The poetic cosmogony of Thales , who made water the first element , can be seen as a natural excess of this pre-socratic thinking . The poetic cosmogony of Thales , who made water the first element , may be seen as a natural outgrowth of this pre-Socratic thinking . The pre-Socratic cosmogony of Thales , who made water the first element , may be seen as a natural outgrowth of this poetic thinking .