each component in that system must be imbued with a rational order.

According to Plato, Socrates likes this idea, concluding that for rational judgement to be made regarding the universe and the individual, there must be some recognition of what is good, both in a general sense and in a more finite, individual sense. Socrates goes on to critique Anaxagoras' arguments on the grounds that his examples do not address the true cause, the good from which the Mind can recognize a rational order. Instead, Socrates indicts Anaxagoras for merely describing the mechanisms by which the good is pursued, instead of the origin point, the recognition of the good.

One way to think of this is to describe the cause of a car's motion as the rotation of the axles on which the tires rest. One could argue that, in reality, the combustion of fuel in the engine is the cause of the car's motion, and the rotation of the axle is the mechanism employed to execute this cause. The interesting thing here is that this logic can be continued for quite some time. The cause of the combustion is the introduction of gasoline into the gas tank. The cause of the gas tank being filled was the delivery of gasoline from the refinery.

This chain goes on indefinitely. Socrates recognized these connections and desired an investigation of a cause that linked and bound all other causes and effects together, but unfortunately Anaxagoras neglected to address this link in a way that Socrates found satisfactory. It is entirely possible that Socrates and his successors were erroneously imposing a concept of reason onto a chaotic, irrational and inexplicable world. Even so, it is much more appealing to believe that our world is rationally ordered, that everything has a purpose, pattern, and place that it fits into. Anaxagoras may not have explained what exactly that purpose or pattern is, but his thoughts opened doors for his intellectual successors to continue the investigation.