Editing Process philosophy (section)

=== In ancient Greek thought ===
Heraclitus proclaimed that the basic nature of all things is change; he posits strife, ''{{lang|grc|ἡ ἔρις}}'' ("strife, conflict"), as the underlying basis of all reality, which is itself thus defined by change.<ref>Wheelwright, P. (1959). ''Heraclitus'', Oxford University Press, Oxford UK, {{ISBN|0-19-924022-1}}, p.35.</ref>

The quotation from [[Heraclitus]] appears in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' twice; first, in 401d:<ref>''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' Paragraph [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0171%3Atext%3DCrat.%3Asection%3D401d Crat. 401 section d line 5].</ref>
<blockquote>{{lang|grc|τὰ ὄντα ἰέναι τε πάντα καὶ μένειν οὐδέν}}<br/>''Ta onta ienai te panta kai menein ouden''<br/>"All entities move and nothing remains still."</blockquote>and, second, in 402a:<ref>''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plat.+Crat.+402&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0171 Paragraph 402 section a line 8].</ref>

<blockquote>{{lang|grc|"πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει" καὶ "δὶς ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν ποταμὸν οὐκ ἂν ἐμβαίης"}}<br/>''Panta chōrei kai ouden menei kai dis es ton auton potamon ouk an embaies''
<br />"Everything changes and nothing remains still&nbsp;... and&nbsp;... you cannot step twice into the same stream."<ref>This sentence has been translated by [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] in Epistulae, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sen/seneca.ep6.shtml VI, 58, 23].</ref></blockquote>

Heraclitus considered fire to be the most fundamental element:

<blockquote>"All things are an interchange for fire, and fire for all things, just like goods for gold and gold for goods."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=William|title=Heraclitus: The Complete Philosophical Fragments|url=http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/Philosophy/Heraclitus.html|website=Middlebury College|access-date=3 October 2015|ref=DK B90}}</ref></blockquote>

The following is an interpretation of Heraclitus's concepts in modern terms, as understood by [[Nicholas Rescher]]:

<blockquote>"...reality is not a constellation of things at all, but one of processes.  The fundamental 'stuff' of the world is not material substance, but volatile flux, namely 'fire', and all things are versions thereof (''puros tropai'').  Process is fundamental: the river is not an ''object'', but a continuing flow; the sun is not a ''thing'', but an enduring fire.  Everything is a matter of process, of activity, of change (''panta rhei'')."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rescher|first1=Nicholas|title=Process Philosophy: A survey of basic issues|url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt6wrc3b|url-access=limited|date=2000|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|location=[Pittsburgh]|isbn=0822961288|page=5}}</ref></blockquote>