ith being the first to realize the difference between Reason and Sense, Truth and Appearance. Common sense and his word were on completely different sides of the spectrum in Parmenides’ world. He laid the tenet of idealism but himself was not an idealist. He started the Monastic Materialism movement, a movement where change and movement within the universe are illusionary. He was much more a materialist than a realist, believing the One was sensual and material. According to Parmenides if it can be thought then in is.III Personal ResponseParmenides’ beliefs are a little foreign to me. The intense thought that must have gone into his philosophies is staggering. His belief that if it is something then it has always been and if it is nothing then it has never been, since out of nothing comes nothing was revolutionary for his time. Personally metaphysics and the inner workings of the universe is something I fail to have an opinion on. It is so obscure and unimportant that I don’t see the relevance in my life. Not to take anything away from his work but I don’t really understand why he believed what he believed or the significance of his beliefs. Something about Parmenides’ that really impresses me is how he was able to have his own opinions and follow his own philosophies that were contradictory to Pyhtagoras’ theories. Parmenides’ ability to break free from the views of a great philosopher like Pythagoras’ that he followed so intently shows how strongly Parmenides believed in his own personal philosophy.Parmenides’ distinction between truth and opinion still holds merit today. People often confused wise person’s and philosopher’s opinions with truth. Both truth and opinions are important aspects to philosophy but the distinction between the two is even more important. Without the search for truth and the base of opinions to test for truthfulness philosophy as ...
