The Presocratics Lecture 3: Heraclitus In his lecture we will discuss the life and ideas of Heraclitus, one of the more famous and perhaps the most enigmatic of the Presocratics. Heraclitus was born in approximately 540 BC in the Greek city of Ephesus. Of all the Presocratics, the ideas of Heraclitus are the most difficult to understand, ancient philosophers struggled mightily in attempting to decipher his paradoxical aphorisms and subsequently nicknamed him "The Riddler" and "The Dark". There is a story that when Socrates was asked what he thought of Heraclituses book he replied; It is likely that Heraclitus intentionally shrouded his ideas in obscurity, for he thought anything of value must be obtained through hard work and effort. Ancient sources report that Heraclitus was of royal descent, and that in fact he was in line to become the king of
Ephesus, however, he declined his right to the throne, passing it on to his brother. He saw no value in governing the masses towards whom he held a strong aversion and instead decided to spend his life in the lonely search for truth and wisdom. A story notes that one day Heraclitus was playing dice with children in the streets of Ephesus and bewildered at his apparent immaturity, some politicians asked him what he was doing, upon which he quipped; Why are you surprised? You good-for-nothings? Isn't it better than playing politics with you? It would be safe to classify Heraclitus as an aristocrat and a misanthropist. "And it is a waste of time paying any attention to the vantur of the masses. Just as it is useless to attend to the noises of sheep. It is only the rare and unique individual who has any worth." Part of Heraclitus is disdain for the masses was due to their blindness towards the truth. Heraclitus thought there was a single principle or what he called "The Logos", which permeated all of reality and which could be discerned by man if he made an effort to understand it. As such Heraclitus thought that truth was common, as this Logos, which unveils the truth regarding the nature of all things, literally exists everywhere, ordering and structuring reality. In other words, Heraclitus held that this Logos expresses an "objective truth". Despite the Logos be in common or objective, Heraclitus thought that most individuals were too dim-witted to understand it. In other words, most men live in their own petty and constricted reality tunnel. Perceiving the world through their own illusory private beliefs, desires, insecurities and opinions. Blind to the magnificent and divine truth which nourishes and orders all things. The masses forever remaining ignorant of the common truth which pervades all things, spend their days sleepwalking. Heraclitus condemned this ignorance. How does one wake from their spiritual slumber and sees this divine truth? Such a task, thought Heraclitus. "One must perform on one's own." An understanding of the Logos cannot be obtained through academic study, nor by listening to the teachings of a philosopher. The best that one who knows the truth can do is point to it. But ultimately the individual must see the truth through his own eyes. While all the other Presocratics erected philosophical systems by building on the ideas of their predecessors. Heraclitus arrived at his ideas solely through inner contemplation. "I searched myself", he explained in the opening of his book. The philosopher Diogenes reverberated this idea; Heraclituse's "Vision Of Reality" is encapsulated in three different intertwined ideas; Heraclitus is perhaps most famous for his river statement; This statement is not merely an observation about rivers, but instead is symbolic of the nature of reality. The first century Philosopher Plutarch expounded this point; The universe thought Heraclitus, and everything in it is constantly in flux. Every object even though it may appear to our senses as being temporarily stable and permanent, is in fact in constant motion. Morphing and transforming itself into a different object each instant. This idea has profound consequences for philosophical thought. For if nothing remains the same for two instance, then knowledge of the sensible world is an impossibility. For even if one could obtain knowledge of something in one instant, a mere second later that thing will have changed. Rendering that knowledge obsolete. Along with the fact that if everything is in flux, it is impossible to arrive at any knowledge of anything. Heraclituse's "Flux-Doctrine" can also stimulate nihilistic despair. For if everything in this world is eternally rolling on in a ceaseless flux. It follows that everything we value and all the spectacular human achievements, which we take pride in and derive meaning from, will ultimately decay into dust. The ancient Mesopotamians were aware of this grim idea; Connected with Heraclituse's "Flux-Doctrine", is his claim; "The World Is An Ever Living Fire" There is much debate regarding exactly what Heraclitus meant by this statement. Some have taken a more conservative approach, and claimed that it was meant merely as a symbolic description of the world. Since everything is engaged in a continual flux, then fire serves as an apt symbol for the ceaseless change that is occurring, even in objects which appear stable and at rest. However, there is evidence to suggest that Heraclitus in fact was aiming at something more with his statement;. "The World Is Ever Living Fire". The Stoics who were heavily influenced by Heraclitus, identified fire with the Logos, and claimed that the fire of Heraclitus, permeated all things and was rational and responsible for the government of the whole world. Heraclitus also stated that "A Man's Soul Is Fire" And just as the dry and hot sole is best, he claimed that to have a wet sole is the worst for man. Another fragment signifies that when an individual dies their soul turns to water. This quote leads us into the final idea of Heraclituse's we will consider; "War Is The Father Of All". Everything that comes into existence Heraclitus thought does so only through the destruction of something else. Other Greeks thought the elements and things in this world were engaged in a sort of war so to speak, however they called this war evil, and longed for a stable and permanent reality where peace and rest reigned supreme. Heraclitus was unique for he envisioned the war and strife which all things in the world are engaged in as good. "Strife Is Justice", he wrote. Not only did Heraclitus think that all elements and things in this world were engaged in a war with all other things, but each object each living thing he thought, is constituted by opposing forces intention. To explain this idea, some scholars have used a strong bow as an example to illustrate how all things are made of opposing forces, and hence subject to internal tension. As William Guthrie explained in his first volume of "A History Of Greek Philosophy"; Since everything is in flux, for Heraclitus any apparent harmony conceals an underlying strife. To conclude this lecture we will close with a quote by Nietzsche, who was heavily influenced by the ideas of Heraclitus; Nietzsche took Heraclituse's idea that all things are constituted by opposing and warring forces, and applied this idea to the nature of human beings. The good individual is one who is devoid of internal tension, or so it is commonly believed. It is through this battle he thought, that one develops strength insight and wisdom. A passage contained in "The Will To Power" conveys the influence Heraclitus head on the development of the ideas of Nietzsche;
