Heraclitus
Heraclitus is a Greek philosopher of which not much is known beyond his works. What we do know is that he lived in Ephesus, a city on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, and that his character has largely been inferred from his writings on philosophical issues. Two philosophical theories come to mind when the name Heraclitus is mentioned: The Doctrine of Flux and the Unity of Opposites. In his espousal of these theories he managed to draw the ire of many -- even Aristotle and Plato, who believed that his hypothesis of the world was one of logical incoherence. Heraclitus posited the theory of the Doctrine of Flux and the Unity of Opposites by claiming that everything is constantly changing and opposite things are identical, so that everything
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As founder of the Milesian School of Philosophy, he shaped a new doctrine; one which sought to have logical and rational explanations to natural phenomena, not explanations steeped in the supernatural dogma of that time. In his cosmological doctrine that all things emerge from and return to water, not from the divine hand of the Gods, Thales evokes a naturalist pattern of thought – nature is all that exists, and all things supernatural therefore do not exist; while yes, Thales did prescribe to this materialist and rational school of thought, Aristotle claims that he still believed that God was present in all things. Thales is considered to be one of the first subscribers to both Naturalism and Materialism as he searched not for answers in mythological or paranormal and explanations, but through observation of nature and looking for the “Physis” (or nature) of entities, seeking to understand the cause behind their characteristic …show more content…
Parmenides posited the theory that our perception of reality is erroneous, and phenomena of movement and change are appearances of a static and pre-planned reality. (Philosophy Basics, 2008) It is in Parmenides deductive arguments about the nature of reality where he comes to a conclusion that “What-is-not” does not exist, and that “no-longer” and “not-yet” are variations of “what-is-not” asserting that what has come and what has gone – the past and the present —do not exist and that change is impossible. (Philosophy Basics,
Science today is way more advanced than back in 650 B.C.E. and we have tools and scientists that explain the natural phenomena that we still deal with today. The Greeks however had a very different way of explaining these natural phenomena. The Greeks used Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, and their gods to explain these phenomena for them. Yan covers these phenomena like Earthquakes which were previously thought to had been caused by the sea god, Poseidon, or that storms were caused by Zeus and that the Sun came up everyday thanks to Helios. Which today are now proved through orbit of the Earth and low and high air pressure.
The Isa Upanishad, in a broad sense, concerns itself with the quest for enlightenment and finding one’s self, or soul. It repeatedly emphasizes the importance of this venture and reiterates the plight of those who choose to remain ignorant, or in “blind darkness”; or even worse, those who delight in learning and find themselves in a “greater darkness”. These themes are also explored in various forms in the other extracts. In the Heraclitus of Ephesus extract, for example, there are numerous similarities that can be identified.
Aristotle is a Greek philosopher who was born some time around 384 BC in the city Stagira, which is in the Greece kingdom of Macedonia, and he died in 322 BC (Wikipedia). Aristotle was a well known philosopher, in fact he was such a well known philosopher that he was given some nicknames from the Ancient Greek people for his modesty. When Aristotle was younger (17-18) he, “...joined Platos Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven” (Wikipedia). At the Academy Aristotle was a great student, but wasn't the best because he was concern of the way they scrutinized philosophical issues and the way world works, and it's not just the perfect forms and realm of ideas that matter, regarding their theory of ideas (Gradesaver).
Lucretius was a Roman poet, famous for Epicurean philosophy. He focused on themes that involved the way in which humans exist in the natural world. Through his ideas of superstition, atoms and mortality, Lucretius’ philosophy introduced a controversial yet systematic natural perspective into a society that was predominantly still reliant on mythical explanations. By emphasizing the importance of personal reasoning, Lucretius influenced many of his successors. At the time of publication, Roman society relied heavily on the idea of various Gods and Goddesses in order to compensate for their lack of understanding of the physical world.
He changed the way people viewed the world. He created the Theory of General Relativity which stated that space and time are relative. This means that how much time passed depends on location and speed. Before this, people relied on Sir Isaac Newton’s view of the world. This theory also stated that pure energy equals mass times the speed of light squared or E=mc².
Theogony was a myth that addressed the connection between human beings to the Gods and the universe. Giving that Hesiod lived during the Iron age ( 750-650 B.C.) alongside Homer, it is not extraordinary that the two shared similar religious views. Keeping that in mind, he was able to offer his interpretation of how the world came into existence in his epic poem the Theogony. While creating Prometheus’ myth, he focused on the ominous interactions between Zeus and Prometheus that lead to abhorrent events such as the creation of Pandora. On the contrary, Aeschylus lived in the sixth Century B.C. amid a time of great stir and movement in matters of religion and speculation.
Title: A Glimpse to Ancient Greek and Ancient Chinese Science 1. Introduction Ancient China and ancient Greece are cradles of ancient civilizations, where existed numerous philosophers who devoted their whole life to exploring nature, therefore ancient science was born. It is obvious that ancient Greek and Chinese science share some similar thoughts while having several distinctions. 2. Comparisons between ancient Greek and Chinese science 2.1.
The quote always associated with Heraclitus is “You can never step twice into the same river “because the waters are ever changing and flowing. Parmenides believed that change is an illusion: He proposed that all reality is permanent. (the root word permanence is from
In Plato’s dialogue Phaedo, he explains the soul and comes to the conclusion that the soul is immortal. Through describing the last hours of Socrates life before his execution, he lays out three arguments in support of the idea that while the body may cease to exist the soul cannot perish. In this paper, I will explicate Socrates three arguments for the immortality of the soul and their objections. Then I will argue on the presupposition of the Law of Conservation of Mass, that the universe, entailing the soul, must be cyclical. The Law of Conservation of Mass
Hesiod’s account of creation, as outlined in the Theogony offers one of the most detailed and accepted theories of creation in the Greek culture. On the other hand, the Biblical account of creation, regarded as a Hebrew culture creation account, is to date one of the most widely acknowledged and accepted versions across various cultures seeking explanations for the origin of life and the earth. However, even though these creation accounts originate from two different cultures, they share some thought-provoking parallels in terms of their content and intentions, as well as some contrasts that make each of the creation accounts unique. Both Hesiod’s and the biblical creation accounts are similar in that they argue that prior to the beginning of creation events, the earth was merely a void that had no shape or form and this void was filled with darkness.
To reach this conclusion, I will be splitting this passage into 3 parts. The first section is Aristotle’s introduction to
The existence and continual study of Socrates’ philosophy regardless of differing accounts is astonishing in itself since it survived not through the specific philosopher, but through other people. Which is a testament of the impact that a man, such as Socrates, can make. When we think of Plato, who is regarded as a father of western philosophy, we are quick to think of his major work The Republic, his student Aristotle, and his writing on Socrates. (We think of his writings on Socrates as mere footnotes in philosophical thought without examining them.) “Nothing comes from nothing,” Parmenides proudly claimed, and this philosophical doctrine applies to Plato’s thought.
For thousands of people, what is holy and what is moral comes from religious texts that act as a guide for individuals for how they ought to live their lives. This idea of holiness and morality for many is deeply rooted in the understanding that it originates with God; it is a necessary condition for it to be binding. However, what if what is holy and moral didn’t originate from God’s goodness, rather it comes from other mediums and is itself good thus being approved by God? This idea of existence and thought is a question that can be outlined in Plato’s, The Euthyphro.
I will argue that even with the evidence provided, Aristotle’s theory on
Heraclitus Heraclitus is a Greek philosopher of which not much is known beyond his works. What we do know is that he lived in Ephesus, a city on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, and that his character has largely been inferred from his writings on philosophical issues. Two philosophical theories come to mind when the name Heraclitus is mentioned: The Doctrine of Flux and the Unity of Opposites. In his espousal of these theories he managed to draw the ire of many -- even Aristotle and Plato, who believed that his hypothesis of the world was one of logical incoherence.