Introduction to philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to philosophy - Essay Example It was believed that â€Å"neither water nor any other of the so-called elements, but some other indefinite (apeiron) nature, from which come to be all the heavens and the worlds in them† (Curd). The central theme of the discussion was the question of how the original element is related to the phenomena engendered by it. Heraclitus regards this problem in a majestic and yet paradoxical form. In his teaching, the role that belongs to the water, apeiron and air in the Milesians, is played by the fire - the element that caused a keen interest in all ancient cultures. As is known, fire is both a creative and destructive force that gives life and takes it away. Fire can live both in the hearth, warming human habitation, and in the form of a funeral pile representing the final of the human existence. Heraclitus who saw the fire as a supreme law governing the world recognized the duality of the fire (Curd). Similar to the moment when the flame warms the house and burns it, after his/her birth (i.e. finding a life), a man makes the first step towards death. Opposites are identical. Way up, according to Heraclitus, suggests that there is the way down. The consequence of such an identification of opposites becomes an idea of absolute variability and fluidity of life. Remarkably, even symbolically, that the alternative doctrine of Heraclitus appeared on the opposite edge of the He llenic world - in Italy. This theory was created by Pythagoreans. As well as other pre-Socratics, the Pythagoreans recognized the existence of arche as a fundamental principle of all things and phenomena, but their theory was particularly original, as they considered numbers as arche. â€Å"Pythagoreans conceived of nature as a structured system ordered by number† (Curd). The numbers express accurate and independent from any arbitrary ratio of quantities. To study and understand this or that phenomenon means to measure it. This