Often referred to as the "father" or "grandfather" of Western Philosophy, Parmenides lived and wrote during the fifth century BCE. His writings large reject the pluralist metaphysics that other pre-socratics proposed before him. We only have remnants of his only known work On Nature; however, the "Proem," a versed introduction to the work, has been completely preserved.
Parmenides' story begins with his journey to the temple, home, or "underworld," where the goddesses Day and Night live. The work is divided into two parts, "The Way of Truth" and "The Way of Appearance." Parmenides chose an apocalyptic style in which to write his story, which requires a lot of consideration in the exposition of his work. No matter the circumstantial, hermeneutical presuppositions, it is clear that Parmenides wishes to critique the metaphysical systems propounded before him.
Truth, to Parmenides, was necessarily eternal and immutable. He lays out a thought experiment. First, two methods of inquiry exist, to seek that which is and that which is not. Something either is or is not. To him, the latter is impossible because to speak of something that is not is unintelligible. Something cannot be known if it does not exist. Therefore, inquiry seeks that which is.
However, Parmenides wanted to contest the emphasis on change and motion in his predecessors, earlier pre-socratic philosophers such as Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Anaximander. As a result, he thought that change necessitate a change from "to not be" into "to be." By his measure, something cannot comes from nothing. Therefore, true existence necessarily is immutable and eternal.
His argument, as it stands, is certainly valid, but some may hold reservations in its soundness. His theory makes an empirical epistemology practically impossible, as empiricism is fundamentally based in cause and effect, or in other words, change. However, he may only seek to note the fallibility of man in empirical theories as displayed through a long oration on appearance by the goddess.
Although Parmenides is very convincing, many scholars debate the appropriate interpretation of his work. Most see his work as another material monism as put forth by those like Thales and Pythagoras. However, another interpretation sees his work as a large dialectic, juxtaposing truth and appearance, rationalism and empiricism, and theory and practice. This seems to be a better reading because it still allows for Parmenides critique on earlier thinkers and espouses a more skeptical approach to metaphysics, in which eternity and immutability must be considered just as evenly as change and motion.
Some others have suggested Parmenides was introducing a meta-physics, a pure, eternal, immutable substance, from which a changing, moving physical worlds comes (i.e., physics). Sill yet, some suggest modal and perspectival interpretations which are very similar to the "prime mover" meta-physics theory.
In any event, Parmenides opens up new questions to the dialogue of philosophy that proceeded him. Plato, in particular, based his Parmenides on his work, about which he probably learned a great deal from Socrates, who Parmenides supposedly met in Socrates' younger days on a trip to Athens. Likewise, Plato's Republic certainly shares many themes with Parmenides' work, most obviously through Plato's "Allegory of the Cave."
Parmenides' story begins with his journey to the temple, home, or "underworld," where the goddesses Day and Night live. The work is divided into two parts, "The Way of Truth" and "The Way of Appearance." Parmenides chose an apocalyptic style in which to write his story, which requires a lot of consideration in the exposition of his work. No matter the circumstantial, hermeneutical presuppositions, it is clear that Parmenides wishes to critique the metaphysical systems propounded before him.
Truth, to Parmenides, was necessarily eternal and immutable. He lays out a thought experiment. First, two methods of inquiry exist, to seek that which is and that which is not. Something either is or is not. To him, the latter is impossible because to speak of something that is not is unintelligible. Something cannot be known if it does not exist. Therefore, inquiry seeks that which is.
However, Parmenides wanted to contest the emphasis on change and motion in his predecessors, earlier pre-socratic philosophers such as Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Anaximander. As a result, he thought that change necessitate a change from "to not be" into "to be." By his measure, something cannot comes from nothing. Therefore, true existence necessarily is immutable and eternal.
His argument, as it stands, is certainly valid, but some may hold reservations in its soundness. His theory makes an empirical epistemology practically impossible, as empiricism is fundamentally based in cause and effect, or in other words, change. However, he may only seek to note the fallibility of man in empirical theories as displayed through a long oration on appearance by the goddess.
Although Parmenides is very convincing, many scholars debate the appropriate interpretation of his work. Most see his work as another material monism as put forth by those like Thales and Pythagoras. However, another interpretation sees his work as a large dialectic, juxtaposing truth and appearance, rationalism and empiricism, and theory and practice. This seems to be a better reading because it still allows for Parmenides critique on earlier thinkers and espouses a more skeptical approach to metaphysics, in which eternity and immutability must be considered just as evenly as change and motion.
Some others have suggested Parmenides was introducing a meta-physics, a pure, eternal, immutable substance, from which a changing, moving physical worlds comes (i.e., physics). Sill yet, some suggest modal and perspectival interpretations which are very similar to the "prime mover" meta-physics theory.
In any event, Parmenides opens up new questions to the dialogue of philosophy that proceeded him. Plato, in particular, based his Parmenides on his work, about which he probably learned a great deal from Socrates, who Parmenides supposedly met in Socrates' younger days on a trip to Athens. Likewise, Plato's Republic certainly shares many themes with Parmenides' work, most obviously through Plato's "Allegory of the Cave."
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