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Chapter 3 - Heraclitus and the Quantum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2020

M. D. Usher
Affiliation:
University of Vermont
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Summary

Heraclitus’s doctrine of a cosmogonic unity of opposites held together in harmoniēis the topic of “Heraclitus and the Quantum.” Like Anaximander, Heraclitus posits a self-organizing universe in which objects and agents interact to form relational wholes. It is argued that Heraclitus’s ideas anticipate physicist Niels Bohr’s atomic theory of complementarity and the systems thinking of early cyberneticists. Extended from a description of the cosmos to a prescription for living, Heraclitean harmoniē, it is argued, is tantamount to sustainability, and provides a profounder, more durable alternative to some modern prescriptions circulating under the same conceptual umbrella.

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Plato's Pigs and Other Ruminations
Ancient Guides to Living with Nature
, pp. 64 - 90
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Heraclitus and the Quantum
  • M. D. Usher, University of Vermont
  • Book: Plato's Pigs and Other Ruminations
  • Online publication: 26 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108884518.004
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  • Heraclitus and the Quantum
  • M. D. Usher, University of Vermont
  • Book: Plato's Pigs and Other Ruminations
  • Online publication: 26 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108884518.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Heraclitus and the Quantum
  • M. D. Usher, University of Vermont
  • Book: Plato's Pigs and Other Ruminations
  • Online publication: 26 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108884518.004
Available formats
×