Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020
On the Turning Against
Drew A. Hyland
Pages 244-259
https://doi.org/10.5840/jcp202121111
Heraclitus the Jock
The ancient Ephesian thinker Heraclitus, in his aphoristic writings, described the dynamic coming-to-be of things according to a number of obscure metaphors. In this essay, Hyland ponders whether there is a paradigmatic experience according to which a number of these metaphors can best be understood. Gathering together and thoughtfully retranslating a number of Greek terms including polemos (often translated as ¡°war¡±), eris (¡°strife¡±), agon (¡°contest¡±), and paidia (¡°play¡±), Hyland argues that Heraclitus¡¯s metaphors can be understood as referring to an experience of athletic play. Hyland explores the significance of athletic play, with its stance of responsive openness, as a paradigm for thinking and living.