Reflections on the Philosophy of Parmenides
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Abstract
This study examines the philosophical foundations of Parmenides' ontology by analyzing his conception of Being as the ultimate principle of reality and knowledge. Employing an analytical and interpretative approach, the paper investigates the distinction established by Parmenides between the Way of Truth (Aletheia) and the Way of Opinion (Doxa), demonstrating how this distinction constitutes one of the earliest systematic formulations of rational metaphysics in Greek philosophy. The analysis argues that Parmenides rejects plurality, change, generation, and corruption, maintaining that authentic Being is one, eternal, indivisible, immutable, and accessible exclusively through reason rather than sensory perception. The study further explores the relationship between thought and Being, emphasizing Parmenides' claim that thinking and Being are inseparable, thereby establishing the ontological basis of knowledge. In addition, the paper reconsiders the often-neglected cosmological dimension of Parmenides' poem, arguing that the section devoted to Doxa should not be interpreted merely as a rejection of sensible reality but as a rational explanation of the phenomenal world governed by probability and appearance. Through a critical reading of ancient and modern interpretations, the study demonstrates that Parmenides did not abolish the world of becoming; instead, he distinguished between the certainty of ontological truth and the provisional validity of empirical knowledge. The paper concludes that Parmenides inaugurated a decisive transformation in the history of philosophy by replacing cosmological speculation with ontological inquiry, laying the intellectual foundations for later metaphysics and profoundly influencing Plato, Aristotle, and the subsequent development of Western philosophical rationalism
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