I am moving Thinking Tuesday to Thursdays. Makes the week less stressed. :)
Today we are going to learn about Parmenides, a Greek philosopher.
Today we are going to learn about Parmenides, a Greek philosopher.
Parmenides followed Heraclitus in history. He looked at Heraclitus's way of thinking and logically deduced that his philosophy went in the wrong direction. He concluded that if everything was, well then everything could simply not be. BUT things cannot "NOT BE" because you can't get something for nothing. One cannot start with a void.
Therefore he concluded that "everything that is real must be eternal and unchanging, and must have an indivisible unity" (ergo all is one).
He showed that our understanding of the universe is faulty and full of contradictions. For instance our experience might tell us that things change, but in reality they really don't, so we cannot depend upon our senses and what they say we experience.
________
"Aristotle, who said that his idea “follows logically, but to believe it is next door to madness.” (source)
I have to admit that I agree with Aristotle. Parmenides didn't know God and that he (being God) created the world and all that was in it. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth [2] The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.(Genesis 1:2 ESV) It did start from God saying "let there be" and it simply was.
It also doesn't make sense to say that what we experience, what our senses give us for information isn't correct. You'd go mad trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't. So the thinking is interesting, but it's conclusion just is maddening. :)
Therefore he concluded that "everything that is real must be eternal and unchanging, and must have an indivisible unity" (ergo all is one).
He showed that our understanding of the universe is faulty and full of contradictions. For instance our experience might tell us that things change, but in reality they really don't, so we cannot depend upon our senses and what they say we experience.
________
"Aristotle, who said that his idea “follows logically, but to believe it is next door to madness.” (source)
I have to admit that I agree with Aristotle. Parmenides didn't know God and that he (being God) created the world and all that was in it. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth [2] The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.(Genesis 1:2 ESV) It did start from God saying "let there be" and it simply was.
It also doesn't make sense to say that what we experience, what our senses give us for information isn't correct. You'd go mad trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't. So the thinking is interesting, but it's conclusion just is maddening. :)
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