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There is great difficulty in trying to understand what Heraclitus and meant by λόγος. Christian theologians and Stoics had their own conception of λόγος, and thus it is often hard to peel off the Stoic or Christian readings of Heraclitus. The word λόγος can have many meanings, and Guthrie gives an excellent historical survey. Some of its meaning include:
λόγος is one of the most common words in the Greek language. These meanings are all related and historically can be seen to melt into each other or develop through time. When Heraclitus used the word , it could not have been completely removed from these common meanings.Anything written or spoken Reason (for doing something) or argument Measure, proportion, ratio General principle or rule (faculty of) Reason
Some do not think that λόγος in Heraclitus is a technical term. They see it just meaning "account." Heraclitus, to these scholars, is giving an account of the universe just as any other philosopher or natural scientist might do. Kahn points out that many treatises around this time began with a reference to λόγος or discourse as such (97).
However, Kirk argues that B50 has no meaning if Heraclitus were using λόγος in a non-technical sense to refer to his account: "Listening not to me, but to the λόγος, ... ." If Heraclitus' λόγος were just his account, then listening to the λόγος would just be listening to him. Based on this, it seems that Heraclitus was not just referring to his account. In some cases (like B31), Heraclitus does use λόγος in a non-technical sense, just meaning amount or measure. But in some fragments it clearly is a technical term.
The λόγος is the rational principle that orders the universe. At times, it is connected with the divine and with fire. It is linked to the idea of measure and proportion, but mostly to the idea of rationality. All things come to pass according to the λόγος. This λόγος is common in that it speaks to all men. But not all men understand the λόγος. Many turn aside from what is common to make a wisdom all their own. It would be safe to say that the λόγος is similar to God in a pantheistic system. Because human souls are composed of fire, the ideal death would be to join the eternal, ever-living fire/God/λόγος. There is not enough of the fragments left to decipher all the details of Heraclitus' λόγος, but I think a simple rough sketch can be safely made.