Essay on Ancient Greeks Philosophy Change/Motion - 1028 Words

Heraclitus, like many of the beginning philosophers was a monist. His interpretation of the one reality was fire; however, this is not to be taken literally. Heraclitus believed that the â€Å"one† could not be any material thing, but could be found in the orderliness of change and he explained fire as â€Å"always changing yet somehow is always the same.† By having orderliness, there is possibility for the human mind to understand the cosmos instead of it being chaotic and based on the gods’ wills. He believed everything changes all the time and this is occurring through a state of flux where change is constant. Heraclitus claimed that because the rate of change is constant, there is an appearance of permanence. For example, â€Å"one cannot step into†¦show more content†¦You can be asked to think of nothing, and although you can try, there is going to be some form of thought occurring. The first premise of â€Å"what is, is† has four character istics, which are that whatever is, is uncreated, indestructible, eternal and unchanging. In explaining the first characteristic, imagine of something were created. It must be created out of something, but with the premise of monism how can the â€Å"one† be created out of something else. The same is for the â€Å"one† being created out of nothing, and since there is no â€Å"nothing† Parmenides’ conclusion that the â€Å"one† is uncreated is true. The second characteristic in which what is, is indestructible is plausible because to be destroyed would take something out of existence and there is no nothing. Both being uncreated as well as indestructible would make whatever is, be eternal. And finally for whatever is, is unchangeable because for something to be changed, whatever is has to become something else or what it is not. Motion is a special form of change which is a change of place and Parmenides’ disciple Zeno had written many paradoxes explaining motion was impossible. Two of Zeno’s paradoxes were traversing a distance and the second being the story of Achilles and the tortoise. With Zeno’s first paradox, Aristotle had stated â€Å"Before any distance can be traversed half the distance must be traversed.† If you were to continue this process, half of that distance must beShow MoreRelatedGreek Philosopher Xenophanes1392 Words   |  6 PagesXenophanes was a Greek philosopher before the Socratic era whose conception of God was different from other philosophers of his time. Before the evolution of God as a non-human entity the ancient Greeks believed that Gods and Goddesses were similar to that of humans and the only distinction was that Gods were immortal and humans were mortal. He challenged openly the concept of divinity proposed by Homer and put forward his ideas of Go d through his poetic approach. He noticed the corrupt behaviorRead MoreEssay on Philosophy1146 Words   |  5 PagesPhilosophy Philosophy started when human beings started to ask questions, about how and what things are actually, due to curiosity. The things that caused these questions to come about were the people started to realize that everything isn’t exactly what it appears to be. Philosophy started in the town of Miletus, many early philosophers came from here. The philosophers started their work around 585 B.C. Thales, one of the early Miletus philosophers, left no writings behind, all we knowRead MoreGreek Contributions Essay1482 Words   |  6 PagesMajor Greek contributions include astronomy, optics, and acoustics, along with major advances in mathematics. Science in ancient Greece was based on logical thinking and mathematics. The Greeks were very interested to know about the world, the heavens, and themselves. Greek geniuses were articulate thinkers. 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Apart from ancient Greek philosophy, which was centered on finding order in a vast variety of thi ngs by searching for a fundamental amalgamating principle, Descartes sought to establish order via some fundamental division. Descartes understands and expresses that what we know about our mind is more definite than what we know about the world outside our mind. Descartes’ philosophy is completely different fromRead MoreAristotle vs. Copernicus1501 Words   |  7 PagesAristotle vs. Copernicus Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist, who shared with Plato the distinction of being the most famous of ancient philosophers. Aristotle was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal court. At the age of 17, he went to Athens to study at Platos Academy. He remained there for about 20 years, as a student and then as a teacher. 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