The central tenant to Heraclitus' philosophy is the idea of "λόγος". This is a common word in the Greek vocabulary with a variety of meanings. For example it could possibly translated into word, reason, reasoning, argument, or account. Heraclitus' ambiguity in his usage I found confusing at first. The book calls it "the single divine law that controls the universe". Even though λόγος has a variety of meanings, it never means law (νάμος). Why would the book call λόγος a law? After some thought, I came to the conclusion that Divine reasoning becomes the law of the universe. Whatever God wishes results in action. His very thoughts dictate nature and the organization of the universe. His mind creates and manifests all things, holding the universe together by sheer will power. Surely, his thoughts and his words are deeper than our own.
I really like the aphorisms in this section, though small, they were deep, similar to many sayings of people like Twain and Tagore. Nevertheless, one particular aphorism stuck out, one that I already reasoned myself. "What we see when awake is death, what we see asleep is sleep."
When I was suffering from clinical depression, I slept more than 12 hours a day. It was a way for me to escape from my problems because I did not have to deal with their reality. I could be peacefully asleep, and not be anxious about the consequences of my actions. However, I was sleeping my life away. I forgot that time is God's second most precious gift to us, and I wasted it. When awake one is conscious of the fact that time is always passing, and one day our time will run out. Therefore, we should make the most of our time, sleeping when necessary, but realizing that life is best lived outside of ourselves. If we chose to live purposefully, it is more valuable that we manifest our dreams rather than just merely creating them.
In a nutshell, get busy livin or get busy dyin folks.
In a nutshell, get busy livin or get busy dyin folks.
Zip it up and Zip it out Y'all
I think logos means "law" in the sense of regulating or governing principle. glad you resonate with Heraclitus. he is one of my favorites as well.
ReplyDeleteOne of the really neat things about Heraclitus is that his aphorism's convey so many important points. You might add that along with encouraging us to actually live our lives, he is also encouraging us to think about what unifies them and gives them importance (in the same way he asks us to move beyond knowledge to considering what unifies our knowledge and provides understanding).
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