Information AboutHeraclitus |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HERACLITUS | |
| 535 bc births | |
| 475 bc deaths | |
| ancient greek physicists | |
| presocratic philosophers | |
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Heraclitus of Ephesus (Greek ''Herakleitos'') (about has also given attentions to Heraclitus. PHILOSOPHICAL FRAGMENTS We know that Heraclitus wrote a book; Diogenes Laertius tells us this in his ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers''. Diogenes also tells us that he deposited his book as a dedication in the great temple of Artemis , the Artemesium , one of the largest temples of the 6th Century ( Kierkegaard makes use of this historical fact in one of the greatest excerpts from Fear And Trembling ). Diogenes' report here is likely to be true; ancient temples were regularly used for storing treasures, and were open to private individuals under exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, many subsequent philosophers in this period refer to the work. "Down to the time of Plutarch and Clement , if not later, the little book of Heraclitus was available in its original form to any reader who chose to seek it out." Furthermore, Heraclitus also became immensely popular in the period following his writing. Within a generation or two "the book acquired such fame that it produced partisans of his philosophy who were called Heracliteans."Laertius, Diogenes. The Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1965 Unfortunately, (as with other pre-Socratics) his writings only survive in fragments quoted by other authors. He disagreed with Thales , Anaximander , and Pythagoras about the nature of the ultimate substance, but instead claimed that the nature of everything is change itself; he uses fire-- with its connotations of both Promethean/human "fire", and the cosmic fire outlined by contemporaneous pre-Socractics-- as a metaphor rather than his solution to material monism. This led to the belief that Change is real, and stability illusory. For Heraclitus everything is "in flux", as exemplified in his famous Aphorism "Panta Rhei":
Heraclitus is recognized as one of the earliest Dialectic al philosophers with his acknowledgement of the universality of change and development through internal contradictions, as in his statements: "By cosmic rule, as day yields night, so winter summer, war peace, plenty famine. All things change. Fire penetrates the lump of myrrh, until the joining bodies die and rise again in smoke called incense." "Men do not know how that which is drawn in different directions harmonises with itself. The harmonious structure of the world depends upon opposite tension like that of the bow and the lyre." He is famous for expressing the notion that no man can cross the same river twice: ποταμος τος ατος μβαίνομέν τε κα οκ μβαίνομεν The idea of the '' Logos '' is also credited to him, as he proclaims that everything originates out of the ''logos''. Further, Heraclitus said "I am as I am not," and "He who hears not me but the '' Logos '' will say: All is one." Heraclitus held that an explanation of change was foundational to any theory of nature. This view was strongly opposed by Parmenides , who argued that change is an illusion and that everything is fundamentally static. This promotion of change also led Heraclitus to promote conflict (e.g., ''agon'' in Greek ) and to argue against Homer, as he saw strife as something that led to change: "War is the father of all and the king of all" His view on the random chance inherent in the universe is famously the direct opposite of Einstein 's: "Time is a child playing dice; the kingly power is a child's." ''Heraclitus'' ]] The Heraclitean emphasis on the nature of things and existence as one of constant change, expressed with language of polarity, is particularly reminiscent of another ancient philosophical tradition, that of '' (or "the Way") often refers to a space-time sequence, and is similarly expressed with seemingly-contradictory language (e.g., "The Way is like an empty vessel / that may still be drawn from / without ever needing to be filled"). Indeed, parallels may be drawn between the fundamental concepts of the ''logos'' (as it was understood during Heraclitus's time) and the ''Tao''. Heraclitus is described as having a melancholy disposition, and is sometimes referred to as the "weeping philosopher", as opposed to Democritus , who is known as the "laughing philosopher". There are several legendary stories about Heraclitus, especially concerning his eventual death from illness (and supposed attempt to stave off death using dung and ignoring doctors). These mostly stem from mis-interpretations of the metaphors in his fragments and an attempt to construct a narrative based on these fragments (Kirk 1954). NOTES REFERENCES
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