Parmenides was a Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher who lived c. 485 BCE and claimed that existence was a unified whole, eternal and unchanging, and so "change" was an illusion of the senses.

What was Parmenides' Philosophy?

Parmenides claimed that nothing could come from nothing and so existence was uncreated and eternal and what people interpreted as "change" in life was an illusion.

What is Parmenides famous for?

Parmenides is famous for refuting the theories on First Cause of the earlier Pre-Socratic philosophers by claiming "change" was impossible because existence was a unified whole that did not allow for change.

Who was Parmenides' most famous student?

Parmenides' most famous student was Zeno of Elea (l.c. 465 BCE) who proved his philosophical claims on the unity of existence through logical paradoxes.

Parmenides Timeline

Definition

Parmenides (l.c. 485 BCE) of Elea was a Greek philosopher from the colony of Elea in southern Italy. He is considered among the most important of the Pre-Socratic philosophers who initiated philosophic inquiry in Greece beginning with Thales of Miletus (l. c. 585 BCE) in the 6th century BCE.

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