Parmenides' Being & Plato's Forms: Metaphysical Foundations

Parmenides' Concept of Being

Parmenides of Elea proposed a radical concept of "Being" with several fundamental characteristics:

• It is eternal. It is neither generated nor can it perish. It is not generated, because if it were, it would come from non-being, which is unthinkable, or from being, in which case it would already exist. It cannot be destroyed, because to do so would be to cease to be, which is equally unthinkable.
• It is one. If there were two, they would have to differentiate into something. That 'something' would either be being, in which case they would be identical to the one, or non-being, in which case it would imply that non-being is being.
• It is indivisible. For it to be split, it would consist of 'parts,' and these parts would have to be separated or differentiated by something. But this 'something' is either being, in which case there would be no differences, or non-being, in which case one would have to admit, once again, that non-being is being.
• It is immutable. (i.e., unchanged). If one admits change, it would allow the passage from non-being to being, but we have seen that this is unthinkable.
• It is unlimited. Unlike the multiple and changing world of sensory experience, Being is not subject to spatial or temporal boundaries, nor can it be differentiated.

The Way of Opinion and the Changing World

The knowledge derived from the multiple and changing world is called the Way of Opinion. We can only state what we think about this world, but since it continuously changes, we cannot definitively say what it is.

Zeno of Elea and the Non-Rationality of Change

A disciple of Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, demonstrated that any attempt to rationally explain the multiple and changing world leads to paradoxes. Therefore, this 'being' (of the sensory world) is not sufficient to justify all observed experiences. A true, rational Being, as Parmenides described, is one, eternal, and nothing more. Ultimately, a new way of understanding 'being' would emerge, primarily from the hands of Socrates and his disciple, Plato.

Plato's Philosophy: Essences and Forms

Socrates' Pursuit of Essences

The fundamental problem for Socrates was to clarify the nature of concepts like "justice," "good," "virtue," and "beauty." This "being," when understood as the fundamental nature of a certain type of thing, is what we call essence. According to Socrates, the essence of something resided in a definition that would apply universally to all instances of that "thing." For example, understanding the essence of "good" would provide a universal definition for all good things. This pursuit aimed to define something universal and eternal.

Plato's Theory of Forms (Ideas)

Plato went beyond Socrates, considering that essences are not merely definitions but formal realities that exist independently of sensible things. These essences, separated from physical objects, Plato called "Forms" or "Ideas."