Comparison of Parmenides and Heraclitus Teachings
Parmenides of Elea (515 BC) stated that the senses deceive us and hence our perception of the world does not reflect the world as it really is. Instead, the real world is something above our apprehension and can only be apprehended through logic. For Parmenides is that the only true being is “THE ONE” which is invisible and infinite in time and space. But “the one” is not conceived by Parmenides we conceive God, neither is it reminiscent of the Hindu “Brahma”. He argues that the perception of movement and change is an illusion and says that everything that is, has always been and will ever be, since it can always be thought and spoken of. The essence of this argument is: If you speak or think of something, the word or thought relates to something that actually exists, that is both thought and language requires objects outside themselves, otherwise they would be inconceivable. Parmenides assumes a constant meaning of words and concludes from there that everything always exists and that there is no change, for everything can be thought of at all times.
Heraclitus lived around 500 BC in the city of Ephesus in Ionia, Asia
Minor. He became famous as the "flux and fire" philosopher for his
proverbial utterance: "All things are flowing." Heraclitus focused on the
essence of things, its nature and being, which they deemed unchangeable. In
contrast, Heraclitus said: "You cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh
waters are ever flowing in upon you." This simple sentence expresses the
gist of his philosophy, meaning that the river isn't actually the same at two
different points in time. He told people that nothing is the same now as it was ,,,,,,,,before, and thus nothing what is now will be the same tomorrow. With this he
planted the idea of impermanence into Greek thought. Heraclitus held that fire is the primordial element out of which everything else arises. Fire is the origin of all matter; through it things come into being and pass away. Fire itself is the symbol of perpetual change because it transforms a substance into another substance without being a substance itself. This implies that Heraclitus thinks of fire as a non-destructive; but merely transforming power. The process of transformation does not happen by chance, but is, according to Heraclitus, the product of God's reason -logos-, which is identical to the cosmic principles. When Heraclitus speaks of God, he doesn't mean the Greek gods, neither a personal entity. Instead he thinks that God is living in every soul and even in every material thing on earth. The fiery element is the expression of God in everything, thus he is in every sense a pantheist
Minor. He became famous as the "flux and fire" philosopher for his
proverbial utterance: "All things are flowing." Heraclitus focused on the
essence of things, its nature and being, which they deemed unchangeable. In
contrast, Heraclitus said: "You cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh
waters are ever flowing in upon you." This simple sentence expresses the
gist of his philosophy, meaning that the river isn't actually the same at two
different points in time. He told people that nothing is the same now as it was ,,,,,,,,before, and thus nothing what is now will be the same tomorrow. With this he
planted the idea of impermanence into Greek thought. Heraclitus held that fire is the primordial element out of which everything else arises. Fire is the origin of all matter; through it things come into being and pass away. Fire itself is the symbol of perpetual change because it transforms a substance into another substance without being a substance itself. This implies that Heraclitus thinks of fire as a non-destructive; but merely transforming power. The process of transformation does not happen by chance, but is, according to Heraclitus, the product of God's reason -logos-, which is identical to the cosmic principles. When Heraclitus speaks of God, he doesn't mean the Greek gods, neither a personal entity. Instead he thinks that God is living in every soul and even in every material thing on earth. The fiery element is the expression of God in everything, thus he is in every sense a pantheist
