How does a caterpillar become a butterfly? Does it change from one form to another, or is it the perception of the caterpillar that changes, making it appear as though its form is modified? Pre-Socratic philosopher Parmenides argued that every thing in existence is, and always has been. He proclaimed that human experiences and senses deceive people into believing in the illusion of change. However, other Pre-Socratic philosophers disputed Parmenides’ claims. They even declared theories stating that the world is in a constant state of flux. All that exists in the world changes or has the ability to change, although Parmenides argued the constance of nature, the ideas proposed by Heraclitus and Democritus proved that change is the only constant in reality. 

    Every element of the world is either a product of change or is changed as a result of interaction with other forces. The world 2 minutes ago is not the same as it is now, and it will never be the same ever again. Natural phenomena reshape the environment and transform habitats. Living organisms evolve mutations, increasing their fitness to the environment that is continually being changed by processes of nature. Without change, humans would have never evolved to walk upright, gain enough knowledge to learn how to use tools, and evolve such a complex ability to learn. Without change, creation, scientific discoveries, and progress would not be possible. Society as it is known would have never existed. The cities and  communities that people live in would not have been built as mathematical and scientific breakthroughs would not have been examined, observed, and manipulated. Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus explains this constant cycle of transformation by saying, “the sun is new everyday” (Heraclitus n.d.). In this metaphor, Heraclitus intends to convey that each “sun” is a new cycle of change or of energy that can be used and harnessed to create and learn. Through this quote, Heraclitus is attempting to teach his listeners that the day they knew yesterday is gone, some things will never be the same again, and this fact must be taken advantage of and be used to innovate and grow. 

    To fully understand change, a fundamental understanding of the structure of the world is necessary. The philosopher Democritus gave an explanation to this concept.. He proposed the atomic theory. According to Democritus, atoms were the most basic building block of matter; they were tiny, uncuttable pieces of matter surrounded by “the void”. With this foundational belief, Democritus  was able to develop his theory further. He introduced a new conceptual understanding of change. Democritus argued that substances did not mystically transform from one item to another, but the transformation was a result of the combination and rearrangement of these atomic particles within the void. Democritus’ compared the random motion of atoms to, “the motes in a sunbeam.” (Democritus n.d.). This theory of change provided a scientific and logical explanation for change. Matter itself cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be rearranged into new formations ergo the transformation of substances. Therefore, the caterpillar does not spontaneously decide to become a butterfly and magically metamorphose into this new state of being. Instead, the tiny atoms which made up the butterfly rearrange and recombine in order to create the new form that the caterpillar takes on as a butterfly. This theory means that the most fundamental components of matter and the universe do not change, but how they interact with each other and the rest of existence does. This theory explains how matter maintains subatomic consistency whilst still existing in a constant state of flux.

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