Empedocles was a Greek philosopher from 490-430 BCE who believed that reality was fixed but that changes were not illusions, combining the views of Parmenides and Heraclitus. He believed the basic objects of the world consisted of water, fire, earth, and air, and that their different combinations resulted in explicit outcomes. Empedocles also said objects do not change intrinsically but do change in our experience, and changes occur due to love and strife, or attraction and repulsion.

1. Pre-Socratic Philosophers<br />Donna Reilly<br />PHI 105<br />May 7, 2011<br />Axia College<br />Pre-Socratic Philosophers<br />Empedocles was the Pre-Socratic philosopher that I found to have the most compelling ideas. Empedocles was a Greek philosopher from 490-430 B.C.E. He believed that reality was everlasting and fixed. He also believed that that the changes we all go through are more than an illusion, when another philosopher known as Parmenides believed just the opposite. Parmenides believed that change and motion are illusions of the senses. Empedocles also believed to a point what philosopher Heraclitus had once said that reality was an unending change. <br />Empedocles took into consideration what both Parmenides and Heraclitus had held as truth, therefore combining the thoughts of each. In today’s day and age, the teachings and beliefs of philosopher Empedocles still exists. What Empedocles believed in was that basic objects consist of water, fire, earth, and air. He also believed the explicit outcomes depended on the different combinations of each. He went on to say that scraps of these objects do not change, but the objects of experience however do change. The reasons these ideas are so compelling to be is due to the fact that they are still used in physics to this day. <br />Another thought of Empedocles was that changes occur due to love and strife, or because of attraction and repulsion, or good and bad. A practical example would be taking water, fire, earth, and air and looking at them as though they were dry ingredients in a cake mix. Love and strife are like water and oil. When mixed together well they blend smoothly, but if they are not mixed well and just left alone, separation will occur. <br />