Chapter 9 Heraclitus on Soul and Super-Soul
With an Afterthought on the Afterlife
In: Studies in Early Greek Philosophy
Author:
Jaap Mansfeld
Jaap Mansfeld
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Abstract
This chapter is about the reception of Heraclitus’ views on the human soul in its cosmic context. Those views were updated by later thinkers, and their extensive evidence on the matter is scrutinized in detail. A World Soul and various forms of immortality came to be attributed, while soul stuff was said to be inhaled from the environment. An appendix considers the quite general opinion that Heraclitus posited some sort of afterlife for human souls. It is argued that fragments held to support this interpretation are better otherwise construed.