Philosophy and Heraclitus Essays

Philosophy and Heraclitus Essays Philosophy and Heraclitus Paper Philosophy and Heraclitus Paper Ancient Greek philosopher: Heraclitus Heraclitus was born in Ephesus. He belonged to an aristocratic family but refused to have a political life. His writing style is unusual, in that many of the surviving fragments are written in short and often cryptic phrases. He was known as the weeping philosopher. He was also referred to as the riddler or the obscure one, due to the puzzling nature of his writings, as well as the mocker or the reviler of the mob, due to his dislike for those who were not open-minded. Heraclitus has a huge contempt for humanity and politics. Therefore, towards the end of his life he left the city and went to live in isolation in the mountains in which he fed on plants and herbs. This caused him to contract dropsy which forced him to return to the city for treatment. He asked the doctors in a riddling way if they could change a rainstorm into a draught. When they failed to understand him, he buried himself in a byre, thinking that the dropsy would be vaporized by the heat of the dung. His attempt was not successful and he died at the age of sixty Heraclitus did not belong to a school of thought. He had independent thinking and actually criticized many philosophers. He developed many important philosophical ideas that are still admired today. Among his most important ideas are flux and Unity of opposites. Heraclitus is called a monist (because he believes fire is the underlying principle) and an elitist (he believes most people are stupid). Heraclitus is said to have influenced Parmenides, Empedocles, Democritus, Plato, and the Stoics. Heraclitus said: You cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you. This statement is the essence of the concept of flux as it means that the river is always different every time you step into it. He looked at everything being in the state of change and that only change is permanent. He told people that nothing is the same now as it was before, and thus nothing what is now will be the same tomorrow. With this he planted the idea of impermanence into Greek thought, and indeed, after Heraclitus Greek philoso phy was not the same anymore. (Thomas K. ). Another influential idea is the unity of opposites. Heraclitus believed that opposites are the same and cannot exist without each other. He thought that opposites are identical. For instance, to Heraclitus, hot and cold are the same. Heraclitus saw unity as being harmony. To modern people, it seems silly to assume that opposites are identical but to the Greek, it completely makes sense. Hot and cold can both be expressed as a level of temperature, dark and bright as a degree of light. This is why opposites cannot exist without each other because when you say something is hot, it should be hot in comparison with something colder. The ideas of flux and unity of opposites are somehow connected to each other. It is sometimes argued that Heraclitus quote: You cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you. Is actually referring to the unity of opposites because the river is the same but at the same time it is different because new fresh waters flow on it. To conclude, Heraclitus was a very independent thinker and a huge critic of everything around him. His puzzling writings and deviant thoughts made him popular and influential among the later philosophers. His ideas of flux and the unity of opposites are still admired by todays philosophers. Unfortunately, not all his writings survived the years and only fragments of his writings exist. As much as we write about Heraclitus and try to understand him, in the end Much learning does not teach understanding. References: 1. website name and author are unknown, http://home. wlu. edu/~mahonj/Ancient_Philosophers/Heraclitus. htm 2. Thomas Knierim, Heraclitus, thebigview. com/greeks/heraclitus. html, 3. N. S. Gill, About. com, http://ancienthistory. about. com/od/philosophers/g/Heraclitus. htm

James Buchanan Was the Only President Who Never Married

James Buchanan Was the Only President Who Never Married There has never been an openly gay president of the United States, but some historians have argued that James Buchanan, the only president who never shared the White House with a first lady,  may have had feelings for a member of the same sex. The nations 15th president is the nations only bachelor president. Buchanan had been engaged to a woman named Ann Coleman long before he became president, but Coleman died before the two could wed. It would not have been unusual, nor would it have proved Buchanan not to have been gay, if they had married; history is filled with homosexual men who married straight women. Longtime Companions While he remained unmarried his entire life, Buchanan had a very close relationship with William Rufus De Vane King, a diplomat who served as U.S. senator and the nations 13th vice president- coincidentally, the only vice president never to have married. Buchanan and King lived together for more than two decades. It was a relatively common practice in the 1800s. Historians note, however, that the couple’s contemporaries in Washington reportedly described King as effeminate, calling him Miss Nancy and Buchanans better half. They also cite letters written by Buchanan about the man he described as his soul mate. After King left the United States to become the minister to France, Buchanan wrote to a friend: I am now solitary and alone, having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection. King showed his own affection for Buchanan at his departure by writing to him: I am selfish enough to hope you will not be able to procure an associate who will cause you to feel no regret at our separation. A Historian Makes His Claim James Loewen, a prominent American sociologist and historian,  has been outspoken in his claims that  Buchanan was the first gay president, writing in a 2012 essay: There can be no doubt that James Buchanan was gay, before, during, and after his four years in the White House. Moreover, the nation knew it, too- he was not far into the closet. Today, I know no historian who has studied the matter and thinks Buchanan was heterosexual. Loewen has argued that Buchanans homosexuality is not often discussed in modern times because Americans do not want to believe that society was more tolerant of gay relationships in the 19th century than they are now. Another Bachelor Candidate The closest the nation has come to having a bachelor president since  Buchanan was when Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sought the partys presidential nomination in 2016. When asked who would be his first lady, Graham  said the position would be rotating. He also joked that his sister could play the role, if necessary. While Grover Cleveland entered the White House a bachelor in 1885, the 49-year-old was married a year later to 21-year-old Frances Folsom. The One and Only? Although it has long been rumored  that  Richard Nixon had a homosexual affair with his close friend Bebe Rebozo, Buchanan is still the most likely candidate for first, and only, gay American president. Thanks to his vocal support of gay marriage, President Barack Obama  did earn the title briefly, albeit symbolically, in a May 2012 Newsweek  magazine article, written by Andrew Sullivan. Tina Brown, editor-in-chief for Newsweek at the time, explained the term and the cover  photo  of Obama with a rainbow halo superimposed over his head by telling news site Politico, If  President Clinton  was the ‘first black president’ then Obama earns every stripe in that ‘gaylo’ with last week’s gay marriage proclamation.† In his article, Sullivan himself pointed out that the claim was not meant to be taken literally (Obama is married, with two daughters). Its obviously a play on Clinton being the first black president. I am aware that James Buchanan (and maybe Abraham Lincoln) have been in the Oval Office before.   Lincoln has come under speculation as well as having had gay or bisexual affections, but he did marry and father four children. He also was known to have courted women before his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln. Sources Byers, Dylan. â€Å"Tina Brown Explains Obama Gaylo.†Ã‚  POLITICO, 14 May 2012. Sullivan, Andrew. â€Å"Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obamas Gay Marriage Evolution.†Ã‚  Newsweek, 15 May 2012.