February 10, 2018

On Substance and Change

Substance and change is one of those old philosophical problems that refuse to go away. Parmenides famously denied all change. Heraclitus said that all is change. I side with the latter.

Our attempts at finding something ultimately stable have had variying results. Plato went so far as to abstract reality’s essence into imperishable forms; Christians have posited an eternal creator and lawgiver who stands outside creation itself.

We seem to have a deep need for stability, both in ourselves and in the world.

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Dedication From my mother, I have learned that pride can have its uses, if tempered by good sense. From my father, via negativa, that youth is a