Parmenides’s Poem “On Nature” is considered his central work, where he presents his philosophical views on being, reality, and knowledge.
The poem begins with Parmenides being led by a divine chariot to the goddess of truth, who reveals the two possible paths of inquiry:
The Way of Truth asserts that reality is one, unchanging, and eternal.
The Way of Opinion describes the world of human perception, which is full of contradictions and illusions.
Parmenides uses logical reasoning to argue that what truly exists must be eternal and unchanging, rejecting the notion of change, multiplicity, and non-being.
Impact to Modern Philosophy
Parmenides’s work has influenced many areas of modern philosophy, particularly in the field of metaphysics.
His idea that only what is unchanging and eternal truly exists can be seen in the later development of analytic philosophy, where philosophers like Bertrand Russell explored the nature of reality and existence using logical analysis.
The concept of a singular, unchanging reality also resonates with logical positivism, which emphasizes the importance of logic and mathematics in understanding the world.