Heraclitus Meaning

A simple process formed the backbone of most Greek philosophy.  The ancients thought that by combining two equally valid but opposite ideas, the thesis and the antithesis, a new, higher truth could be achieved.  That truth is called the synthesis.  This tactic of integrating two seemingly opposite halves into a greater whole was a tremendous advance in human logic.  This practice is illustrated throughout Oedipus at Colonus in regard to Sophocles’ portrayal of vision, sight, and the eye.  In Colonus, there are many and varied descriptions of the aspects of the eye, whether the eye be human or divine.  To Sophocles, the eye must have been a synthesis, both physical and spiritual, yet

Even acts of ignorance can be examples of heriosm, a passage on page 66 is a prime example of this:

In many countries around the world, ignorance carries a considerable weight in politics, households, between friends, and in other vicinities. This ignorance can be depicted as blindness of the mind. In the Greek philosopher Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ family and friends share their blindness in the fact that they love Oedipus and don’t have a desire to know the truth of his ruined past. They keep things from Oedipus and end up withholding the actualities of life from themselves in the process. Sophocles urges the reader that the love people clutch to can cause people to lose sight of the truth. He then expands on the blindness, demonstrating the idea that when the truth comes out, it pulls the love a person feels for another into darkness with it. Love is fragile, and can be easily destroyed by the opening of the eye, causing families to crumble underneath.

The most famous scene in Sophocles’, Oedipus Rex, is when Oedipus gouges out his eyes. But, that’s not the only example of sight and blindness in this play. In Sophocles ' plays there was always extensive content where he paid considerable attention to the element of “spectacle” in his plays. When observing the theme of vision, it invites the audience to look at the action with a double perspective, through their own eyes and through the eyes of those on stage. Within this play, sight and blindness are the underlying themes. Sight is commonly associated with light or positive overtones, and blindness is attached to darkness or negative undertones. The approach to describing blindness deals with not only physical blindness but also metaphorical blindness. Oedipus ' blindness changes from bad to worse at different scenes of the play. Although the word "blindness" seems quite simple, it can be very debatable. Blindness or the inability to “see” consist of two elements; Oedipus 's ability to see vs his desire to see. Throughout many scenes, the two elements are used in pattern form. Some scholars mention the two aspects of the play in addition to discussing the theme of knowledge. Lazlo Versenyi, Thomas Hoey, Marjorie Champlain, analyze the play from different perspectives. Versenyi says the play was “a tragedy of self- knowledge”, with the use of terms

The Athenian classic, Oedipus Rex, or known in the modern western world as Oedipus the King, was originally written first around 425 BC by the Greek poet, Sophocles. The version at the focus of this critique is a new translation written in 1978 by Stephen Berg and Diskin Clay. Oedipus is a Greek Tragedy, being that its story is rooted firmly in the human suffering. The play is set in and around the royal palace of Thebes in the mythic past of ancient Greece. The overarching theme of this work seems to be the concept of blindness, blindness not of mortal eyes, but of the mind.

Ignorance can blind an individual from the truth. Plays were of great importance in early Greek culture. Plays were the main source of entertainment, and one of the most exceptional examples is Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. The drama is tremendously uplifted by the character development and the excellent structure Sophocles has put forward. Interactions between characters and each character’s motivations generate brilliant themes throughout the play. Sophocles uses a technique called recognition, which illustrates a character’s turn from ignorance to the truth. The play is about the city of Thebes which is racked by a plague and a crisis that is quickly wiping humans from the earth. The great king of Thebes is Oedipus who must dispose of the problem very quickly. He welcomes information from the god Apollo, who says Oedipus must punish the killer of the former king, Laius. In one of the instances where Oedipus tries to find the killer, he encounters Tiresias, who is a physically blind man but can see everything because he is a prophet of Apollo. Tiresias possesses the information but declines to cooperate with Oedipus. After a series of verbal insults, the audience is left in awe when Tiresias puts the blame on Oedipus. Similarly to Oedipus the King, dialogue “Allegory of the Cave” written by Plato also in the early Greek times, shows that ignorance can lead an individual to be blind from the truth. Sophocles magnificently develops a question of “Who sees and who is blind”. Also in Oedipus the King, Sophocles exhibits how selflessness and ignorance can blind a person from the truth, but eventually has to go through recognition which can cause great agony.

Furthermore, another example of permeance and change that Heraclitus mentions directly is the river. Fragment 41 reads “we step into and we do not step into the same rivers”. Step into a

The Logos is common to all, and what is common is intelligence or insight. This includes the act of thinking or reflexion. In Heraclitus the Logos had a material embodiment.

Heraclitus believed that without understanding logos, you couldn’t make sense of your experiences. You had to suppose that this “logos” was just a part of everyday life, just as common as something such as food or clothes are. Heraclitus compared people that didn’t understand his theory and belief of logos to sleepers, or people whose minds were not yet open and awake. He believed that most people were these sleepers, and that the majority of people lacked understanding. Those who were able to understand the way that he did were enlightened in their experiences: if one could interpret the senses they were provided, they were then open to understanding.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles’ is intertwined with many powerful themes and messages, establishing what real vision and real sight are. Sophocles’ play also demonstrates that sometimes in life we have to experience great loss in order to rediscover our true selves. In Oedipus’s quest for truth, lack of self-control, ignorance and tragic self-discovery prevail. Physical vision does not necessarily guarantee insight, nor impart truth. Intertwined with dramatic and cosmic irony, all of these elements contribute to the major theme of blindness and sight, depicting wisdom

People may be blinded to truth, and may not realize what truth is, even if truth is standing in front of them. They will never see truth becase they are blind to it. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles it is easy to see how blindness affects the transition of the story. It is said that blind people see “in a different manner” because they sense the world in a totally diferent way, such as Teiresias in the play. Oedipus Rex is a tragedy due to the content the Sophocles, the playwright, decided to include, first, murdering his father, king Laius, then marrying his mother, Jocasta, and ending by blinding himself. Oedipus has been blinded to the truth all his life. Eventually, when he seeks the truth he intentionally loses his physical vision, and

Humans are constantly trying to define what makes them human. The debate has ranged from our ability to walk on two legs and use our opposable thumbs to our ability for empathy and revenge. One idea as to what makes humans human is the mastery of fire, so much so that it is associated with life. Prometheus was a hero of humans, the bearer of fire. With such power bestowed upon us, like any true magic tale, when you wish for something another is taken. Fire has become not only a source of life, but a master of death and destruction.

Heraclitus was a pre-socratic Greek philosopher, born in Ephesus (modern day Turkey) in the late 500s. He was one of many cosmologists and spent his life studying metaphysics. Who we are is a question that concerned Heraclitus and arose from the self; which motivated him to investigate the nature of all things to answer that very question. The world had two sides in his eyes: a visible side and an invisible side. The self represented the visible side, including the river, the fire, the bow, and perceptibility, as these were visuals to aid in his quest of who we are. Nature/being represented the invisible side which focused on solving his quest.

Egeus is the father of Hermia who complains to Theseus about his daughter`s refusal to marry Demetrius. Although Egeus has given Demetrius permission to marry Hermia, she does not wish to marry him as she is in love with Lysander. Egeus is angered at his daughter`s disobedience and claims that as she is her daughter, he may choose her fate, which “shall be either to this gentleman / Or to her death” (1.1.43-44). This portrays Egeus’ impulsive trait, as well as his insensitiveness as he is willing to kill his daughter simply because she refuses to marry Demetrius. There is a conflict between Egeus and Hermia, which causes Hermia and Lysander to run away (man vs. man). He is also in a conflict with himself as he is not able to get past his own

Ignorance may be bliss, but people cannot choose to unlearn a piece of knowledge. Throughout Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, many references are made to who is blind and who can see. Oedipus himself suffers through being ‘blind’ in the sense of always being the last one to accept his fate. He is in a state of ignorance throughout most of the tragedy, which leads to his demise. Accordingly, in the greek tragedy Oedipus the King, Sophocles informs the readers that those who cannot see are gifted with sight in some instances, and those who see possess a burden that cannot be carried by just anyone.