Heraclitus’ Cosmology as a Radical and Logically Consistent Rejection of the Milesian Metaphysical Scheme

This thesis argues that Heraclitus presents a radical departure from, rather than a continuation of, the Milesian metaphysical tradition. In Chapter I, I offer a critical examination of the Milesian scheme and argue that its defining characteristic is the notion of a single supreme substance which generates the cosmos and its constituent elements out of itself. I argue that the Milesians’ conception of this prime entity is grounded in its pre-cosmic existence either as an external, non-intervening force (Anaximander) or as an internal, active substance (Anaximenes). Both cases face significant explanatory challenges that result in a failure to justify the central claim of a singular supreme generating substance. In Chapter II, I suggest that Heraclitus recognizes this failure and rejects the notion of a permanent, supreme physical substance, instead identifying the constant transformation of elements themselves as the permanent principle of the universe. Perpetual flux in Heraclitus’ account does not undermine stability (as claimed by Plato and Aristotle) but in fact makes it possible: although all physical entities are impermanent, the process through which they transform is permanent and structured by strict reciprocity and balance. In Chapter III, I argue that the reciprocity of perpetual flux is guaranteed by an overarching cosmic λόγος, a term whose use in Heraclitus I interpret with sensitivity to its historical and linguistic background. By advancing everliving fire as a symbol of perpetual flux in place of a physical prime entity, Heraclitus both critiques and mirrors the Milesian framework, using its own language to covertly propose a radically different metaphysical structure: where Anaximander and Anaximenes propose a temporally permanent substance which generates an impermanent cosmic order, Heraclitus asserts the impermanence of all substances while advancing an eternal and ungenerated cosmic order sustained by elemental change. The proposed reading allows Heraclitus to preserve the notion of an intelligible and ordered cosmos that the Milesians sought but could not adequately secure, culminating in a conception of the world as radically stable precisely because it is radically dynamic.

Author dc:creator

• HUMPHREY JENSEN ALEXANDER

• Θετικές Επιστήμες
• Science

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

uoadl:5372556

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:lib.uoa.gr:uoadl:5372556