Sir, – Wading into the murky waters between philosophy and bodily functions or plumbing, Joe Humphreys notes that the connection can be traced back to Diogenes of Sinope, a contemporary of Socrates, and the original Cynic (“We are united by common urges: Freedom. Justice. The need to go to the toilet”, Unthinkable, Opinion & Analysis, November 18th). I would suggest it can be traced back even a little further.
Heraclitus, about two centuries earlier, ranks among the earliest of the pre-Socratics. He is probably best remembered for the idea that nothing is fixed, but rather in a constant state of flux – often through the phrases panta rhei or panta chorei. That is, everything flows or everything moves. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
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Co Cork.
