In a time of great philosophical ideas in Greece, when the order of things (kosmos) is deeply pondered upon, questions of morality were not yet of significance, and the elements of the earth - air, water, and earth - where greatly examined, Heraclitus presented controversial concepts about the constancy and change in the world, challenged the ideas of his predecessors, and concluded a governing principle that is over the seeming turbulence of the kosmos.
Heraclitus dealt with the illusive and fearful idea of change (flux). He defined it in a containing yet thought-provoking manner, suggesting that change is needed to maintain constancy. His most illustrative analogy is that of a flowing river, which is never the same in two moments. Step on the river in one instant, and it will not be the same river when you leave it. And yet, it cannot be called a river without this characteristic of change. To be able to call it a river constantly, it needs to be constantly changing. (Moravcsik, 1991) Heraclitus sees the kosmos (world order) in the same manner. Life and death, war and peace, sickness and health, freedom and slavery, these polar opposites of life, he posits that they are necessary to maintain the constancy of the kosmos. This is quite opposite of the Homerian cry to end suffering. To Heraclitus, this is the "unity of opposites", the commonality of all, that makes the kosmos flow (flux) and makes it what it is. (Benjamin, 2006).
While his predecessors described the fundamentality of the world as water or air, Heraclitus describes it as fire (pur), which is in its very nature changing and unstable, yet powerful (Benjamin, 2006). He suggests that the changes in the world are dynamic, precarious, and altogether unfathomable. And yet he believes that this is governed as well by a principle he refers to as logos (word). Logos is what unites all entities in the world. He observes that all beings are unites by thinking, a facilitation of the logos principle. It is very curious that this concept is later adapted in Christianity as the person who, referred to as the Word, "through him, all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:3, New International Version)
Heraclitus presents the idea of flux that is controversial in his time as well as today, yet noteworthy. People tend to loath the idea of change and uncertainty, and yet Heraclitus insists that it is the natural order of things. And people, as observed through the ages, do not do well with monotony as well. Monotony is equated to a dullness and lack of life itself. But in the same way that uncertainty and the unknown is fearful to people, Heraclitus introduces that idea of commonality, of shared thinking, the constancy of concepts and ideas, that offers stability and uniformity in how people view the world and their life. It is an antidote to alone-ness and isolation that seem to come upon the world today. It is an impressive influence from a philosophy thousands of years old.
Heraclitus' controversial philosophy is a contempt to popular notions and commonsense, such as conveyed in the unity of opposites, and yet offers ontological conclusions about the way the world works. It may not offer explicit explanations on the origin of things, and yet gives insights to why the things are the way they were. It shows a more fundamental view point beyond chaos, the seemingly irregular patterns of the quirks of nature and sudden urges of human beings, and the pain and sorrow they bring. Heraclitus was no optimist himself, yet he seemingly was able to provide comfort despite the uncertainty of life.
Conclusion
In recorded history, Heraclitus pioneered the concept of an all governing principle called logos. Unwittingly, he touched a fundamental question that is expounded later by the greatest religions of the world, though he had not touched the questions of morality (Moravcsik, 1991). And though his ideas where in themselves not complete, nor they were popularly accepted today, he laid ground-breaking arguments that his successors, like Plato and Aristotle, where able to work on and use to further humanity’s quest for the truth.
References
Benjamin, A. (2006, December). "Commonality and Human Being: Working Through Heraclitus." Journal of the Theoretical Humanities Vol. 11 No. 3.
Moravcsik, J.M. (1991 October). "Appearance and reality in Heraclitus' philosophy." Monist. Vol. 74 Issue 4. 551-68.
