Mid-Semester Exam

Both Heraclitus and Parmenides were obsessed with change. Explain how change fits into each of their philosophical systems. Are there any two similarities in their two accounts? Why are they so important to later metaphysicians such as the particle theorists?

Heraclitus believed in the unity of opposites. The succession of the opposites brings out his key notion of change. The successive manifestation of contrary properties in an object is a way of saying that everything undergoes change. All, things, according to Heraclitus, are in a constant flux. Comparing this change to stepping into a river, he says: ‘you cannot step twice into the same river.’ I agree with this proposition considering the fact that the molecular property of a river at an instance is not the same, since it is constantly flowing. The constant flowing of the river suggests a constant movement of molecules so that new molecules interact with objects the river is in contact with. One may return to the same river, but fresh waters have flowed into it, making it different. With this notion of change, it can be said that nothing retains its identity, though it remains the same thing. The object therefore endures, even though it is undergoing constant change and some of its components or characteristics may be lost. I think that the unity of the opposites therefore is a necessity for the existence of equilibrium, so that though in opposition, they maintain a balance and order in an object, and in nature as a whole. This unity which brings about balance and order is what Heraclitus calls the logos.
Parmenides’ views are a contrast to those of Heraclitus; a sharp turn around the notion of change. He denies the reality of change, motion and void. For him, change is impossible and incoherent. All existence is permanent, ungenerated, indestructible and unchanging. In his view, there are no opposites, no plurality. For him, change and motion were mere illusions. He favored pure reason as a path of