Heraclitus

Who was Heraclitus?

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Asia Minor. He was of distinguished parentage. Little is known about his early life and education, but he regarded himself as self-taught and a pioneer of wisdom. From the lonely life he led, and still more from the riddling nature of his philosophy and his contempt for humankind in general, he was called "The Obscure" and the "Weeping Philosopher".

Heraclitus is famous for his insistence on ever-present change in the universe, as stated in the famous saying, "No man ever steps in the same river twice". He believed in the unity of opposites, stating that "the path up and down are one and the same", all existing entities being characterized by pairs of contrary properties. His cryptic utterance that "all entities come to be in accordance with this Logos" has been the subject of numerous interpretations.

Famous Quotes:

• Corpses are more fit to be thrown out than is dung.
• Men who wish to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details.
• Everything flows and nothing abides, everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.
• Even sleepers are workers and collaborators on what goes on in the universe.
• Character is our destiny.
• Immortal mortals, mortal immortals, one living the others death and dying the others life.
• There is nothing permanent except change.
• Much learning does not teach understanding.
• It would not be better if things happened to men just as they wish.
• A man's character is his guardian divinity.