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Fragments
8Heraclitus
Heraclitus's surviving fragments introduced the Logos, the flux doctrine, and the unity of opposites — concepts that shaped Plato, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger.
GBM Assessment (Score: 8/10)
The surviving fragments of Heraclitus introduced some of the deepest and most persistent concepts in Western philosophy, including the Logos, the doctrine of perpetual flux ("everything flows"), and the unity of opposites. His thought influenced Plato, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, making him a consequential Pre-Socratic thinkers.
Writing from Ephesus, Heraclitus articulated the principle of perpetual change, known as panta rhei, and the concept of the Logos as the governing principle of the cosmos. Hegel's dialectic, Nietzsche's doctrine of eternal recurrence, and Heidegger's inquiry into Being all engage deeply with Heraclitean thought. His fragments remain a core text in the history of philosophy.
The Axial Age, c. 600-500 BC
Karl Jaspers's 'Axial Age': foundational thinkers emerge simultaneously across Eurasia. In Greece, Pre-Socratics invent philosophy; Sappho writes lyric poetry. In China, Confucius and Laozi lay civilization's foundations. In India, the Buddha teaches. Athens experiments with democracy under Cleisthenes (508 BC). The Persian Empire becomes the largest the world has seen. Rome expels its kings (509 BC).
Awards & Adaptations
Core in history of philosophy.
Recommended Edition
H. Diels, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1903)
