Heraclitus DK107 reads as follows: κακοὶ μάρτυρεσ ἀνθρώποισιν ὀφθαλμοι και ὦτα βαρβάρουσ ψυχὰσ ἐχόντων. It is readily translated: “Eyes and ears are bad witnesses for those with barbarian psychai.”However, this fragment is not readily interpreted. The problem is that we do not know what the phrase “barbarian psychai” means; and as long as this phrase remains uninterpreted, the import of DK107 is unclear. I shall argue that no previous interpretation of the phrase “barbarian psychai” is satisfactory; and I shall offer (...) a more adequate interpretation of that key phrase. First, however, a few preliminary comments. (shrink)

This study provides a unified framework within which to view the development of pre-Socratic thought. It points out three aspects of Xenophanes' scepticism, and shows how Heraclitus responded to each. Key issues concerning psyche and logos are summarized and an attempt is made to settle certain long-standing debates concerning them.