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Parmenides of Elea (5th century BCE) was, according to Diogenes Laertius, a student of Xenophanes of Colophon but left his master’s discipline to pursue his own vision. Even so, the stamp of Xenophanes’ teachings can be seen in the work of Parmenides in that both assert that the things in life which we think we understand may be quite different than they seem to be, especially regarding an understanding of the gods. A younger contemporary of Heraclitus (most famous for his claim of 'Panta Rei’, “Life is Flux”, that all things are constantly in motion and change) Parmenides’ thought could not be further removed from that of the elder philosopher in that Parmenides claimed nothing moved and that human sense perception could not be relied upon for an apprehension of Truth.
According to Parmenides, “There is a way which is and a way which is not” (a way of fact, or truth, and a way of opinion about things) and one must come to an understanding of the way “which is” to understand the nature of life. Known as the Philosopher of Changeless Being, Parmenides insistance on an eternal, single Truth and his repudiation of relativism and mutability would greatly influence the young philosopher Plato and, through him, Aristotle (though the latter would interpret Parmenides’ Truth quite differently than his master did). Zeno of Elea was Parmenides most famous student and wrote forty paradoxes in defense of Parmenides’ claim that change – and even motion – were illusions which one must disregard in order to know the nature of oneself and that of the universe.
Definition
Parmenides of Elea (5th century BCE) was, according to Diogenes Laertius, a student of Xenophanes of Colophon but left his master’s discipline to pursue his own vision. Even so, the stamp of Xenophanes’ teachings can be seen in the work of Parmenides in that both assert that the things in life which we think we understand may be quite different than they seem to be, especially regarding an understanding of the gods. A younger contemporary of Heraclitus (most famous for his claim of 'Panta Rei’, “Life is Flux”, that all things are constantly in motion and change) Parmenides’ thought could not be further removed from that of the elder philosopher in that Parmenides claimed nothing moved and that human sense perception could not be relied upon for an apprehension of Truth. According to Parmenides, “There is a way which is and a way which is not” (a way of fact, or truth, and a way of opinion about things) and one must come to an understanding of the way “which is” to understand the nature of life. Known as the Philosopher of Changeless Being, Parmenides insistance on an eternal, single Truth and his repudiation of relativism and mutability would greatly influence the young philosopher Plato and, through him, Aristotle (though the latter would interpret Parmenides’ Truth quite differently than his master did). Zeno of Elea was Parmenides most famous student and wrote forty paradoxes in defense of Parmenides’ claim that change – and even motion – were illusions which one must disregard in order to know the nature of oneself and that of the universe.
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Parmenides (c. 485 BCE) lived in Elea, a Greek colony in southern Italy and was most famous for his claim, "There is a way which is and a way which is not" (a way of truth and a way of opinion) and that, "There is not, nor will there be, anything other than what is since indeed Destiny has fettered...
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