Heraclitus seems to have written a lot, but his works are only fragments. However, these fragments show that he developed a philosophy based on the concept that fire is the primary cause, that change is synonymous with life, and that it is important to awaken the practical meaning of one's life-instead of accepting others' opinions as truth-and stay in a permanent state of consciousness. This awareness enables people to always expect the unexpected, so they remain open to all the possibilities offered by existence.
Heraclitus' complaint
Heraclitus was a great critic of his compatriots and other philosophers of his time, because they didn't seem to realize this basic truth in their lives. Besides his famous saying that "the essence of life equals change", Heraclitus has a lot to say about human habits and how to live better or at least more wisely.
Heraclitus especially criticized the early writer hesiod (8th century BC). He and his genealogy are called the father of Greek mythology, and he recorded the stories of Greek gods in words. Heraclitus complained that hesiod "didn't understand day and night" (DK 57). What he means is that there is no day without night. However, in the Divine Spectrum, hesiod wrote that the two are different from each other, and the day is "good" and the night is "bad".
He also criticized philosophers like parmenides and insisted on denying the existence and unity of change. For parmenides, the essence of existence is unity, while pluralism is an illusion caused by the senses. If a person believes that things in life will change, he is cheated, because the essence of everything is the same, but the appearance has changed. To parmenides, a person may look old, but that person's actual nature cannot, because it is a part of the nature of every other person and all living things.
Heraclitus thinks this is absurd and points out that change is not only obvious, but also necessary for the continuation of life. He claimed that those who argued endlessly fell asleep because "everything is beautiful, beautiful and just for [the universe]" but people think that some things are unfair and some things are just "(Dk 102, Freeman, 3 1). People are afraid of change because they are afraid of losing what they love, but they don't realize that no creature can stand still and continue to thrive. Only creatures can change, and for Heraclitus, this is their decisive feature. He would say that the idea of refusing to change is to refuse life itself.
For Heraclitus, the names "good" and "bad" are just two sides of the same coin and have no final meaning. Just like everything, good and bad, day and night are integrated and constantly changing, or as he said, "the way up and down is the same thing" (DK 60, Freeman, 29). If everything is constantly changing and nothing is eternal, then the definition must remain fluid and one must remain open to the possibility of change.
Heraclitus' fragment
His works are considered important enough to be preserved by later philosophers and writers, and to a great extent, in Diogenēs Laertius's masterpieces (A.D. 180-240). His Life of an Outstanding Philosopher is a philosopher and his works written to preserve stories about early Greeks. Unfortunately, LaSalle writes freely, regardless of the source of quotations, so scholars usually ignore most of his reports.
However, the fragments of Heraclitus and others often appear repeatedly in other people's works, so they are considered to be true. The following excerpt is from Catherine Freeman's Ancient Events Before Socrates. This work contains many contents, including only the following parts:
If happiness lies in physical happiness, we will say that cows are happy when they find wild peas to eat (DK 4).
The sun is new every day (DK 6).
Opposing things are consistent, and the most beautiful harmony comes from different things (DK 8).
Every creature was driven to the pasture with one blow (DK 1 1).
If a person doesn't want it, he won't find something unexpected, because there is no path to it, no path (DK 18).
When they are born, they are willing to live and accept their fate (death); They make their children victims of fate (DK 20).
What awaits them after their death is what they did not expect or imagine (DK 27).
The best people choose one thing above all else: eternal fame among mortals. Most people are satisfied, just like a well-fed cow (Danish kroner 29).
A person who loves wisdom must really be an explorer of many things (DK 35).
A lot of study can't teach a person wisdom; Because it will teach hesiod and Pythagoras, as well as Xenophon and Hecataeus (DK 40).
When you have heard the principle instead of me, it is wise to agree that everything is one (DK 50).
Hesiod is a teacher for many people. He works day and night: because they are one (DK 57).
Sea water is the purest and most polluted: for fish, it is drinkable and life-giving; For men, it is inedible and destructive (DK 6 1).
God is day and night, winter and summer, war-peace, satiety-famine. But it changes like fire. When it is mixed with incense smoke, it is named according to everyone's preference (DK 67).
We can't act and talk like sleeping people (DK 73).
Impulse is irresistible; No matter what it wants, it will buy it at the cost of its soul (DK 85).
Everything on us is the same: life and death, waking and sleeping, young and old; Because the opposite of each pair of changes becomes the former, and this becomes the latter (DK 88).
For awake people, there is an orderly universe shared by all. During sleep, everyone will turn from this world to his own (DK 89).
Dead bodies are worth throwing away more than feces (DK 96).
I searched it myself (DK 10 1).
For God, everything is beautiful, beautiful and just; But people think that some things are unfair and some things are just (DK 102).
A person's character is fate (DK 1 19).
Cold things get hot, hot things get cold, wet things get dry, and dry things get wet (DK 126).
One thing increases in one way, and another thing increases in another way, relative to what it lacks (DK 126b).
The shortcut to fame is getting better (DK 135).
One of the most famous fragments is Heraclitus' proposition, which is usually considered as "one cannot step into the same river twice". In fact, it is translated from Greek as "In the same river, we step and don't step, we are and we are not", which means that people can never experience the same water on their feet, because the water in the river is constantly flowing (Baird, 20). Similarly, life is in constant motion, and people should not expect any aspect of it to remain static for personal happiness.
conclusion
Heraclitus' fragments show a fully developed philosophy, which is based on the understanding that change is the basic essence of life, and at the same time, it is also the understanding of the importance of being aware of change at all times. He warned that people should not "act and talk like sleeping people" and encouraged the audience to get rid of the eternal fantasy in life and embrace the ever-changing reality.
However, it is said that Heraclitus himself had the same problem-about the form of change-taking advice from others-just like anyone else. It is said that at the end of his sick life, he presented his symptoms to the doctor in the form of a riddle. When they tried to solve his situation, he became impatient and only cared about himself, which led to his death.
Whether this story is true or not is uncertain, but it does not detract from his philosophy, because it is quite common that people with foresight cannot realize their idealism. His thoughts on the essence of life and how to live in it best will provide information for later philosophical works, even Plato's and Aristotle's works, and remain an important source of guidance for people who still hate change and disgust today. Hoping to catch what they'll never get.