Heraclitus Essay

1105 Words5 Pages
Heraclitus’s greatest claim in his theory on metaphysics is that the LOGOS is the key to understanding everything. This idea of the LOGOS was one that Anaxagoras expounded on, in particular “all things were one.” (Mckirahan 196, Fr. 13.1) In this paper I will address the ideas posited by Anaxagoras as they relate to Heraclitus’s ideas in their respective metaphysical theories. Moreover, I will focus on how Anaxagoras elaborated and in a sense corrected Heraclitus’s view on the nature of being. Anaxagoras’ ideas are in many ways similar to that of Heraclitus; however, there are some deviations that I will highlight in contrasting each philosopher’s theory on the nature of what is. Heraclitus’s main motivation in his philosophical endeavors revolved around his desire to know what is and the organization or order of all things that exist. Heraclitus's central claim in his attempt to answer his curiosities was that the world (and universe for that matter), is ordered, guided, and unified by a rational structure, which he called the LOGOS. This rational structure of the cosmos orders and controls the universe. Thus the LOGOS, in Heraclitus's view, is the unifier in nature. Heraclitus argued that to understand correctly how things come to be and what it is to be (LOGOS) one must see that all things are unified in the LOGOS. Moreover, Heraclitus wrote, “For all things come to be in accordance with this LOGOS.” (McKirahan 116, Fr. 10.1) Thus, the LOGOS is also the origin of all things insofar as it is the arrangement of all matter. Through this arrangement or unity of all things, Heraclitus concluded that, “all things are one.” (McKirahan) In doing so, Heraclitus solidified his concept of unity in the universe and explained how this is possible through the constant interaction and balance between opposite things in the universe. Such balance is achieved through what
Open Document