What role do our worldviews, i.e. our understanding of nature/science, the individual, society, the divine etc., take in shaping our moral philosophy or ethics? In fact what is the difference between morality and ethics itself? Furthermore, what is the nature of ethics within a religious framework? How does a particular theology condition a morality? Here in the following space we will explore these issues and more via turning to the ancient Greeks.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Heraclitus
For Friday read ALL of the fragments of Heraclitus. Post your favorite ones, or the ones that you think are the most important and explain why.
I really enjoyed the fragments that communicated Heraclitus' notion that most people live as though they are asleep, and as a result they are never truly aware of the commonality of all things in the cosmos. Heraclitus seems to have a general view that people are incapable of seeing the logos that connects all things because they do not live mindfully. Instead people turn inward to their own private understandings of the world. I feel that Heraclitus believes there is objective truth and reason through the logos, but that instead of opening their eyes to this universal connectivity, people tend to remain stuck within themselves and their own thoughts. They are unable to be one with the universe because of this inability to go beyond themselves. Perhaps in these writings Heraclitus is advocating mindfulness and awareness of the world which leads to an experience of unity... Maybe if all people could journey beyond themselves out of their 'sleep' and into awareness maybe humans could be in harmony with each other and with the universe?
There are two significant ideas that stuck out from Heraclitus. One, that everything comes from a a unified starting point. As an example, in #48 (among others), he says that all laws come from one divine law. He connects this starting point with what is common, and that people should live according to what is common. The other main idea that struck me was the idea of sleep and reality. The fragment that I really liked was #24. "What we see when awake is death, what we see asleep is sleep." I think he is saying that when we are awake, we are constantly surrounded by fear and negative aspects of human life. I think that this connects to the modern day world because there is so much violence and destructive behavior going on in the world. When we are awake we fear it, but when we sleep we are oblivious and in peace.
My favorite fragment of Heraclitus was 115. "It is difficult to fight against anger, for whatever it wants it buys at the price of soul." I enjoyed this one because it stresses the idea that anger only harms the one who holds onto it. It reminds me of the quote attributed to Buddha, "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned." Both quotes stress the same main idea that bottling up anger is very harmful to the individual especially the individual's soul.
I actually quite enjoyed a couple of these fragments. One of the first ones I read was number 17 which talked about justice and that justice will punish the one who tells falsehood or something like that. I liked it because it reminded me of karma, not I'm not saying that everyone believes in karma but sometimes it can dictate a way a person acts. No one wants bad karma and doing a good deed could bring good karma to a person. Number 28 was really short and interesting, but I thought it was interesting because thinking is common thing... one does not need to be overly educated to think... everyone does it naturally. Also number 74 was really great to read because it kind of says that the cosmos where always existent and that the gods did not create them but forever existed before and always. In the universe today we still have plenty to explore and we could be the youngest galaxies out there.
8. Divine things for the most part escape recognition because of unbelief -This makes me wonder beacause although i am a religious person i can admit that i do not realize or recognize daily blessings because i am not open or looking for them. 99. Greater deaths win greater destinies -this reminds me of the Illiad and how the soldiers long to die in battle in an attempt to gain honor in death. 112. a person's character is his divinity -this quote explains how the gods and their presence, influence, power is everywhere and infinite because it exists in every person, a very positive and optimistic notion.
Most of the fragments of Heraclitus are insightful, but I must say that three of them are my favorite. Fragment number eight is true from beginning to end. “Divine things for the most part escape recognition because of unbelief,” this is fragment number eight. The fragment can hold for the example of why most people do not believe in God. God and of that he has created was through his divinity. But because this was such a great task and accomplishment, people have a hard time accepting Him. So most either ignore it or go against it, so I see this fragment as being very true even today. Fragment number thirty –two is also among my favorites. Fragment thirty-two, “All that can be seen, heard, experienced-these are what I prefer.” This fragment in particular suggests that life is meant to be lived, so stop treating it as an option and not a priority. We are supposed to experiences a new thing that is what a life that has been lived means. Everything should not be taken for granted, every great opportunity, triumph and adventure should be embarked on and celebrated. I sure hope everyone feels this way.
The fragment that struck me the most was very short and simple. It simply said: "A person's character is his divinity"
This makes sense in the context of our actions being logos, our account, of our lives. As we are a part of a greater divine, it is our character--the moral base that leads our actions--that is what's divine.
While I found several of these fragments to be too obscure, others I found to be quite profound. 61- I think he is using a metaphor to describe the way in which every human being not only experiences the world in different ways, but perceives them differently as well. Everyone has their own perspective, and one person's experience will ever be the same as another's, even if they experienced it together. This is helpful in that we must be hesitant to judge the way in which other's behave and think, as we can never really know how the world has looked and felt from their end. 47- "An unapparent connection (harmonia) is stronger than an apparent one." Here, I believe he is illustrating the connections and feelings we experience that we cannot verbalize or truly describe. These are connections that are harmonious, therefore we take them for granted while focusing on the tangible, but only temporary ones. These harmonies are ones of us and nature, the earth, the cosmos, or even our family. These connections are far greater than anything material we could ever grow attached to, as these will one day perish.
I really liked the fragment, "If you do not hope,you will not win that which is not hoped for,since it is unattainable and inaccessible." I like it because it is so true. So many of us would rather roll around in the mud than reach for the stars because we think it is beyond our grasp. We'd rather believe that we're not good enough to get what we want than even entertain the notion that what we want could be the very thing that completes us. I think this is because people (my self included) are terrified of failing. Failure is a stepping stone in life, if we didn't experience it then we would never understand the true merit that comes with success. As the saying goes, "Nothing good in life ever comes easy" and it is also far too short to ever waste regretting what we never tried hard enough too have.
Most of Heraclitus' writings resembles more Buddhist or Taoist writings, not Greek ones. Even in fragment 1 which talks about how the logos affects others, and fragment 49's mentioning the importance of opposites, part of me wonders if he had taken any recent trips to China.
Upon looking up Heraclitus up online I found striking similarities between his arguments and those of Lao Tzu (writer of the Tao De Jing and father of Daoist philosophy). Two common principles I noticed were dependent origination and everlasting change (nothing stays the same, the world/reality is in a constant state of change)
"On those who step in the same river, different and different waters flow"(quoted in Arius Didymus)-
This quote is meant to show that the river is always changing and thus at no point can one touch the same river as he or she did before. The river is meant to represent reality and how it is constantly subjected to change.
"As a single, unified thing there exists in us both life and death, waking and sleeping, youth and old age, because the former things having changed are now the latter, and when those latter things change, they become the former" (quoted in pseudo-Plutarch, Consolation to Apollo)
"They do not understand that what differs agrees with itself" (quoted in Hippolytus, Refutations)-
These two quotes are a portrayal of the principle of dependent origination which means that everything is defined by what it is not. For example, white is only seen in contrast to what it is not; if everything was white there would be no white. I believe dependent origination is the most important philosophical principle in understanding reality.
I find Heraclitus’s second fragment one of the most important. “For this reason it is necessary to follow what is common. But although the logos is common, most people live as if they had their own private understanding”. I believe it is true in him saying that all human beings deep inside there hearts follow a single divine law that connects the world ethically (For instance most people agree killing others is bad). People in general, however, believe they think differently from everyone else because individually they think they are some how different. I also find Heraclitus’s fragment 113 important. “It is not better for humans to get all they want”. For if all humans were spoiled brats that got all they wanted then what’s the point of living life.
I think the most important quote is from line number 62 and 63 “[it is not possible to step twice into the same river]… It scatters and again comes together, and approaches and recedes” and “We step into and we do not step into the same rivers. We are and we are not.” I think that these two quotes are important because nothing seems to stay the same and everything is always changing. Heraclitus and Plutarch connect the logic of a flowing river to knowledge. Everyday we are learning new material and storing knowledge. This can also mean that we are constantly changing. So “we are and we are not” means although we are constantly changing, we are at some point the same person with more knowledge. So we are the same person but we are not, because we are always changing.
Fragment 22, which states " For the waking there is one common world, but when asleep each person turns away to a private one." fits very well with Heraclitus's idea of logos, or the single divine truth, because he believes that people do not understand this truth because they are asleep and lost in their own private truths. When they are able to "wake up", they can think objectively and better understand the idea of logos. I personally like the use of sleeping in many of these fragments because it is a metaphor for understanding. In order to understand the big picture, we must be able to "wake up" from our own personal thoughts and concerns, and return to the reality of the common world.
My favorite fragments were #57 "The most beautiful arrangement is a pile of things poured out at random," and then #59 "The track of writing is straight and crooked." I liked #57 because it has this great irony within it; events in the world seem to happen in haphazard patterns humans can't always imitate. This idea of the most "beautiful" arrangements being sequenced or places or construed completely without thought or process is amusing because it implies so little effort from humans and refers back to the divine nature of life. I also loved #59 because writing is such a complex process. It relies on mental talent being translated into a physical text—on paper, in print, with text. This juxtaposition of writing being a concept both straight and crooked caught my eye because it doesn't exactly make sense—nothing can exist that way, except writing isn't necessarily concerned with existing properly. It's neither straightforward brain matter, but it's also not existing on its own. It exists in the physical world forever (or as long as the text survives) but it is born in a mental state. It's a very difficult fragment to explain, but the first time I read it, I laughed out loud without really understanding. I still don't think I understand it as completely as I do other fragments, but I really enjoy that one for that reason alone.
I also thought #85 was interesting because it seemed like an echo of Sophistry. “To God all things are beautiful and good and just, but humans have supposed some unjust and others just.” An omniscient God seems to be fair to all, receiving each action and its consequences as the result of an individual’s perspective. No one person can judge wrong or right—the way humans tend to do—and God doesn’t judges, because God sees the beautiful, good, and just in everything. I don’t necessarily agree with the fragment, but I was excited to identify something as Sophist.
9. "Fools are excited by every word.". This stood out to me because I think it is a very common problem amongst a lot of people in society today. Many people are easily worked up by words spoken to them without fully understanding what those words mean. This is a dangerous position to be in, and it makes sense that they would be called fools.
31. "Men who are lovers of wisdom must be inquirers into many things indeed.". This is my favorite. If one wishes to be wise, they cannot limit themselves to one idea or one way of thinking. In order for one to become wise, they must look at points of view from different angles. We must try and grasp as many concepts as we can about one idea.
I like this one because it's very true. You can't always believe what you hear but you can believe what you see with your eyes. Nothing good comes from he said, she said. I personally don't believe things until I see it with my own two eyes.
I read a few fragments from Hereclitus that really seemed profound, the first being his #4: "The best renounce all for one thing, the eternal fame of mortals, but the many stuff themselves like cattle." I feel like the significance in this quote comes from it's message, that to focus on being remembered forever ("eternal fame") by the world ("of mortals") is just a "better" way to live than to focus on the the immediate, tangible things with which we can "stuff [ourselves] like cattle." Also, another favorite I found was his #100: "Things unexpected and unthought of await humans when they die." I think this quote gives a much more optimistic view of death than I have been taught to believe the Greek's held, one which doesn't condemn a dead soul to never ending shadow, but instead offers a mysterious, unfathomable idea of the same process.
This frament from Heraclitus made an impression on me. I believe that it is addressing ignorant people who do not value reason. The ignorant rejoice in little knowledge while pure knowledge exists but one must find it through reason. Also the ignorant enjoy things that are easy to find.
The fragment i found to be one of the most interesting one was "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." The reason why i specifically enjoyed this one is because i do agree that in some instances, people can make up lies about what they hear or what they think they hear, but what one sees and the actions that an individual does are more important than what they say.
I really enjoyed reading Heraclitus' fragments, they really invoked a sense of mental concentration. My favorites are:
9. A fool is excited by every word. - This fragment reminds of something that was said in the Holy Bible about wise men not idly speaking and that only fools spoke without thinking. It makes me think of those who are easily persuaded which means that they are followers that conform to the trends of society instead of searching for truth.
81. For fire will advance and judge and convict all things. -Fire, from what we have studied, has been the reasoning for man's advancement. It has both inspired creations as well as destroyed many. Good and bad have come from the gift of fire. Therefore, I believe that this fragment adequately describes that by saying that it advances, judges and convicts.
105. The soul has a self-increasing logos. - "Logos is to give an explanation as well as simply to say something." This an excellent statement, the soul is constantly changing, maturing and coming into one's own thoughts, instead of those of others.
I liked fragment number 112 where he says "A person's character is his divinity". This is because a person's character is considered to be a important part of a person. A person's character is what helps make up who a person is which is why I agree with his statement. Another favorite is number 22 where he says "For the waking there is one common world, but when asleep each person turns to a private". This is true because when we are awake we live in the same world but when we are asleep we are in our personal world.
I would have to say that my favorite Heraclitus quote is "Things unexpected and unthought of await humans when they die" (fragment 100). I was always taught about Heaven and Hell and even Purgatory, but always by a living person who had not ever died and visited either place. There are so many rules governing a religion's followers that have to do with "the afterlife," but who's to say that there is an afterlife at all. I still have faith and believe most of the doctrines because, as suggested by Pascal's Wager, "It is better to believe in God and in the end find there is no reward than to reject Him and find punishment." Not saying that is the only reason I believe, but it does make sense. I just wish there was a person to come back from the dead and broadcast on CNN the happenings of the afterlife, so there wouldn't be as much confusion (and pressure) as to how a person is to live.
I thought this reading was really refreshing and interesting to read. More than a few passages stuck out in my mind. One combination were numbers 32 and 33, "All that can be seen, heard, experienced-these are what I prefer" (32)and "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." (33). I interpreted that these two passages are basically saying, see for yourself, don't listen to gossip, and to make your own judgements. I think that this concept is very relevant to everyone in any society that should be closely followed. Give others a chance before you form preconceptions.
"Thinking is common to all" and "every beast is driven to pasture by blows" were, to me, the most exciting and profound items in the reading. This is because they have the same underlying premise and opposite implications. They both imply an equality, or at least a commonality. "Thinking is common to all" is a positive message. Don't assume others can not do what you can, you are not fundamentally superior. If each has the capacity to think, than each has the capacity to be intelligent. This of course does not imply equality of result, for not all people think intelligently or deeply.
The second is a negative "Every beast is driven to pasture by blows." This implies that no one sits comfortably above all coercive influences. We are all beasts and we are all affected by external forces. I also feel like this may be a counter to differential thinking such as "I control my destiny, but the others are all subject to fate" or "If I act immorally, it is because of my situation, if others act immorally it is because they are morally decrepit."
Fragment 33: "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." This fragment is very true. One can only slightly believe what they hear whereas when one sees something, its more realistic and believable. It is better to see something rather than just hearing about it.
Fragment 112: "A person's character is his divinity". One's character is the biggest power one holds. People judge others especially by their character to see whether they are good people or bad. I feel that this fragment conveys that a person's character is most important. I strongly believe that because it's the criteria in which others judge someone.
48. "Those who speak with understanding must rely firmly on what is common to all as a city must rely on law [or, it's law] and much more firmly. for all human laws are nourished by one law, the divine law; for it has as much power as it wishes and is sufficient for all and is still left over." This passage almost sets a standard for the people in a society who possess wisdom. Everyone falls under one common law and is equal under it.
My favorite fragment of Heraclitus is "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." I think that the modern day version of this saying is that actions speak louder than words. But I like Heraclitus' wording better because I think it emphasizes better that one must rely more on what they see than on what they hear.
10. "Dogs bark at everyone they do not know." Meaning people act aggressively to change or other people. We all fear change.
19. "Eyes and ears are bad witnesses to people if they have barbarian souls." People who are uneducated or even cold hearted don't make good historians or account keepers. Nor can be good learners or understand things about the world.
Fragment 33 “Eyes are more acute witnesses than ears” was interesting to me because I think it is saying that things heard can be misunderstood if you did not see it with your own eyes. Things heard are subject to a person’s interpretation of those words, a person’s way of thinking or mindset. Things heard are not always interpreted the way they were intended. The eyes are more acute to witness; meaning people are more like to actually witness the truth when they see it with their own eyes. Additionally, fragment 47 of Heraclitus “An unapparent connection is stronger than an apparent one” was interesting to me. An apparent connection is like common sense, it is something so obvious that not thinking of it is unheard of. An unapparent connection is something that requires really thinking, and digging deep inside to uncover something surprising. It’s like a revelation, something just clicks and it becomes a shear moment of brilliance. I believe that Fragment 28 “Thinking is common to all” is a very important thing to remember. Everyone thinks on a daily basis about important things and unimportant things. I believe that thinking makes us who we are as individuals and as human beings. Without thinking we would be nothing, we wouldn’t exist. Thinking allows us to learn and understand.
25. Human nature has no insight, but divine nature has it. -This one was significant to me because it seems like human nature is being defined as instinctual and divine nature is where we get morals. 37. Those who seek gold dig up much earth but find little. -To me this doesn't represent someone wasting their time for little benefit, but a will or ambition to achieve a goal. What we do may not make sense to others but if it is significant to us thats all that matters. 113. It is not better for humans to get all they want. -Such a simple statement but so true. Everybody has different opinions on many things and what one person finds interesting, another could feel that it is horrible. Crime is a prime example of this and to think of how things would be if people could do or got whatever they wanted.
"Unless you expect the unexpected you will never find truth, for it is hard to discover and hard to attain." (18) Don't live life according to a set pattern of machinery. Be prepared and willing for things to change. Too often those with grand plans of life and happiness have their plans fall through, or come short, because they set the bar so high. Those who take life one step at a time and are humble in their approach to their future are those who are surprised by fortune and more fortunate for its blessings, causing them to be happier and healthier people.
33. Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears. I like this fragment because it describes how people believe more if they see it because they know it exists but only if one hears then all he can do is believe that it exist instead of knowing that exist. If you only hear then you can get only half the truth or distorted one.
43. Right thinking is the greatest excellence, and wisdom is to speak the truth and act in accordance with nature, while paying attention to it. This fragment shows the importance or the responsibility of having wisdom. In order to have wisdom one must not only speak honestly about what they know in but must be aware of their surroundings and follow what they know. I think that this is important because Heraclitus says that act upon what we know instead of letting life pass by you as if you were dead.
“Eyes and ears are bad witnesses to men, if they have souls that understand not their language.”
Lacking an efficient understanding of the logos (or the divine law of nature) observation is becomes trivial. To try to comprehend or examine nature without capturing the logos, resembles attempting to interpret a definition or meaning or a word from a language that is foreign to you. In which case, all that is perceived, in either case, is useless noise. I also belong to the Christian faith and this fragment reminds me of how the Holy Bible places emphasis on the fact that words are dead objects without the spirit. ( 1 Corinthians 2:9)
My favorite was 115 by far. When reading it, I really though about the times I have held onto anger and how it has wrecked other parts of my life. When we continue to hold deep onto anger, a part of our soul and original essence dies. Anger can take whatever from us it wants; our values, friends, goals, hope and love. It easily eats away at you and you are left with nothing. This is definitely something I will hold onto and keep with me to remember what is the cost of anger.
I really enjoyed the fragments that communicated Heraclitus' notion that most people live as though they are asleep, and as a result they are never truly aware of the commonality of all things in the cosmos. Heraclitus seems to have a general view that people are incapable of seeing the logos that connects all things because they do not live mindfully. Instead people turn inward to their own private understandings of the world. I feel that Heraclitus believes there is objective truth and reason through the logos, but that instead of opening their eyes to this universal connectivity, people tend to remain stuck within themselves and their own thoughts. They are unable to be one with the universe because of this inability to go beyond themselves. Perhaps in these writings Heraclitus is advocating mindfulness and awareness of the world which leads to an experience of unity... Maybe if all people could journey beyond themselves out of their 'sleep' and into awareness maybe humans could be in harmony with each other and with the universe?
ReplyDeleteThere are two significant ideas that stuck out from Heraclitus. One, that everything comes from a a unified starting point. As an example, in #48 (among others), he says that all laws come from one divine law. He connects this starting point with what is common, and that people should live according to what is common. The other main idea that struck me was the idea of sleep and reality. The fragment that I really liked was #24. "What we see when awake is death, what we see asleep is sleep." I think he is saying that when we are awake, we are constantly surrounded by fear and negative aspects of human life. I think that this connects to the modern day world because there is so much violence and destructive behavior going on in the world. When we are awake we fear it, but when we sleep we are oblivious and in peace.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fragment of Heraclitus was 115. "It is difficult to fight against anger, for whatever it wants it buys at the price of soul." I enjoyed this one because it stresses the idea that anger only harms the one who holds onto it. It reminds me of the quote attributed to Buddha, "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned." Both quotes stress the same main idea that bottling up anger is very harmful to the individual especially the individual's soul.
ReplyDeleteI actually quite enjoyed a couple of these fragments. One of the first ones I read was number 17 which talked about justice and that justice will punish the one who tells falsehood or something like that. I liked it because it reminded me of karma, not I'm not saying that everyone believes in karma but sometimes it can dictate a way a person acts. No one wants bad karma and doing a good deed could bring good karma to a person. Number 28 was really short and interesting, but I thought it was interesting because thinking is common thing... one does not need to be overly educated to think... everyone does it naturally. Also number 74 was really great to read because it kind of says that the cosmos where always existent and that the gods did not create them but forever existed before and always. In the universe today we still have plenty to explore and we could be the youngest galaxies out there.
ReplyDelete8. Divine things for the most part escape recognition because of unbelief
ReplyDelete-This makes me wonder beacause although i am a religious person i can admit that i do not realize or recognize daily blessings because i am not open or looking for them.
99. Greater deaths win greater destinies
-this reminds me of the Illiad and how the soldiers long to die in battle in an attempt to gain honor in death.
112. a person's character is his divinity
-this quote explains how the gods and their presence, influence, power is everywhere and infinite because it exists in every person, a very positive and optimistic notion.
Most of the fragments of Heraclitus are insightful, but I must say that three of them are my favorite. Fragment number eight is true from beginning to end. “Divine things for the most part escape recognition because of unbelief,” this is fragment number eight. The fragment can hold for the example of why most people do not believe in God. God and of that he has created was through his divinity. But because this was such a great task and accomplishment, people have a hard time accepting Him. So most either ignore it or go against it, so I see this fragment as being very true even today. Fragment number thirty –two is also among my favorites. Fragment thirty-two, “All that can be seen, heard, experienced-these are what I prefer.” This fragment in particular suggests that life is meant to be lived, so stop treating it as an option and not a priority. We are supposed to experiences a new thing that is what a life that has been lived means. Everything should not be taken for granted, every great opportunity, triumph and adventure should be embarked on and celebrated. I sure hope everyone feels this way.
ReplyDeleteThe fragment that struck me the most was very short and simple. It simply said: "A person's character is his divinity"
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense in the context of our actions being logos, our account, of our lives. As we are a part of a greater divine, it is our character--the moral base that leads our actions--that is what's divine.
While I found several of these fragments to be too obscure, others I found to be quite profound. 61- I think he is using a metaphor to describe the way in which every human being not only experiences the world in different ways, but perceives them differently as well. Everyone has their own perspective, and one person's experience will ever be the same as another's, even if they experienced it together. This is helpful in that we must be hesitant to judge the way in which other's behave and think, as we can never really know how the world has looked and felt from their end. 47- "An unapparent connection (harmonia) is stronger than an apparent one." Here, I believe he is illustrating the connections and feelings we experience that we cannot verbalize or truly describe. These are connections that are harmonious, therefore we take them for granted while focusing on the tangible, but only temporary ones. These harmonies are ones of us and nature, the earth, the cosmos, or even our family. These connections are far greater than anything material we could ever grow attached to, as these will one day perish.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the fragment, "If you do not hope,you will not win that which is not hoped for,since it is unattainable and inaccessible." I like it because it is so true. So many of us would rather roll around in the mud than reach for the stars because we think it is beyond our grasp. We'd rather believe that we're not good enough to get what we want than even entertain the notion that what we want could be the very thing that completes us. I think this is because people (my self included) are terrified of failing. Failure is a stepping stone in life, if we didn't experience it then we would never understand the true merit that comes with success. As the saying goes, "Nothing good in life ever comes easy" and it is also far too short to ever waste regretting what we never tried hard enough too have.
ReplyDeleteMost of Heraclitus' writings resembles more Buddhist or Taoist writings, not Greek ones. Even in fragment 1 which talks about how the logos affects others, and fragment 49's mentioning the importance of opposites, part of me wonders if he had taken any recent trips to China.
ReplyDeleteUpon looking up Heraclitus up online I found striking similarities between his arguments and those of Lao Tzu (writer of the Tao De Jing and father of Daoist philosophy). Two common principles I noticed were dependent origination and everlasting change (nothing stays the same, the world/reality is in a constant state of change)
ReplyDelete"On those who step in the same river, different and different waters flow"(quoted in Arius Didymus)-
This quote is meant to show that the river is always changing and thus at no point can one touch the same river as he or she did before. The river is meant to represent reality and how it is constantly subjected to change.
"As a single, unified thing there exists in us both life and death, waking and sleeping, youth and old age, because the former things having changed are now the latter, and when those latter things change, they become the former" (quoted in pseudo-Plutarch, Consolation to Apollo)
"They do not understand that what differs agrees with itself" (quoted in Hippolytus, Refutations)-
These two quotes are a portrayal of the principle of dependent origination which means that everything is defined by what it is not. For example, white is only seen in contrast to what it is not; if everything was white there would be no white. I believe dependent origination is the most important philosophical principle in understanding reality.
I find Heraclitus’s second fragment one of the most important. “For this reason it is necessary to follow what is common. But although the logos is common, most people live as if they had their own private understanding”. I believe it is true in him saying that all human beings deep inside there hearts follow a single divine law that connects the world ethically (For instance most people agree killing others is bad). People in general, however, believe they think differently from everyone else because individually they think they are some how different. I also find Heraclitus’s fragment 113 important. “It is not better for humans to get all they want”. For if all humans were spoiled brats that got all they wanted then what’s the point of living life.
ReplyDeleteI think the most important quote is from line number 62 and 63 “[it is not possible to step twice into the same river]… It scatters and again comes together, and approaches and recedes” and “We step into and we do not step into the same rivers. We are and we are not.” I think that these two quotes are important because nothing seems to stay the same and everything is always changing. Heraclitus and Plutarch connect the logic of a flowing river to knowledge. Everyday we are learning new material and storing knowledge. This can also mean that we are constantly changing. So “we are and we are not” means although we are constantly changing, we are at some point the same person with more knowledge. So we are the same person but we are not, because we are always changing.
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ReplyDeleteFragment 22, which states " For the waking there is one common world, but when asleep each person turns away to a private one." fits very well with Heraclitus's idea of logos, or the single divine truth, because he believes that people do not understand this truth because they are asleep and lost in their own private truths. When they are able to "wake up", they can think objectively and better understand the idea of logos. I personally like the use of sleeping in many of these fragments because it is a metaphor for understanding. In order to understand the big picture, we must be able to "wake up" from our own personal thoughts and concerns, and return to the reality of the common world.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fragments were #57 "The most beautiful arrangement is a pile of things poured out at random," and then #59 "The track of writing is straight and crooked." I liked #57 because it has this great irony within it; events in the world seem to happen in haphazard patterns humans can't always imitate. This idea of the most "beautiful" arrangements being sequenced or places or construed completely without thought or process is amusing because it implies so little effort from humans and refers back to the divine nature of life. I also loved #59 because writing is such a complex process. It relies on mental talent being translated into a physical text—on paper, in print, with text. This juxtaposition of writing being a concept both straight and crooked caught my eye because it doesn't exactly make sense—nothing can exist that way, except writing isn't necessarily concerned with existing properly. It's neither straightforward brain matter, but it's also not existing on its own. It exists in the physical world forever (or as long as the text survives) but it is born in a mental state. It's a very difficult fragment to explain, but the first time I read it, I laughed out loud without really understanding. I still don't think I understand it as completely as I do other fragments, but I really enjoy that one for that reason alone.
ReplyDeleteI also thought #85 was interesting because it seemed like an echo of Sophistry. “To God all things are beautiful and good and just, but humans have supposed some unjust and others just.” An omniscient God seems to be fair to all, receiving each action and its consequences as the result of an individual’s perspective. No one person can judge wrong or right—the way humans tend to do—and God doesn’t judges, because God sees the beautiful, good, and just in everything. I don’t necessarily agree with the fragment, but I was excited to identify something as Sophist.
9. "Fools are excited by every word.". This stood out to me because I think it is a very common problem amongst a lot of people in society today. Many people are easily worked up by words spoken to them without fully understanding what those words mean. This is a dangerous position to be in, and it makes sense that they would be called fools.
ReplyDelete31. "Men who are lovers of wisdom must be inquirers into many things indeed.". This is my favorite. If one wishes to be wise, they cannot limit themselves to one idea or one way of thinking. In order for one to become wise, they must look at points of view from different angles. We must try and grasp as many concepts as we can about one idea.
"Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears."
ReplyDeleteI like this one because it's very true. You can't always believe what you hear but you can believe what you see with your eyes. Nothing good comes from he said, she said. I personally don't believe things until I see it with my own two eyes.
I read a few fragments from Hereclitus that really seemed profound, the first being his #4: "The best renounce all for one thing, the eternal fame of mortals, but the many stuff themselves like cattle." I feel like the significance in this quote comes from it's message, that to focus on being remembered forever ("eternal fame") by the world ("of mortals") is just a "better" way to live than to focus on the the immediate, tangible things with which we can "stuff [ourselves] like cattle." Also, another favorite I found was his #100: "Things unexpected and unthought of await humans when they die." I think this quote gives a much more optimistic view of death than I have been taught to believe the Greek's held, one which doesn't condemn a dead soul to never ending shadow, but instead offers a mysterious, unfathomable idea of the same process.
ReplyDelete"Pigs rejoice in mud more that pure water"
ReplyDeleteThis frament from Heraclitus made an impression on me. I believe that it is addressing ignorant people who do not value reason. The ignorant rejoice in little knowledge while pure knowledge exists but one must find it through reason. Also the ignorant enjoy things that are easy to find.
The fragment i found to be one of the most interesting one was "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." The reason why i specifically enjoyed this one is because i do agree that in some instances, people can make up lies about what they hear or what they think they hear, but what one sees and the actions that an individual does are more important than what they say.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading Heraclitus' fragments, they really invoked a sense of mental concentration. My favorites are:
ReplyDelete9. A fool is excited by every word.
- This fragment reminds of something that was said in the Holy Bible about wise men not idly speaking and that only fools spoke without thinking. It makes me think of those who are easily persuaded which means that they are followers that conform to the trends of society instead of searching for truth.
81. For fire will advance and judge and convict all things.
-Fire, from what we have studied, has been the reasoning for man's advancement. It has both inspired creations as well as destroyed many. Good and bad have come from the gift of fire. Therefore, I believe that this fragment adequately describes that by saying that it advances, judges and convicts.
105. The soul has a self-increasing logos.
- "Logos is to give an explanation as well as simply to say something." This an excellent statement, the soul is constantly changing, maturing and coming into one's own thoughts, instead of those of others.
I liked fragment number 112 where he says "A person's character is his divinity". This is because a person's character is considered to be a important part of a person. A person's character is what helps make up who a person is which is why I agree with his statement. Another favorite is number 22 where he says "For the waking there is one common world, but when asleep each person turns to a private". This is true because when we are awake we live in the same world but when we are asleep we are in our personal world.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that my favorite Heraclitus quote is "Things unexpected and unthought of await humans when they die" (fragment 100). I was always taught about Heaven and Hell and even Purgatory, but always by a living person who had not ever died and visited either place. There are so many rules governing a religion's followers that have to do with "the afterlife," but who's to say that there is an afterlife at all. I still have faith and believe most of the doctrines because, as suggested by Pascal's Wager, "It is better to believe in God and in the end find there is no reward than to reject Him and find punishment." Not saying that is the only reason I believe, but it does make sense. I just wish there was a person to come back from the dead and broadcast on CNN the happenings of the afterlife, so there wouldn't be as much confusion (and pressure) as to how a person is to live.
ReplyDeleteI thought this reading was really refreshing and interesting to read. More than a few passages stuck out in my mind. One combination were numbers 32 and 33, "All that can be seen, heard, experienced-these are what I prefer" (32)and "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." (33). I interpreted that these two passages are basically saying, see for yourself, don't listen to gossip, and to make your own judgements. I think that this concept is very relevant to everyone in any society that should be closely followed. Give others a chance before you form preconceptions.
ReplyDelete"Thinking is common to all" and "every beast is driven to pasture by blows" were, to me, the most exciting and profound items in the reading. This is because they have the same underlying premise and opposite implications. They both imply an equality, or at least a commonality. "Thinking is common to all" is a positive message. Don't assume others can not do what you can, you are not fundamentally superior. If each has the capacity to think, than each has the capacity to be intelligent. This of course does not imply equality of result, for not all people think intelligently or deeply.
ReplyDeleteThe second is a negative "Every beast is driven to pasture by blows." This implies that no one sits comfortably above all coercive influences. We are all beasts and we are all affected by external forces. I also feel like this may be a counter to differential thinking such as "I control my destiny, but the others are all subject to fate" or "If I act immorally, it is because of my situation, if others act immorally it is because they are morally decrepit."
The two fragments I liked were:
ReplyDeleteFragment 33: "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." This fragment is very true. One can only slightly believe what they hear whereas when one sees something, its more realistic and believable. It is better to see something rather than just hearing about it.
Fragment 112: "A person's character is his divinity". One's character is the biggest power one holds. People judge others especially by their character to see whether they are good people or bad. I feel that this fragment conveys that a person's character is most important. I strongly believe that because it's the criteria in which others judge someone.
48. "Those who speak with understanding must rely firmly on what is common to all as a city must rely on law [or, it's law] and much more firmly. for all human laws are nourished by one law, the divine law; for it has as much power as it wishes and is sufficient for all and is still left over."
ReplyDeleteThis passage almost sets a standard for the people in a society who possess wisdom. Everyone falls under one common law and is equal under it.
My favorite fragment of Heraclitus is "Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears." I think that the modern day version of this saying is that actions speak louder than words. But I like Heraclitus' wording better because I think it emphasizes better that one must rely more on what they see than on what they hear.
ReplyDelete10. "Dogs bark at everyone they do not know." Meaning people act aggressively to change or other people. We all fear change.
ReplyDelete19. "Eyes and ears are bad witnesses to people if they have barbarian souls." People who are uneducated or even cold hearted don't make good historians or account keepers. Nor can be good learners or understand things about the world.
Fragment 33 “Eyes are more acute witnesses than ears” was interesting to me because I think it is saying that things heard can be misunderstood if you did not see it with your own eyes. Things heard are subject to a person’s interpretation of those words, a person’s way of thinking or mindset. Things heard are not always interpreted the way they were intended. The eyes are more acute to witness; meaning people are more like to actually witness the truth when they see it with their own eyes.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, fragment 47 of Heraclitus “An unapparent connection is stronger than an apparent one” was interesting to me. An apparent connection is like common sense, it is something so obvious that not thinking of it is unheard of. An unapparent connection is something that requires really thinking, and digging deep inside to uncover something surprising. It’s like a revelation, something just clicks and it becomes a shear moment of brilliance.
I believe that Fragment 28 “Thinking is common to all” is a very important thing to remember. Everyone thinks on a daily basis about important things and unimportant things. I believe that thinking makes us who we are as individuals and as human beings. Without thinking we would be nothing, we wouldn’t exist. Thinking allows us to learn and understand.
25. Human nature has no insight, but divine nature has it.
ReplyDelete-This one was significant to me because it seems like human nature is being defined as instinctual and divine nature is where we get morals.
37. Those who seek gold dig up much earth but find little.
-To me this doesn't represent someone wasting their time for little benefit, but a will or ambition to achieve a goal. What we do may not make sense to others but if it is significant to us thats all that matters.
113. It is not better for humans to get all they want.
-Such a simple statement but so true. Everybody has different opinions on many things and what one person finds interesting, another could feel that it is horrible. Crime is a prime example of this and to think of how things would be if people could do or got whatever they wanted.
"Unless you expect the unexpected you will never find truth, for it is hard to discover and hard to attain." (18)
ReplyDeleteDon't live life according to a set pattern of machinery. Be prepared and willing for things to change. Too often those with grand plans of life and happiness have their plans fall through, or come short, because they set the bar so high. Those who take life one step at a time and are humble in their approach to their future are those who are surprised by fortune and more fortunate for its blessings, causing them to be happier and healthier people.
33. Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.
ReplyDeleteI like this fragment because it describes how people believe more if they see it because they know it exists but only if one hears then all he can do is believe that it exist instead of knowing that exist. If you only hear then you can get only half the truth or distorted one.
43. Right thinking is the greatest excellence, and wisdom is to speak the truth and act in accordance with nature, while paying attention to it.
This fragment shows the importance or the responsibility of having wisdom. In order to have wisdom one must not only speak honestly about what they know in but must be aware of their surroundings and follow what they know.
I think that this is important because Heraclitus says that act upon what we know instead of letting life pass by you as if you were dead.
Heraclitus
ReplyDeleteFragment
(Sixth Century B.C.)
“Eyes and ears are bad witnesses to men, if they have souls that understand not their language.”
Lacking an efficient understanding of the logos (or the divine law of nature) observation is becomes trivial. To try to comprehend or examine nature without capturing the logos, resembles attempting to interpret a definition or meaning or a word from a language that is foreign to you. In which case, all that is perceived, in either case, is useless noise. I also belong to the Christian faith and this fragment reminds me of how the Holy Bible places emphasis on the fact that words are dead objects without the spirit. ( 1 Corinthians 2:9)
My favorite was 115 by far. When reading it, I really though about the times I have held onto anger and how it has wrecked other parts of my life. When we continue to hold deep onto anger, a part of our soul and original essence dies. Anger can take whatever from us it wants; our values, friends, goals, hope and love. It easily eats away at you and you are left with nothing. This is definitely something I will hold onto and keep with me to remember what is the cost of anger.
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