13. Empedocles: Elements, Love, Hate, and Change

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Problem with Monism and the Solution #

• The Dilemma: If there is one first matter with definite qualities, everything would possess those qualities (e.g., if water is first matter, nothing could be hot or dry). If the first matter lacks qualities, it is unclear how any qualities could arise in the world.
• Empedocles’ Solution: Propose four first matters—earth, fire, air, and water—to escape both horns of the dilemma.
• Historical Context: Earlier thinkers (Monists) each posited one first matter; Empedocles introduces Pluralism by rejecting the attempt to find a single first matter.
• The Predecessors’ Partial Truths: Each earlier thinker (earth, water, air, or fire advocates) saw part of the truth but boasted of seeing the whole. Empedocles gathers these scattered truths into a unified system.

Distinguishing the Elements by Contraries #

• The Principle of Division: Things should be divided by opposites, which come in pairs. Good divisions maintain logical consistency (e.g., male/female makes sense; male/white does not).
• The Relevant Contraries: The elements are distinguished by hot/cold and wet/dry—arranged in a 2×2 matrix:
  • Fire: hot and dry
  • Water: cold and wet
  • Air: hot and wet
  • Earth: cold and dry
• Why These Contraries?: Hot/cold and wet/dry are more basic than hard/soft or black/white because they are causes of those other qualities. Heat makes butter soft; cold makes it hard. Moisture affects color (wet clothing appears different from dry).

Composition by Numerical Ratios #

• The Pythagorean Influence: Different substances are composed of the four elements combined in different numerical ratios.
• Examples:
  • Bone: Formula W2F4 (two parts water, four parts fire). The higher proportion of fire (dry) explains why bone is the driest part of living things.
  • Flesh and Blood: Different ratio of wet to dry elements, accounting for their greater moisture compared to bone.
• The Implication: All material differences reduce to quantitative differences in elemental composition.

Empedocles’ Rejection of True Generation and Corruption #

• The Core Claim: Nothing truly comes into being or passes away. All apparent generation is mere mixing; all apparent destruction is mere separation.
• The Argument: You cannot get something from nothing. Therefore, when we say something is “born,” we merely describe the mixing of pre-existing elements. When we say something “dies,” we describe their separation.
• Common Sense Objection: The log burns and ceases to exist. The Wise Response: Everything that was in the log still exists—some as ashes below the grate, some as smoke above the chimney. The elements have separated but remain.
• Terminology: Birth and death are unscientific terms; they misrepresent what actually occurs. The wise man recognizes only mixing and separation, not true generation or destruction.
• The Change of Place Principle: All apparent change—whether of quality, substance, or appearance—is ultimately a change of place of pre-existing material parts.

Love and Hate as Cosmic Movers #

• The Principle: Contrary effects require contrary causes. If elements come together and separate (contrary effects), there must be contrary causes.
• The Solution: Love brings elements together; Hate separates them.
• Cyclical Process: The universe undergoes cycles: at one time all things are mixed by Love into unity; at another time all are separated by Hate into multiplicity. This cycle repeats eternally.
• Distinction from Matter: Love and Hate are the first explicit introduction of a mover (efficient cause) distinct from matter itself. Earlier thinkers spoke only of what things are made of, not what moves or changes them.
• Modern Scientific Parallel: Like modern physics, which posits forces of attraction and repulsion as contrary causes of contrary effects.

The Problem of the Void #

• Empedocles’ Position: The void does not exist; the universe is completely full (plenum).
• The Logical Puzzle: If nothing is empty, how can motion occur? Things would be completely wedged together with no space to move.
• Democritus’s Alternative: Motion requires the void; therefore, what is not (the void) must exist—a position that seems to contradict Parmenides’ principle that nothing can come from nothing.
• Aristotle’s Response: Circular motion or displacement could occur without a true void. One thing moves out as another moves in, avoiding the apparent contradiction.

Key Arguments #

The Dilemma of One First Matter #

1. Either the first matter has definite qualities or no definite qualities.
2. If it has definite qualities, everything would share them → contradicts observed diversity (bitter and sweet things both exist).
3. If it has no definite qualities, nothing could derive qualities from it → contradicts observed qualities.
4. Therefore, there must be multiple first matters.

Contrary Effects Require Contrary Causes #

1. Elements come together (mixed state) and separate (separated state) → contrary effects.
2. Contrary effects require contrary causes.
3. Therefore, there must be contrary causes producing these effects.
4. Love produces mixing; Hate produces separation.

Change as Mere Rearrangement #

1. Nothing comes from nothing; nothing is annihilated into nothing.
2. What appears to be birth is mixing of pre-existing elements.
3. What appears to be death is separation of pre-existing elements.
4. Therefore, there is no true generation or corruption, only mixing and separation (change of place).

Important Definitions #

Elements (Στοιχεῖα) #

The four basic substances (earth, fire, air, water) that compose all material things. Distinguished by the contraries hot/cold and wet/dry.

Love (Φιλότης) and Hate (Νεῖκος) #

Cosmic forces or movers: Love causes mixing of elements; Hate causes separation. These represent the first explicit introduction of an efficient cause distinct from matter.

Numerical Ratios (Λόγοι) #

The proportions in which elements are mixed to produce different substances. Different ratios of the same elements yield materials with different qualities.

Change of Place (Κίνησις κατὰ τόπον) #

The movement of pre-existing entities from one location to another. Empedocles reduces all apparent change (generation, corruption, change of quality) to this fundamental change.

Plenum (Τὸ πλῆρες) #

The principle that the universe is completely full, with no void or empty space. Contrasts with Democritus’s position that the void exists.

Examples & Illustrations #

Empedocles’ Elemental Composition #

• Bone Formation: “The earth anchored in the harbors of Cyprus received two of the eight parts of glittering Nestus [water] and four of Phaistos [fire], and these became white bones.” (Formula: W2F4)
• Flesh and Blood: Different ratio with more moisture than bone, explaining their relative wetness.

Change as Rearrangement, Not Annihilation #

• The Burning Log: A log placed on fire appears to be destroyed. In fact, the elements remain: ashes settle below the grate; smoke rises through the chimney. The log is not annihilated; its elements are separated.
• The Coffee and Sugar Example: A bitter cup of coffee becomes sweet when sugar is added. The fool thinks quality has changed (bitter → sweet). The wise man knows that sugar (which was always sweet) has merely changed place from the sugar bowl into the coffee. The coffee itself remains bitter; it is now mixed with sweet sugar.
• The Marching Band Analogy: A University of Michigan marching band forms the shape of Michigan, then later the shape of a ship. What appears as a change of shape is really the change of place of individual band members.

Understanding Contraries as Causes #

• Butter’s Transformation: Butter becomes hard when cold, soft when heated. Therefore, cold and heat (contraries) are the causes of hardness and softness, which are effects. Hot/cold are more basic than hard/soft.
• The Suitcase Principle: When items are tightly packed in a suitcase, they move little. If the entire universe were completely full (plenum), nothing could move at all. Therefore, if motion exists, some emptiness must exist—or an alternative explanation (like Aristotle’s circular motion) must hold.

Notable Quotes #

“There is no birth of any immortal thing nor end in destructive death… birth over is a name given to these by men.” — Empedocles (DK8), on the rejection of true generation and corruption

“It is impossible that anything comes to be from what in no way is.” — Empedocles (DK12), the principle that nothing comes from nothing

“What is cannot cease to be by being cut.” — Empedocles, on the impossibility of annihilation through division

“Men see some part of the truth and they boast that they’ve seen the whole.” — Empedocles (referenced by Berquist), on earlier thinkers’ partial insights

“I shall tell something double. At one time it grew from the many to be only one… another time, it grew apart from the one to be many.” — Empedocles (DK17), describing the cyclical mixing and separation produced by Love and Hate

Questions Addressed #

Why did Empedocles reject monism (the search for one first matter)? #

Answer: The logical dilemma: if the one first matter has definite qualities, everything would share those qualities (contradicting observed diversity). If it has no qualities, nothing could derive qualities from it (contradicting observed qualities). Therefore, multiple first matters are necessary.

How are the four elements distinguished from one another? #

Answer: By the contraries hot/cold and wet/dry, arranged in a 2×2 matrix. These contraries are more basic and causally prior to other sensible qualities like hard/soft or black/white.

Why are hot/cold and wet/dry more fundamental than other contraries? #

Answer: Because they are causes of other qualities. Heat causes softness and expansion; cold causes hardness and contraction. Moisture and dryness affect color and texture. Therefore, to find first causes, we must use these more basic contraries.

What role do Love and Hate play in Empedocles’ system? #

Answer: They are cosmic movers (efficient causes) that produce all apparent change. Love brings elements together; Hate separates them. This cyclical process explains why things come together and fall apart eternally.

How can Empedocles deny true generation and corruption? #

Answer: By distinguishing between apparent change (what common sense observes) and real change (what actually occurs). Apparent birth is mixing; apparent death is separation. Real change is only rearrangement of pre-existing elements. Nothing truly comes into being or ceases to be.

Is there a contradiction in saying change occurs if true generation and corruption do not? #

Answer: No. Change of place (rearrangement) is real. Birth and death are misnamed phenomena—they are mixing and separation, not true generation and corruption. This preserves the reality of apparent change without violating the principle that nothing comes from nothing.