Change“Everything Flows” The Philosophical Idea of

EVERYTHING

FLOWS THE PHILOSOPHICAL IDEA OF CHANGE

“Everything flows”. In this, Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, states that all aspects of the universe are liable to change; however, we must question whether this statement is fully applicable.

Can you think of one thing which has not changed over the past 20 years? Even the rock will differ from one moment to the next, subject to erosion, weathering and slightly acidic soil. Indeed, your body changes so frequently and significantly that by your seventh birthday, you no longer have any of the cells, excluding bone marrow, that you were originally born with. You are literally a different person according to the principle of biological generation and corruption. Everything changes; however, ironically, change is the one thing which can be identified as a constant. The mere fact that change happens consistently and everything changes means that change as a concept, and as a state, cannot be changed.

Many philosophers have adopted a similar approach to Lao Tzu’s, even to the extent of using the same analogy. Heraclitus, living in the Sixth Century BCE, said “We both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not”, implying that an action can never be exactly repeated owing to the constant alterations of the universe. However, analytically speaking, this will not always necessarily be the case. We should consider the infinite monkey theorem which states that that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will eventually type a given text, such as the complete works of Shakespeare. In the same way, even though change, as Heraclitus maintained, means that things are constantly altering, there is always the possibility that change will bring about two independent yet identical situations. In other words, change is not a straight line, instead it is a more complex, meandering concept which can, seemingly, overlap on itself.

As previously mentioned, the same analogy of the river has been used by both philosophers to describe the notion of change, and we question why this is the case. When we think of rivers we think of strength - the river will shape landscapes, its plenitude will ultimately decide whether man is replenished or destroyed at harvest. In a similar way, change shapes the world and is able to both rejuvenate and disintegrate it. The key likeness between each phenomena is that they are symbols of both hope and fear and act independently of the desires of man. The proposition of time and change is one which has been an integral part of philosophical thinking for centuries. We propose that time is an ever-moving spiral and change is a constant and, depending on how the river flows, you will see different monkeys and different plays. And, you’re right, it does not make sense. That’s the point. Natasha B and Ruby B (Lower Sixth)

“WE BOTH STEP AND DO NOT STEP IN THE SAME RIVERS. WE ARE AND ARE NOT”.

Heraclitus, Greek Philosopher