Final answer:
False. Thales and the other presocratic philosophers did not think that the underlying element was alive.
Step-by-step explanation:
True or False: Thales and the other presocratic philosophers thought that the underlying element was alive?
False. Thales of Miletus and other presocratic philosophers believed in the concept of monism, which holds that nature ultimately consists of a single substance. Thales believed that the basic element of the universe was water, while his students Anaximander and Anaximenes proposed different substances, such as the boundless or indefinite (apeiron) and air, respectively. None of them believed that the underlying element was alive.