Heraclitus Flashcards
Does Heraclitus think all things are one?
YES - “listening not to me, but to the logos, it is wise to agree that all things are one” (B50)
Finish the quote:
(B123) “Nature loves to _______”
hide
What does Heraclitus think of human senses?
They are unreliable
Heraclitus often uses the image of waking and sleeping. What does this mean?
He says that most people are asleep and do not pay attention to the true nature of the world. When awake, all you remember when asleep is forgotten.
Heraclitus distinguish between two types of ‘thinking’. Expand on this.
Give examples of some of the images he uses to describe the two types.
There is the thinking that is “common to all” (B113) and the “right thinking”(B112) which is a higher truth and is in accordance with nature.
Waking and sleeping
True knowledge is like “gold” - (B22) “Those who seek gold dig up much Earth but find little”
Mud and water - “Pigs rejoice in mud more than in pure water”(B13)
apes and gods - “The wisest of humans will appear as an ape in comparison with a god in respect to wisdom, beauty, and all other things”(B83)
What is a more accurate translation than ‘you cannot step into the same river twice’ and explain the subtle difference?
(B12) “Upon those who step into the same river twice, different and different again waters flow”
some things stay the same only in changing is what the second interpretation implies. Flux is necessary.
How does fire factor into Heraclitus’ philosophy?
All things are manifestations of fire (material monism) - “all things are an exchange for fire and fire for all things”. Fire encompasses Heraclitus’ theory of Flux, and in a way explains why it is so important. Fire can only be fire by changing.
Part of Heraclitus’ philosophy is the ‘unity of opposites’. Give two examples that show that opposites can be one.
“The road up and the road down are one and the same”
AND
the sea is drinkable for fish but not for humans
What is the main objection to Heraclitus’ material monism?
Fire must undergo some RADICAL change to produce all other elements. Fire does not merely act on another object to change it but is every object. Does a fire not need fuel.
the majority of Heraclitus’ extracts come from _______, who liked/disliked Heraclitus.
Plato, disliked.
He thought Heraclitus’ theory of flux was inherently contradictory.
Outline Heraclitus’ theory of flux
Change is necessary for existence. Everything is in a constant state of becoming (either waxing or waning).
What, according to Heraclitus was the universe governed by?
A divine logos (reason)
