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Name:
Heraclitus
Dates:
Born: c. 540 BCE
Died: c. 475 BCE
Biography:
Heraclitus was pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of whom we only have second-hand
information. According to the reports of others, he argued that fire was the
primal substance from which the universe and all matter is formed - but there
does not remain any fundamental "stuff" from which everything in the universe is made.
Other preserved reports indicate that he used paradoxes to demonstrate that the world is in a constant state of flux - he even argued that the apparently unchanging hills were changing, just too slowly for people to readily notice. The most famous of these was his metaphor of the river.
Acording to Heraclitus, because a river is always flowing and always in flux, it is impossible to ever step into the same river twice. It may look to us like the same river, but obviously the water has changed entirely and continually does so from second to second. The only thing which does remain the same is the cosmic balance of everything in motion.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
Biographies of Philosophers
This index of biographical index of famous philosophers throughout history includes many others who have contributed to our understanding of human nature and life - including sociologists, psychologists, scientists, and more.What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
