Misunderstandings are one of the typical features of being human. We can be confident in declaring that every person who has ever lived has misunderstood others and was misunderstood by others at least once in life. This reveals the interpretive structure of our thinking and the fundamental role understanding plays in our lives. Understanding is … Continue reading Heraclitus Meets Derrida and Saunders: Misunderstanding and Oversimplification
Reality as Being and Becoming
What do ancient Greek philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides, the early 20th-century main protagonist of the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, and Latvian writer and poet of the turn of the 20th century known by his pseudonym Rainis have in common? Across centuries and geographies, they all share an idea: a belief that being and becoming are … Continue reading Reality as Being and Becoming
Heraclitus on Wisdom
Heraclitus is a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher still known more than 2,500 years after his days for such utterances as "All things change" and "You cannot step in the same river twice" (the latter is the most famous translation but perhaps not the most precise one). He held the view that reality is One, all is … Continue reading Heraclitus on Wisdom
People Change and Stay the Same
The title of this article is contradictory on purpose. Do you think that people can change or do you think that they stay fundamentally the same? This question is far less contradictory, isn't it? That is just because it has 'or' in the middle, not 'and'. Indeed, could there be an 'and' in the middle, or, in … Continue reading People Change and Stay the Same
Trap of Easier Interpretation – the Case of Heraclitus
In our dynamic world, it is easy to misunderstand things, to believe fake news, to allow oneself to be misled. Sometimes it happens due to conscious manipulation by others, other times - all too often - due to our own biases. One of such biases is something I would like to call a trap of easier … Continue reading Trap of Easier Interpretation – the Case of Heraclitus
humanfactor 