( if the working day at behavioral analysis unit starts with mad fingers against computer keyboards and the electric beeps of fax machines and printers - around the shrill calls of telephones and the sharp slam of case files thrown onto rosewood desk. working day at the university are very much different, everyone seems so calm and collected [students, not included], a little chit chat there but no hostility was present at the faculty room. )
" You cannot step on the same river twice, the world is flux. "
( what better way to start the lecture than to quote heraclitus, the students were now attentively listening. philosophy isn't as bad and boring as they think it was, they figured out that much. and when that thought reached him, a smile began to paint its way on hideki's lips - charming is probably a word to describe their tall professor - they were starting to appreciate it. )
that's what heraclitus said, another philosopher who came up with a solution about local motion or change. the quote itself is very explanatory so let me just give an example.
remember the hair example on parmenides? let's change it to the latter's perspective; you've cut your hair and dyed it but it's still a hair, yes? however, the hair before you've cut it isn't the same as the current one thus, it changed. he's actually the one who quoted that --
" The only permanent is change. "
and that's actually about it. of course, the two philosophers had their own points but there were errors on their solution so let's discuss their errors before we proceed to aristotle.
errors of the two philosophers's solution:
parmenides - reduced being into an absolute unicity.
does anyone knows what absolute unicity means? [ ... ] alright then, i'll explain everything so you can be dismissed early and so that you can review for our short exam next meeting.
( he heard a series of groans and whines which is understandable. maybe some of them had an idea but no one really knew how to put it into words so they let the professor do what he does best; talking and explaining all this complicated quotes. )
if change is an illusion then what you're sitting at is not a chair but a fruit. why? the chair is made out of wood and obviously, the wood is from a tree but what's a tree if there's no seed right? and where does a seed come from? a fruit therefore, what you're sitting on is a fruit.
same goes to us, we're not human because how are humans made? from the egg and sperm cell right? so that means, we are a very large egg cells and sperm cells.
( the crowd laughed as he let out a faint chuckle, it wasn't really funny but since his students thought it was, might as well let out a chuckle of his own before proceeding. )
he's merging everything into one. he denied nature, the what-ness of things.
heraclitus - making becoming as the sole reality.
the latter one did exactly the same, he denied nature as well. he's reducing being of what is becoming.
if things are constantly changing then the moment i took another step i'm different then, i'm not the same professor before i took that step; who are we if we're constantly changing? you can't even say we're human if every second we're evolving into something different or someone else.
( they were muttering, discussing on how the professor has a point and to think that both of the philosophers' solution made sense; seeing that everyone is done copying the lecture, hideki assigned someone to erase the writings on the board - the boy was mumbling to himself that he should just present his lessons on a powerpoint presentation instead, hideki didn't need to answer but in a sense he's a technophobe, that's why. )
next meeting, we'll finish aristotle's solution first then we'll have a short exam about it. research about aristotle's solution about local motion so you can answer to my questions. you're all dismissed -- have a good day everyone.