Heraclitus of Ephesus: A World of Change and Contradiction by Leonard Peikoff, part 3 of 50

History of Philosophy by Leonard Peikoff - Lesson 3 of 50
Course playlist: • History of Philosophy ...
Using cryptic aphorisms and evocative metaphors, Heraclitus argues that nature is not the world of stable, enduring entities that it appears to be. It is like a river or a candle flame, whose apparent stability is the result of an underlying process of perpetual change. Leonard Peikoff explains the significance of Heraclitus’ philosophy and the problem he posed for subsequent philosophers.
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[@YashArya01]

Heraclitus - From an Objectivist perspective, he is the first villain in the history of western thought The essence of Heraclitus' philosophy was an attack on what would later be developed as the laws of Logic by Aristotle. The fundamental law of logic is the Law of Identity: A is A It can also be expressed as below. Law of Contradiction: Nothing can be both A and non-A at the same time and in the same respect. Heraclitus looked at the phenomena of change and concluded that the laws of logic are invalid. His reasoning was as follows. [Metaphysics] 1. All change involves a contradiction (i.e a violation of the laws of logic): The thing before and after the change is the same, and yet different. (Eg: Match burns - it's still the same match, but it's different). 10:00 2. Everything is changing in every respect at every instant. Regardless of the rate of change, the essence of reality is change. "You can't step into the same river twice". 13:50 Therefore, there are no "entities". Only flux/change. "Nothing is; everything is becoming." "Everything flows and nothing abides." 20:40: Cratylus, a prominent follower of Heraclitus, took this view to its extreme conclusion and he stopped talking on principle. If everything is changing in every way all the time, then words can have no meaning. By the time you utter a word, its meaning changes. [Epistemology] 22:00 First philosopher to regard the senses as invalid/deceptive. By the evidence of the senses, it appears that there are permanent, unchanging entities. But (he says) we know that isn't true. Therefore the senses are invalid.

[@akashdtx]

You're the hero here, Sir!

[@aviramvijh]

Thank YOU for this wonderful series. The professor is a genius.

[@ZanarkandIsntReal]

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken. Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle’s compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error, and upon me prov’d, I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d." - Shakespeare, Sonnet 116 On the surface a beautiful love poem but underneath an exploration of the tension between the metaphysics of the eternal and temporal spoken of in this lecture. Is Shakespeare simply telling you that Love is in fact an eternal constant or is the speaker of the poem trying to convince himself that there is more to reality than simply change itself. It's the intentional ambiguity and dual nature that gives the poem it's depth. Just look at the contrasting verbage of alteration and capital t Time. As well as how the poem is spoken in the negative: Let me not, Love is not, Love's not Times fool etc... Brilliant.

[@solidlou_2]

If you change your car's oil, your car will have gone through a change that attempts to maintain a specified quality that was being lost in the dirty oil. The car is still the same car, with the new oil to be used until uselessness. The car will also eventually go through enough changes that none of the parts are the same. But, it's still built with the original design from the manufacturer. If you upgrade the car with performance parts, now you have the same car but with alternative parts that fit together with the original part designs. The car has earned (or learned) a new way of being itself. A faster version compared to the original. All of this occurs until it becomes beyond repair and driveability, death. But throughout its entire lifespan, it remained the same concept. Because even the new sports upgrades had to conform to what the car was intended. It had to fit or be modified to fit to the car's design. The process is the car. The car is a cycle of specially measured pieces of rubber and metal pieces that, once combined, allows for the action of transportation to take place. And this continues until it no longer can. The car tries to be car as much as you strive to be you. The End

[@owlnyc666]

I thought the law of contradiction says that opposites, contradictions can not exist "at the same time". H 2 O, can change from liquid to solid to steam. They cannot be all three at the same time! UT it is still H20.

[@owlnyc666]

That a river changes over time does not mean it doesn't exist. .my body changes over time. That does not imply I don't exist.

[@owlnyc666]

It appears to the sense of sight that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It appeared that way to Aristotle. Just as it "appeared" to Aristotle that the earth was at the center of the universe. Then there are optical illusions and "magic shows".

[@joecurran2811]

That's exactly what is says on the slide

[@tylerbettes6137]

The first villain in philosophy!

[@joeblow411]

The Dude abides

[@akashdtx]

It is what we mean by "potential". Children are and aren't great according to that.

[@joecurran2811]

02:53

[@Shozb0t]

A 20-second conversation might have been enough to convince Heraclitus that his idea was goofy.

[@colleagueriley860]

pretty sure Marx has a similar error

[@jakedubs]

What is the error?

[@michalptacnik1]

Hitler was a hydromonist, effectively. World Ice Theory.

[@sorcyboi2848]

8:10

[@stephenhogg6154]

What a lot of silliness.

[@Iamjamessmith1]

It looks like there is a skipping of the first fully scientific philosopher: Karl Marx. He wants all the money and ownership to go to the government. The second scientific philosopher is Ayn Rand whose philosophy supports all people having, keeping, and investing their own money.

[@thefrenchareharlequins2743]

He is just formulating in economics and politics the principles of Hegel, who in turn is the derivative of Kant

[@joecurran2811]

Marx predicted no money

[@OGDailylama]

This is a little off topic but since I’m the first to comment, I figure I could stray a little to bring light to a dark and mostly hidden subject. I’m trying to be a kind of a Johnny Appleseed of Libertarianism. My experience with grassroots marketing, for lack of a better term, has shown me we can make great advances with this tactic but we need to talk to people where they are. China is already doing this. If I suggested anything, I’d say you guys need to find ways to reach our kids online before they are influenced by the teens on here from socialist countries. That’s qn aspect nobody talks about. The Chinese people’s ideology puts them all in a position to be employed by their government. That means 10 year olds are interacting with your children online as state agents, filling them with their ideology without a counter argument to show the facts and they’re very dedicated. They are the “little soldiers” of Socialist China. That friend online with a anonymous avatar isn’t always an American child. Sometimes they are “little soldiers” playing Call of Duty online and befriending your child to influence them. This is not an opinion. This is a professional perspective. A perspective that sees more than most.