Parmenides teaches us today how to think abstractly in order to catch contradictions, how to connect elements logically, how to approach carefully what our senses show us. His method remains relevant - start with clear assumptions, consistently draw conclusions, do not be afraid of radical consequences. Even if his vision of the world seems unacceptable to us, abstract thinking itself - precise, uncompromising, ready to question all obviousness - is the foundation of critical thinking.
In an age of fake news and superficial opinions, the Parmenidean rigor of abstract reasoning is perhaps more needed than ever.
1. Zastanów się nad założeniem: „ Z niczego nic nie powstaje.”
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Czy coś może pojawić się z niczego?
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Czy coś może zniknąć w nicość?
2. Wybierz przykład zmiany z życia codziennego:
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Zmiana koloru nieba o zachodzie słońca
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Roztopienie lodu
3. Pomyśl
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Czy coś w tej zmianie naprawdę zniknęło?
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Czy coś pojawiło się „znikąd”?
4. Odpowiedz
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Czy zmiana naprawdę istnieje, czy to tylko inne ułożenie tego samego bytu?
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Czy według Parmenidesa zmiana jest możliwa?
STWÓRZ WŁASNY PARADOKS
Wymyśl prostą zagadkę lub pytanie dotyczące zmiany, np.
„Jeśli jabłko zniknęło, to gdzie teraz jest? A jeśli nic nie może zniknąć, to może nadal jest, tylko w innej postaci?”
Parmenides' philosophical revolution
The first step into pure abstract thinking
'Being is and non-being is not'
Parmenides was the founder of the Eleatic school and one of the most important pre-Socratic philosophers. He lived in the 5th century BC (ca. 515-450 BC) in Elea, a Greek colony in southern Italy. He had a huge influence on later thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza and the great Thomas Aquinas, who wrote "ex nihilo nihil fit" - from nothing comes nothing).
But what did Parmenides do?
Well, he was perhaps the first to put pure reason at the center of philosophy – rejecting sensory and empirical knowledge as illusory and full of contradictions. Parmenides was the first to fully trust the power of the mind even when it led to conclusions radically contrary to everyday experience. His intellectual courage consisted in the fact that he did not hesitate to question the most basic beliefs about reality, if logical consequence required it. He made a transition from the study of nature based on observation to a purely logical, rational study of reality. He entered the space of abstract thinking , which is no longer based on what "seems" but on what must be if we want to think without contradiction.
He entered the realm of pure philosophical abstraction. His philosophy is one of the first examples of pure abstract thinking in the history of human thought.
So let's consider and analyze his most popular statement.
'Being is and non-being is not'
Parmenides teaches us today how to think abstractly in order to catch contradictions, how to connect elements logically, how to approach carefully what our senses show us. His method remains relevant - start with clear assumptions, consistently draw conclusions, do not be afraid of radical consequences. Even if his vision of the world seems unacceptable to us, abstract thinking itself - precise, uncompromising, ready to question all obviousness - is the foundation of critical thinking.
In an age of fake news and superficial opinions, the Parmenidean rigor of abstract reasoning is perhaps more needed than ever.
Parmenides' philosophical revolution
The first step into pure abstract thinking
03 June 2025