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5 ideas

22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / e. Ethical cognitivism
429 To God (though not to humans) all things are beautiful and good and just [Heraclitus]
     Full Idea: To God, all things are beautiful, good and just; but men have assumed some things to be unjust, others just.
     From: Heraclitus (fragments/reports [c.500 BCE], B102), quoted by Porphyry - Notes on Homer Il.4.4
     A reaction: The idea that all things are actually 'just' strikes me as nonsense. I also don't think I can get my head round the idea that everything is actually good and beautiful. Must try harder.
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / h. Against ethics
12294 Good and evil are the same thing [Heraclitus, by Aristotle]
     Full Idea: Heraclitus said that good and evil are the same thing.
     From: report of Heraclitus (fragments/reports [c.500 BCE], 58/102) by Aristotle - Topics 159b32
     A reaction: Heaven knows what he meant by this, though it sounds suspiciously like moral nihilism. Maybe Heraclitus was not a very nice man. Or is the thought a more sophisticated one, in line with Nietzsche's remarks about cultural morality?
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 1. Nature of Value / e. Means and ends
419 If one does not hope, one will not find the unhoped-for, since nothing leads to it [Heraclitus]
     Full Idea: If one does not hope, one will not find the unhoped-for, since there is no trail leading to it and no path.
     From: Heraclitus (fragments/reports [c.500 BCE], B018), quoted by Clement - Miscellanies 2.17.4
     A reaction: The best remark about hope I have ever encountered. Usually they are empty platitudes.
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / f. Good as pleasure
415 If happiness is bodily pleasure, then oxen are happy when they have vetch to eat [Heraclitus]
     Full Idea: If happiness lay in bodily pleasures, we would call oxen happy when they find vetch to eat.
     From: Heraclitus (fragments/reports [c.500 BCE], B004), quoted by Albertus Magnus - On Vegetables 6.401
     A reaction: But surely oxen are happy when they find some good vetch? Presumably, though, they are not 'eudaimon'. What is the complete fulfilment of life for an ox?
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 3. Pleasure / f. Dangers of pleasure
5155 It is hard to fight against emotion, but harder still to fight against pleasure [Heraclitus]
     Full Idea: It is hard to fight against emotion, but harder still to fight against pleasure.
     From: Heraclitus (fragments/reports [c.500 BCE], B085), quoted by Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics 1105a08
     A reaction: 'Emotion' is the Greek word 'thumos'. "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it", said Oscar Wilde. Heraclitus underestimates how very good many modern people are at dieting.