Heraclitus With Support From Plato's Dialogues and

¶ … Heraclitus with support from Plato's dialogues and Seneca's Letters. It has 2 sources. No matter what one aims at accomplishing in his or her life s/he is still bound by the universal laws that demand actions, whether voluntary or involuntarily, of every one.

Heraclitus says, "the many do not comprehend everyday things, nor do they understand them when they are taught, but they think they do and cling to their opinions." These words strongly relate to the fact that people often gain knowledge about the world for their own good and for the purpose of putting themselves in harmony with what the universal laws expect of them, but also do not manage to adhere to what they learn.

Often individuals find themselves in situations where they cannot really overcome the universal desires of human beings. This refers to certain animal instincts that emerge from within even though man may attempt to appear totally civilized. The very act of war is a typical example that has been exemplified throughout history.

Seneca says, "wise man, self-sufficient as he is, still desires to have a friend if only for the purpose of practicing friendship."(Letter IX) Similar to the way that Seneca has put human understanding and human need, Plato too has explained the way that human beings may see but yet not acknowledge what is presented before them. In the trial and death of Socrates, it is seen that most people were presented with the way that Socrates saw things.

He tried to awaken the youth and stirred many controversies where he went. This was the reason he was tried in court and put to death. But still, few people recognized what Socrates tried to tell them. Socrates tried to unearth the reasons for which men did things, and questioned why they did things in opposite manners than that was expected of them.

This in itself exemplifies the way that man only thinks he lives the right way, but in reality he may not acknowledge this, believing that other ways of life are unacceptable or wrong. Socrates in fact was one who only suggested and never forced any one to change their lives. For this he was accused of corrupting the youth whom always gathered around him. Socrates had a unique manner in which he would question the way that things were in society.

People were mostly intrigued by the way he did this, but there were others that detested his unusual capability. Though there were suggestions for him to escape while on trial in court, Socrates saw the need for all individuals to adhere to the laws of the land. This is the reason why he decided to go along with the trial and face whatever sentence he was given.

More over, because of the fact that he was at an age when he would naturally expect death he seemed unafraid of it, as he says, "when a man has reached my age he ought not to be repining at the prospect of death." (Plato 45) This is something brave of this man, but these words make one realize that there are still others in the world today that will do their best to avoid death even if it about time to prepare for it at their advanced ages.

This is very similar to what Heraclitus emphasizes on when he says "many do not comprehend everyday things." Another example of this is demonstrated in the following words of Seneca's Letter IX. He says, "Such is more or less the way of the wise man: he retires to his inner self, in his own company.

So long in fact as he remains in a position to order his affairs according to his own judgment, he remains self-content even when he marries, even when he brings up his children." (Letter IX) These words describe the way that a man is bound to feel secure about everything if he is at peace with his inner self. This is something that further justifies why Socrates was at such peace with himself even though he knew that he was going to be sentenced to death.

It appears that Socrates was an individual who didn't actually break the law because he was simply questioning the way that things were done. He was not spurring any political movement or action against the government. But the fact that he knew that he was in his own right was enough to satisfy him till his last days. This is clearly what is referred to when Seneca talks about an individual remaining 'self-content'. Indeed this is something rare, as is mentioned in the quotation of Heraclitus.

As it appears there is.