Pre-Socratic Philosopher

Short Essay: Pre-Socratic Philosopher

Jeremy Dunlap

PHI/105

7/26/15

Deanna Thomas

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, criticized conventional opinions about how things are and attacked the authority of those who reputed to be wise. The work of his that survived is more than 100 epigrammatic sentences that are often compared to wisdom literature in the proverbs. Heraclitus’ primary stance is that ‘Everything is in flux’, like the constant flow of a river. He shifted between two alternating perspectives – on one hand were the objective processes of nature, human beliefs and values on the other.

He wanted his audience to try to think away their personal concerns and view the world in a more detached perspective. He used examples to highlight the relativity of value judgments. People are condemned to live a dream-like existence unless they reflect on their experiences and examine themselves, while remaining out of touch with the formula that governs and explains the nature of things. The formula is connected both symbolically and literally with ever-living fire, where the transformations are essential to the cycle of life and death, as well as being the basic operation of the universe. Fire symbolizes the processes of nature and the light of intelligence.

I think Heraclitus’ idea of flux applies not only to living things, but also to all perceptible things, such as inanimate objects like rocks and stones. I believe that the observation of changes in every day objects is the most significant reason to support the doctrine of flux. It is easy to see substances and motion constantly breaks down. To make sense of Heraclitus’ explanation of how this happens, link his views on flux to the theory of unity.

The reason I found Heraclitus’ ideas compelling is because of his line “Life is flux” by which he meant ‘life is change’. Change is what makes up the essence of life. You can’t say ‘no’ to change without saying ‘no’ to life itself....