Heraclitus
Heraclitus’s work has confused scholars since it was first published. He filled his sentences with puns and riddles, making it nearly impossible to decipher, but some of his work still survives in fragments. He was known, even in his lifetime, as “The Riddler”.
Heraclitus believed that all things were one. To present this idea, he proposed a Logos, or a Word by which the universe is run, and since all things came from the Word then everything must be one and the same.
He also dabbled in politics, and he favored the idea that a few well-educated men could run the country more competently than a purely democratic process. He actually suggested then one town’s citizens all commit suicide because they had chosen to banish the one strong town leader.
Barnes, J., 1982, The Presocratic Philosophers, revised ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. www.iep.utm.edu/heraclit/.
Heraclitus believed that all things were one. To present this idea, he proposed a Logos, or a Word by which the universe is run, and since all things came from the Word then everything must be one and the same.
He also dabbled in politics, and he favored the idea that a few well-educated men could run the country more competently than a purely democratic process. He actually suggested then one town’s citizens all commit suicide because they had chosen to banish the one strong town leader.
Barnes, J., 1982, The Presocratic Philosophers, revised ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. www.iep.utm.edu/heraclit/.